Nothing Sacred (1937)

Absolutely Fantastic

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

It's nice to see Frederic March and Carole Lombard in color, especially since this was the only color film she ever made. The premise is pretty silly, that so much would be made out of this 'dying' woman in the press and all over New York that shows would be stopped in her presence, she would be given the key to the city, etc., but it's a screwball comedy, so you just have to roll with it. The film had its moments, such as the treatment March faces in Vermont, with its taciturn adults, and a child who scampers out from behind a fence to bite him on the leg. However, it's pretty uneven in terms of humor, with a lot of run of the mill content, and several groaners. You'll also have to forgive some racial stereotypes, and March working Lombard up into a fever by boxing with her, and then knocking her out in one of the film's big scenes. Those bits are in keeping with the time period and not too ugly though, and it was nice to see Lombard give as good as she got. The production value for the film was high, as despite the weakness of the early technicolor process, it had a nice score, and many fantastic shots around New York.My favorite moment in the film is when March proposes to Lombard, despite thinking she has only a few weeks to live. In a film with a lot of screwball moments and one-liners, it had this little gem: "Oh Wally, I... I mustn't. Don't ask me. Please, just kiss me once more and let it go at that without ruining your life." "So what the devil is there better to life than we've got? A handful of perfect hours. That's all the luckiest ever get out of it. Just a handful of hours to save and remember. And then... I'll be there at the end, sailor. I'll be there waving you goodbye. It'll be the same as if you and I had lived forever. And you'll... you'll grow old in my heart."

I really enjoyed this great 30's screwball comedy which like so many of them hangs on a bizarre plot idea pitting smart man (so he thinks) against smarter woman - guess who always wins in the end. Here we get to see the actress with perhaps the best comedic timing of the whole era, Carole Lombard, in absolutely fizzing form throughout. For these battle of the sexes romps, there has to be a tough-minded, if dim-witted male for the female to run up against and in this occasion the patsy role falls to Fredric March, not an actor I'd much associated with comedic parts before but he's great here.Previously the sap for the hilarious first scene hoax, March's previously high-ranking features writer finds himself demoted to almost literally the broom cupboard under the stairs with another great hyper-kinetic scene as everybody on the paper almost literally walks all over him while he's trying to write his copy.To redeem himself in his testy editor's eye, he espies a potential feel-good story of a small-town girl's supposedly terminal illness and whisks her off to New York for a heart-tugging human interest tale of the innocent abroad seeing the sights and sounds of New York before she expires. The only problem is, her country bumpkin doctor has got his diagnosis wrong and there's nothing at all wrong with her. So what do you want the girl to do? Well, dragging along her usually inebriated doc for the ride, she more than happily takes up March on his offer, becoming a household celebrity in the Big Apple long before the accursed words "reality star" ever entered the language.Of course it all ends in tears of sadness, rage and joy, pretty much in that order, with lots of laughs along the way. The most famous scene I guess, is when Lombard's Hazel Flagg character is presented to the great and good in New York society at a posh dinner and when asked for a few words, can only burp a reply before falling down dead drunk. I laughed at that but I also laughed at a great little sight gag when big bad city news-man March gets bitten on the leg by a rabid infant when he arrives in the backwater looking for his quarry. I also loved writer Ben Hecht's topical jokes about the presidents of the day - wouldn't he have a field day right now!There are a couple of jarring moments however which at least remind us how society has progressed in the years ahead, like when the drunken doctor casually sings the racially offensive "D" word or when March actually socks Lombard on the jaw, but at least she gives it straight back to him. On the whole, this a great, breakneck comedy, undoubtedly one of the best of its kind and as a bonus it's in an early colour print process with some great shots of 30's New York in its pomp.

Nothing Sacred is a 1937 screwball romantic comedy filmed in Technicolor and directed by William A. Wellman. Carole Lombard and Fredric March star in this somewhat unrealistic, over the top story, but the acting is solid, entertaining, and there is a strong supporting cast as well. The cynical nature of the press is portrayed in an entertaining manner and the scenes in the newspaper offices are well done, with excellent cinematography, lighting and snappy dialog. The snappy dialog accompanies a snappy pace that starts at the beginning with character caricatures and whimsical upbeat music and then a transition to city scenery and narration. The "Hello Hazel" skywriting is pretty cool.

Nothing Scared was another great screwball comedy directed by William Wellman. It starred Carole Lombard and Fredric March. Carole Lombard was great in this movie just like she was in My Man Godfrey. She was a woman name Hazel who supposedly diagnosed with radium poisoning. She does a great job hiding the fact that she actually doesn't have the poison. She was very believable. Wally was a newsman who was looking for Hazel. They wanted to bring her to New York before she died to get the newspaper the publicity it needed. She decided to not tell the truth and live with the publicity like she was a celebrity. They were both perfect for each other which made it work. Wally fell for her throughout the movie still without knowing she was faking it. He had to learn the hard way that she actually was faking it but still loved her even after finding out. I thought the color in this movie was pretty good for that time. It made it a little easier to watch.