Nothing Sacred (1937)

An eccentric woman learns she is not dying of radium poisoning as earlier assumed, but when she meets a reporter looking for a story, she feigns sickness again for her own profit.

Director:

William A. Wellman

Writers:

Ben Hecht (screen play), James Street (suggested by a story by) (as James H. Street)

Stars:

Carole Lombard, Fredric March, Charles Winninger

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Carole Lombard	...	Hazel Flagg
Fredric March	...	Wally Cook
Charles Winninger	...	Dr. Enoch Downer
Walter Connolly	...	Oliver Stone
Sig Ruman	...	Dr. Emil Eggelhoffer (as Sig Rumann)
Frank Fay	...	Master of Ceremonies
Troy Brown Sr.	...	Ernest Walker (as Troy Brown)
Maxie Rosenbloom	...	Max Levinsky
Margaret Hamilton	...	Vermont Drugstore Lady
Olin Howland	...	Vermont Baggage Man
Raymond Scott and His Quintet	...	Novelty Swing Orchestra (as Raymond Scott and his Quintette)

Storyline

Hazel Flagg of Warsaw, Vermont receives the news that her terminal case of radium poisoning from a workplace incident was a complete misdiagnosis with mixed emotions. She is happy not to be dying, but she, who has never traveled the world, was going to use the money paid to her by her factory to go to New York in style. She believes her dreams can still be realized when Wally Cook arrives in town. He is a New York reporter with the Morning Star newspaper. He believes that Hazel's valiant struggle concerning her impending death is just the type of story he needs to resurrect his name within reporting circles after a recent story he wrote led to scandal and a major demotion at the newspaper. He proposes to take Hazel to New York both to report on her story but also to provide her with a grand farewell to life. She accepts. Wally's story results in Hazel becoming the toast of New York. In spending time together, Wally and Hazel fall in love. Hazel not only has to figure out what to do ...

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Plot Keywords:

newspaper reporter | small town girl | newspaper editor | vermont | screwball comedy | 

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Taglines:

See the big fight! LOMBARD vs MARCH. Selznick International's sensational Technicolor comedy

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 November 1937 (USA)

Also Known As:

La joyeuse suicidée

Filming Locations:

Agoura Hills, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,831,927 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,765

Company Credits

Production Co:

Selznick International Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Carole Lombard's only Technicolor film.

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Goofs

From inside the plane they were flying in, Wally Cook (Fredric March) and Hazel Flagg (Carole Lombard) would have been able to read the sky-written message stating 'Hello Hazel' welcoming her to New York, but it would have been viewed backwards to anyone on the ground below, the presumed audience for it.

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Quotes

Wally Cook: You've lived here all your life?
Hazel Flagg: Twice that long.

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Crazy Credits

Each of the stars' names are shown on a title card set beside a plaster caricature. The rest of the cast have caricatures alongside their names in the credits.

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Alternate Versions

Also available in a Cinecolor version "In Color". The credit for Natalie Kalmus as Technicolor Consultant is missing from this version.

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Connections

Featured in Cruel Tricks for Dear Friends (1987)

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Soundtracks

Land of Hope and Glory
(1902) (uncredited)
Music by Edward Elgar
Arranged by Raymond Scott
Performed by Raymond Scott and His Quintet
Played for Lady Godiva sequence

User Reviews

If its not one hoax, its another.

Absolutely hilarious screwball comedy. A hotshot newspaper reporter(Fredric March)tries to get in the good graces of his boss(Walter Connolly)by exploiting the "imminent" death of an ailing young woman(Carole Lombard). By way of newsprint the doomed young lady becomes the toast of New York City until her health situation is revealed as a hoax. Supporting cast includes: Frank Fay, Margaret Hamilton and Charles Winninger. Lombard is wonderful in the role of the ailing/doomed Hazel Flagg from Vermont. My favorite scene is when March is walking down the sidewalk and a small boy bolts through a gated fence to bite him on the back of the leg and scurry back to safety. This knee-slapping comedy is directed by William A. Wellman and its a crime not to watch.