Libeled Lady (1936)

Touches You

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

To Gladys Benton's (Jean Harlow) frustration, editor Warren Haggerty (Spencer Tracy) cancels their wedding to attend to an emergency at his newspaper. The New York Evening Star published a false story by their drunken reporter about socialite Connie Allenbury (Myrna Loy) being a husband stealer. The paper's owner Bane is an old rival to Mr. Allenbury and his daughter Connie vows to sue for $5 million. Haggerty recruits rascal Bill Chandler (William Powell) to solve the problem. Chandler comes up with a scheme to make the story a reality. Chandler marries Gladys and then tricks Connie into stealing him.The start is a lot of ridiculous fun. The manic energy is infectious. Jean Harlow is a ball of energy and has great fun with Tracy. They're a great combative couple. The real life couple of Powell and Harlow isn't that bad either. The main couple is yet another Powell and Loy affair. Powell does some slapstick fishing. Their romance is tough to get into since Chandler is suppose to be faking. It's a bit murky at the start. Harlow keeps it wacky. This is generally a load of fun.

Maybe I'm too practical. I love comedies, especially the ones that don't try so hard to be funny. It's when they defy (unwritten) laws of logic that they start to lose me. The high website rating for this picture sucked me in, and I liked it. It was amusing in spots and, folks, let me tell you, it doesn't get much better than this as far as casting goes; Powell, Loy, Tracy and Harlow - are you kidding me?The stars tried their best, but the plot was against them. For my taste there was too much contrivance and over-the-top plot devices. I know, I know, everyone liked it, awarded high ratings and, truth be told, there were some laughs, but it was just too cute by half. And the whole concept of screwball comedy eludes me, so I rated it a 6 because I thought the cast was great.

I cannot overestimate how much I love this film. People compare it to "My Man Godfrey". Guess what? That film is not even close. Carole Lombard was not even remotely as beautiful as Jean Harlow, and she should not even be mentioned in the same breath as Myrna Loy. The two fishing scenes with Bill Chandler (Powell), first where he hooks Gladys (Harlow), and the second, where he catches "Old Walleye", and after taking a beating trying to land the fish, and cannot even take the hook out, is a sight to behold, and those scenes surpass the shower scene in "Godfrey." This is without question Powell's film, and he steals every scene he is in. But guess what? Who wins? Connie Allenbury (Myrna) that is who. Spoilers ahead: She makes Newspaperman Haggerty (Tracy) look pathetic when he tries to talk her out of the lawsuit, she actually proposes to Powell (What other woman did that in a film?), and in the final scene when Harlow will not give up Powell, she shows who is boss to Harlow, and until her dad (Walter Connelly) came in and yelled "Quiet", Harlow was going to suffer a serious smack down. Needless to say, Loy and Powell will end up together and Harlow will still be chasing after Tracy. There is not a single wasted moment in the entire film (Particularly the Powell and (or) Loy scenes)Which is why it is my favorite comedy of the 30s. is my favorite comedy of the 30s.

This movie is over 70 years old but is far better than what mostly comes out of the film industry these days. The picture is genuinely funny and all the performers are excellent. In brief a newspaper who have libeled a lady need to get her legal action against them stopped to prevent the newspaper going out of business so they devise a plot to set up their victim. There are all sorts of comical twists and turns and plenty of good gags and amusing moments. The movie is very well directed, has an excellent script and the voters here on IMDb have got the high mark exactly right. Well done to Turner Classic Movies for showing this on their channel:8/10