Review of Libeled Lady (1936) by Brad S — 01 Feb 2017

This movie features Hollywood royalty in 1936: Jean Harlow, Myrna Loy, William Powell, and Spencer Tracy - that's quite a cast. And it's an interesting premise: Loy is the daughter of a rich businessman who is suing Spencer Tracy's newspaper for libel. Tracy is about to get married to Harlow, but puts off the wedding in order to deal with that, and turns to Powell to 'make it go away'. Their plan is to have Powell get on a ship crossing the ocean that he knows Loy and her father will be on, seduce her into getting into a compromising position, and then have someone burst in on them so that they can threaten her with a suit of their own. To make that work, Powell first gets married to Harlow, so that Loy would be subject to an "alienation of affection" lawsuit (a law that has since been abolished in most but not all states). Harlow isn't happy, but goes along with that because of Tracy's predicament, and because she knows she can later get a divorce.

Not surprisingly, things don't go as planned. I loved the banter between Loy and Powell, as she dislikes him at the outset, and suspects he's scheming at something, she's just not sure what. The fishing trip she and her father take him on has some priceless slapstick comedy from Powell, and it's fun to see Loy out there fishing. Things get complicated as Harlow begins falling for Powell, and the movie finishes strong, with a nice twist in what is a great final scene. The movie was worthy of its nomination for Best Picture, but it was in a year when another Powell/Loy vehicle would win it ("The Great Ziegfeld"). It's a bit odd to me that it's considered a "screwball comedy"; I don't think that's the right designation at all, but it's fun, will make you smile, and is definitely worth watching.