Libeled Lady (1936)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Jack Conway

Writers:

Maurine Dallas Watkins (screenplay) and
Howard Emmett Rogers (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

9 October 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Plot:

Warren Haggerty is the chief editor of the New York Evening Star. He keeps on delaying his marriage...

Plot Keywords:

Marriage | Editor | Newspaper | Trout | River

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Jean Harlow	...	Gladys
William Powell	...	Bill Chandler
Myrna Loy	...	Connie Allenbury
Spencer Tracy	...	Haggerty
Walter Connolly	...	Mr. Allenbury
Charley Grapewin	...	Mr. Bane
Cora Witherspoon	...	Mrs. Burns-Norvell
E.E. Clive	...	Fishing Instructor
Bunny Beatty	...	Babs (as Lauri Beatty)
Otto Yamaoka	...	Ching
Charles Trowbridge	...	Graham
Spencer Charters	...	Magistrate
George Chandler	...	Bell Hop
William 'Billy' Benedict	...	Johnny (as William Benedict)
Hal K. Dawson	...	Harvey Allen

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (certificate #2585) | Canada:PG (video rating) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Finland:S | USA:TV-G | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Jean Harlow and William Powell were a couple at the time the film was made. She desperately wanted the part of Connie Allenbury (Myrna Loy's role) so that she and Powell's character would end up together. The director and MGM execs would not heed her demand, however. They always intended on the film being another Powell/Loy vehicle and knew that audiences wanted Powell and Loy to end up together in their films. Harlow was very disappointed but had already signed on to the film and had no choice but to play the role of Gladys Benton. In the end, she liked the film and agreed that she was more suited to the role of Gladys.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Spencer Tracy refers to William Benedict's character as "Joe", although the opening credits identify him as "Johnny".

Quotes:

Warren Haggerty: Would I ask you to do this thing for me if I didn't consider you practically my wife?
Gladys: Would you ask your wife to hook up with that ape?
Bill Chandler: The ape objects.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood (2008) (TV)

Soundtrack:

You

Unsung, starry gem of a comedy

A film with four stars of this magnitude was an event in 1936 and, indeed, it still is in 2004. Though the subject matter is slight and the acting is not too terribly taxing on the affable quartet, it was well-thought-of-enough to rate a Best Picture Oscar nomination. Tracy plays a newspaperman whose own wedding plans are interrupted by the fact that his paper has mistakingly run a libelous story about the daughter of one of his competitors. Loy, as the daughter, slaps a $5 million libel suit against Tracy's newspaper which, if won, will sink it. Since he knows he will lose, he rehires former employee Powell, who he feels will be able to charm Loy into an indelicate situation, thus rendering her reputation spoiled enough to cost her her libel suit. Part of the scheme, however, to make it seem legitimate is to marry off Powell to his own fiance (Harlow.) It is here that the film gets a lot of its laughs as desperate-to-wed Harlow finds herself getting married......but to the wrong man! Powell and Loy get most of the sparkling dialogue and sophisticated repartee, but contemporary audiences are likelier to get a kick out of mouthy, hilarious Harlow. Her comedic gifts (and her ample physical assets) are on prime display, notably when the judge says it's safe to kiss the bride and in a later scene where Powell is learning to fly-fish. All of the stars do very well and each gets a chance to rub up against the others. Powell and Loy are a legendary pairing with 14 films to show them off. Tracy does a slick job and shows his versatility. They are aided by a stable of amusing character actors, the type of people Hollywood was famous for and can no longer provide with regularity. (Today, almost any character actor that scores a hit is thrust into his/her own TV show, TV talk show or lead role in a film!) The film offers both wit and slapstick, wrapped up in some gorgeous sets and costumes. (The MGM gloss is fully in place.) Sadly, the light that was Harlow would be dimmed in just a year after this, but audiences are still able to enjoy her fine work in films like this.