Libeled Lady

Here is the story of a newspaper trying to get out of libel suits and creating a love…rectangle?  Warren Haggerty (Spencer Tracy) is an important newspaper man and has called his wedding off once again because of a printed emergency.  His paper just ran a story about Connie Allenburry (Myrna Loy) that claims she’s a marriage breaker, now she’s filed a five million dollar claim against the paper.  His fiancé, Gladys (Jean Harlow), is furious that he’s put the newspaper before her once again.  Warren and his old writer friend, Bill Chandler (William Powell), form a plot where Bill will marry Gladys (just temporarily) so that he can be seduced by Connie and Gladys will catch them.  Surely, Connie will drop her claim after really being caught?  But it’s not that simple and unexpected sparks begin to fly.

This film is a case of good ol’ classic comedy.  It’s never as outrageous or slap stick as Abbot and Costello or The Three Stooges.  Libeled Lady is the sort of ‘30’s comedy for an intelligent audience.  The most physical comedy we find is when Bill is fishing, and the dip is refreshing.

There’s also a good deal of romance, well, it’s a kind of screwball romance.  Characters pretend to be together and talk ridiculous mush while others must pretend to have no relationship.  When the real and unexpected relationships start to kindle, the audience may be conflicted.  Some oppose, knowing the whole scheme will be lost and others cry ‘yes!’ because Myrna Loy and William Powell are such a dreamy couple.

And that’s where we learn some fun facts about early cinema.  This is only the fifth of fourteen films where Myrna Loy and William Powell are paired up as a romantic couple.  We’ll see this again in The Great Zeigfeld later in the week.  At the time when this film was made, Jean Harlow and William Powell were a real couple and pushed for Harlow to play Connie, but MGM knew that audiences wanted Loy and Powell together (like an old-timey fantasy Bradgelina).

I think I’ve said before how I despise most screwball romantic comedies, but this I enjoyed.  It’s not too romantic, doesn’t try to be too funny and just doesn’t get anywhere near all those things that makes me hate today’s romantic comedies.  If you enjoy older film, classic comedy with a touch of romance then Libeled Lady is a perfect fit.  If you enjoy today’s romantic comedies, I encourage you to branch out and sample their previous generations.  It could be a refreshing break from Jennifer Aniston’s cleavage.

“She may be his wife, but she’s engaged to me!”

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

Longfellow Deeds (Gary Cooper) is a small town man who writes postcard poetry and plays the tuba.  When his distant uncle dies and leaves him twenty million dollars, he heads to New York.  Assuming that he’s an ignorant sap, lawyers and business men instantly flock around him to swindle him out of his money.  Mr. Deeds’ isn’t so daft, but when he stumbles upon a lady in distress he falls for her immediately, not realizing that she’s a newspaper reporter.  Babe (Jean Arthur), the reporter, sticks to Deeds’ side to expose and exaggerate all the wonderfully odd things about Deeds.  She doesn’t realize it, but she’s falling in love with him and the more she writes about him the worse she feels.  When Deeds decides to do something honorable with his new money, the articles are used against him to claim that he’s insane and not fit to handle such a grand amount of money.

If anyone read that and said, “Hey, didn’t that movie have Adam Sandler in it?” …shame on you.  Alright, I’ll try to take that back, but still, Sandler can’t hold a candle to the great Gary Cooper.  Also, Sandler is good at portraying a dope.  You know, he makes funny voices, sings The Hanukkah Song and he was the freakin’ water boy for heaven’s sake!   Sigh, I guess it’s alright today, since Mr. Deeds is supposed to be a kinda dopey guy, but in the good-hearted fun way, not the over-the-top goofy ‘but-mama-says’ Sandler way.

I’ve only seen parts of the Sandler Deeds (the urge to vomit was too extreme).  The original Deeds never even caused a hiccup.  The story is sweet without stupidity, Cooper inspires genuine laughter (and does the little echo scene so well).  If this film seems interesting to you, please see the original.  If you really are a diehard Sandler fan, see both.

Sadly, I can imagine this film being remade again with an even goofier guy.  Just imagine the crap Justin Bieber will be cranking out in fifteen years.

“That guy is either the dumbest, stupidest, most imbecilic idiot in the world, or else he’s the grandest thing alive. I can’t make him out.”