Longing for his own column, tough talking reporter Lee Tracy isn't thrilled by the one assigned to him: Miss Lonely hearts. His smart aleck responses to the initial letters he gets lands him in hot water with the editor (Paul Harvey). But his honesty backfires, tripling subscriptions, forcing him back to the heart shaped typewriter against his will. Now he must scheme his way out of this position so he can marry pretty Sally Blane and be "a real man".
Deliciously tacky and filled with precode offenses (and starting off with the 1933 Long Beach quake rattling Tracy's room), this comedy is fast, furious and hysterically funny. Not only does Tracy get to deliver some of the best dialog pre- production code era, but he's joined by future "Winnie the Pooh" lead voice Sterling Holloway as his milquetoast assistant with a few tricks of his own up his sleeve. A scathing rip on the pitfalls of journalism, thus has its serious side as well as Tracy finds himself involved in potentially serious stories, his dream job.
Timely references to things going on in history has Tracy knocking anybody named Adolph who is not only a reference to the rising in power Hitler, but Tracy's rival for Blane. As Tracy becomes involved in shady activities involving crooked C. Henry Gordon, his lovelorn advice comes back to haunt him and he faces a personal tragedy involving tainted medication. While the first half is light and comical, the second half becomes much more serious, dealing with an issue regarding illicit pharmaceutical companies that still has an impact on health-care today. The transition isn't as jarring as it seems it would be, and that makes this quite an important film from pre- code Hollywood.
Deliciously tacky and filled with precode offenses (and starting off with the 1933 Long Beach quake rattling Tracy's room), this comedy is fast, furious and hysterically funny. Not only does Tracy get to deliver some of the best dialog pre- production code era, but he's joined by future "Winnie the Pooh" lead voice Sterling Holloway as his milquetoast assistant with a few tricks of his own up his sleeve. A scathing rip on the pitfalls of journalism, thus has its serious side as well as Tracy finds himself involved in potentially serious stories, his dream job.
Timely references to things going on in history has Tracy knocking anybody named Adolph who is not only a reference to the rising in power Hitler, but Tracy's rival for Blane. As Tracy becomes involved in shady activities involving crooked C. Henry Gordon, his lovelorn advice comes back to haunt him and he faces a personal tragedy involving tainted medication. While the first half is light and comical, the second half becomes much more serious, dealing with an issue regarding illicit pharmaceutical companies that still has an impact on health-care today. The transition isn't as jarring as it seems it would be, and that makes this quite an important film from pre- code Hollywood.