Nothing Sacred is a screwball comedy which is rather light on the laughs. Carole Lombard is unsurprisingly the best thing the film has to offer. She has great comedic talent and genuine star power. But a performer is only as good as the material and unfortunately for Lombard, and for the viewer, the material here just isn't good enough. The movie is rather dull and, despite clocking in at a mere 77 minutes long, plodding. Lombard has her moments and injects a little life into the proceedings now and again. But by and large the film falls flat. It's not very interesting and, fatally for a comedy, not very funny.
Lombard plays Hazel Flagg, a young Vermont woman who is dying of radium poisoning. Only she is not actually dying, she was misdiagnosed and is actually in perfectly fine health. She finds this out just before disgraced New York newspaperman Wally Cook tracks her down. Wally needs a big story to rescue his career after his last big story turned out to be a total fraud. Hazel Flagg, the courageous young woman bravely facing death. That will be his big story. Hazel isn't going to tell him she's not actually dying because, hey, he offered her a trip to New York! The whole city falls in love with brave, valiant Hazel Flagg. How long can this charade be kept up? Meanwhile, Hazel and Wally might be falling in love. This whole thing is a big mess which seems destined to unravel in spectacular fashion. It's a scenario which seems to have much comedic potential. But the laughs never come. Lombard has her charms and gives it a game effort. But she has so little to work with. And her co-stars don't provide much in the way of help. Fredric March displays very little personality in the role of Wally, the character comes across as very dry. Walter Connolly, playing Wally's boss, is a notable supporting player. Unfortunately he's notable really only for how annoying he is. Horribly grating overacting. Ultimately Nothing Sacred proves to be nothing special. This is a dud.
Lombard plays Hazel Flagg, a young Vermont woman who is dying of radium poisoning. Only she is not actually dying, she was misdiagnosed and is actually in perfectly fine health. She finds this out just before disgraced New York newspaperman Wally Cook tracks her down. Wally needs a big story to rescue his career after his last big story turned out to be a total fraud. Hazel Flagg, the courageous young woman bravely facing death. That will be his big story. Hazel isn't going to tell him she's not actually dying because, hey, he offered her a trip to New York! The whole city falls in love with brave, valiant Hazel Flagg. How long can this charade be kept up? Meanwhile, Hazel and Wally might be falling in love. This whole thing is a big mess which seems destined to unravel in spectacular fashion. It's a scenario which seems to have much comedic potential. But the laughs never come. Lombard has her charms and gives it a game effort. But she has so little to work with. And her co-stars don't provide much in the way of help. Fredric March displays very little personality in the role of Wally, the character comes across as very dry. Walter Connolly, playing Wally's boss, is a notable supporting player. Unfortunately he's notable really only for how annoying he is. Horribly grating overacting. Ultimately Nothing Sacred proves to be nothing special. This is a dud.