Jean Harlow
After signing with MGM, Sothern was cast as brassy Brooklyn burlesque dancer Mary Anastasia O'Connor, known professionally as Maisie Ravier, in "Maisie" (1939). MGM originally acquired the "Maisie" property for Jean Harlow, but Harlow died in June 1937, before a final script was completed. (The Harlow inspiration remained, as the second Maisie feature, "Congo Maisie", was based on MGM's "Red Dust". Sothern approximated the Jean Harlow role opposite John Carroll in the Clark Gable role.)