Libelled Lady

 

(1936)
Directed by Jack Conway
Written by Maurine Dallas Watkins, Howard Emmett Rogers, George Oppenheimer
Starring William Powell, Myrna Loy, Spencer Tracy, Jean Harlow, Walter Connolly
IMDB Entry

Screwball comedy is about love and romance. Despite all the frenetic action, slapstick, and fast talk, the ultimate story involves people falling for each other. A lesser known example of the form, Libelled Lady, shows it in all its glory.

It starts out with a mistake. The New York Evening Star prints a false story about the rich Connie Allenbury (Myrna Loy) without it being checked by its editor Warren Hagerty (Spencer Tracy), since he is preparing to marry his long-suffering fiancé Gladys Benton (Jean Harlow). Connie sues the paper  for $5 million,* which would put it out of business. Frantic, Hagerty hires Bill Chandler (William Powell) in a scheme to discredit Allenbury. He has Bill marry Gladys -- who objects but is forced to play along -- then send him to romance Connie. Hagerty plans to reveal to the world that Connie is with a married man. The scandal will discredit the suit, and Gladys can then divorce Bill and marry Hagerty.**

Bill sets up a meet cute as Connie boards a boat to sail to the US*** and charms her father (Walter Connolly) by pretending to be an avid fisherman, a passion of her father. Slowly, Bill and Connie fall in love, complicating the plan.  Even more complicated is the fact that Gladys begins to fall in love with Bill, too.

Powell and Loy had already become the screen's number one romantic couple from the Thin Man movies and the same romantic chemistry is shown here. Tracy's reputation as the actor's actor is obvious here; at no point does he ever seem to be acting.

Jean Harlow was at her peak. It's interesting that she ditched the Platinum blonde locks for something a bit more subdued, but she puts on a strong performance.

I did notice a plot hole that was glossed over at the end.  I don't know why the Hayes office let it pass, but it may be because the story was working toward something that was perhaps even more objectionable (see note for spoiler)****

Powell was together with Harlow at the time and wanted Connie and Gladys to switch parts, but the studio wouldn't allow it.

The movie was a hit, but Harlow's death (she only made two more movies after this) cast a pall over it over the years.

__________________________________________________________
*Almost $120 million today

**An extremely convoluted plan, which is unlikely to work out even under the best of circumstances. But that's why they call it "screwball."

***Even more convoluted: Bill has to sail to England in order to get to the ship back to the U.S.

****The final scene deals with the fact that Gladys was previously married and then divorced. Bill shows that the divorce was invalid, so their marriage was bigamous and illegal. Gladys says she got a legal divorce later, making the marriage between Connie and Bill illegal. This is not dealt with. However, there are obvious grounds for annulment of the marriage, but the censors probably didn't want to talk about non-consummation.