This is a great slapstick comedy! Spencer Tracy (before he teamed up with Katharine Hepburn)plays Warren Haggerty, a newspaperman who's company gets slapped with a $5 million dollar libel suit for printing a false story about a young socialite (Myrna Loy). He has to try and have her drop the lawsuit - and what better way to do that than have her get caught with a married (supposedly) man. He convinces an old co-worker of his (William Powell) to marry his fiancee (Jean Harlow). Just until he can get the story printed, of course. But when William Powell ends up falling in love with Connie, Spencer's plan starts to fall apart. But all ends well, and both women realize who there true love really is. This is a great movie from the 30's!
March 22, 2008 |  | 5 star comedy destroyed by 1 star print - disappointing |  |
The availability of this classic marital farce with such star power is excellent but MGM/Warners have offered a really poor print covered in scratches and dirt. What a disappointment!
Still, we can enjoy Myrna Loy's sarcasm, Jean Harlow's hysteria, Spencer Tracy's animation and, above all, William Powell's trout fishing episode. All the leads are at their very best and play superbly off each other. Walter Connelly, that peerless character actor, is on hand too as Loy's father and is perfect.
The extras are minor, being the original trailer which looks better than the film and the radio equivalent of the theatrical trailer, of minor interest.
March 20, 2008This is another great screwball comedy (1936) set during the great depression, casting some of the best performers of that time. Having nominated by the Academy in the best picture category, the movie is riveting and you will be glued from beginning to end due to the offbeat nature of the comedy. The story is a pure farce comedy, when the daughter of an aristocratic family Connie Allenbury (Myrna Loy) is falsely accused by the New York Evening Star newspaper of breaking up a marriage; she sues the newspaper for libel for five million dollars. This couldn't come at a worst time when the chief editor, Warren Haggerty (Spencer Tracy) is in the midst of marrying his fiancée, Gladys Benton (Jean Harlow). In order to save his job and the newspaper, Haggerty postpones his wedding and get into the business of saving the newspaper from the law suit. He comes with a zany idea of hiring a former reporter Bill Chandler (William Powell) to convince Connie Allenbury to withdraw the law suit against the newspaper. The plot involves fictions wedding of Bill Chandler to his fiancée Gladys who is unwilling to go along with the idea but reluctantly accepts that, and then Chandler use "good opportunities" to meet Connie Allenbury, romance her without telling that he is already married. When the friendship blossoms into full romance then at appropriate moment Gladys to appear on the scene and charge Connie for breaking her marriage to Chandler. The plan goes awry and it is hilarious that Connie almost comes to know the scheme but with the ingenuity of Bill Chandler the disaster is averted. Finally Connie will agree to withdraw the lawsuit but only after several mishaps. Jean Harlow, Spencer Tracy and William Powell have offered great performances, and it is during this movie Jean Harlow and William Powell developed romantic interest. This movie was directed by Jack Conway who went on to make his next movie Saratoga casting Jean Harlow and Clark Gable. Jean Harlow is known to have collapsed on the sets of Saratoga, and later died at the age of 26. This is an excellent movie and I recommend it very highly.
1. Saratoga
November 19, 2007 | | Classic Powell/Loy Comedy | |
William Powell and Myrna Loy made many movies together during the 1930's and 1940's- both Thin Man movies and comedies. They probably never had better support than this movie with Spencer Tracy and Jean Harlow in key roles. Audiences never tired of seeing Powell and Loy's characters fall in love but this movie presents a complicated plot around the love story. Very well done with many laughs and of course, great chemistry. 70 plus years later, still a classic!
August 12, 2007I'm a lover of William Powell and Myrna Loy movies. As usual, they are great onscreen together but the ending wasn't a very satisfying one.
July 22, 2007More reviews at Amazon.com ...
Daily Birthdays
(34 reviews)