Console
best movie i've ever seen.
ThedevilChoose
When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.
BelSports
This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.
drednm
This film was originally devised as a starring vehicle for Marion Davies and William Powell. Powell had co-starred in Davies' 1922 mega-hit WHEN KNIGHTHOOD WAS IN FLOWER. The roles of Gladys and Warren were originally supporting roles. After Davies left MGM in 1934, the script was altered to beef up the roles of Gladys and Warren to take advantage of Jean Harlow's rise to stardom. Rosalind Russell was then seen as Connie, but the role eventually went to Myrna Loy to take advantage of the success of THE THIN MAN.Story has a not-so-ditzy heiress (Loy) threatening a lawsuit against a newspaper that printed false stories about her. The editor (Spencer Tracy) realizes the lawsuit will ruin the paper and so devises a plan to trap Loy with a fake suitor (Powell) and expose her for real. Part of the plot is to have Powell "married" to Harlow so the paper can play up Loy as a homewrecker.Of course Loy turns out to be a thoughtful and decent lady and Powell (as the cad out to trap her) falls for her. In the meantime, Harlow sets out to make Tracy jealous by pretending to fall for Powell, but then she does for real.As the film nears its finale, all sorts of complications and truths come out as the four stars confront each other. Marvelous comedy would have been a showcase for Marion Davies, but Loy, Powell, Tracy, and Harlow are all just fine. Walter Connolly co-stars as the dithering father. Others include Cora Witherspoon, Billy Benedict, Hal K. Dawson, George Chandler, Charley Grapewin, Bunny Beatty, and Spencer Charters.
Antonius Block
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.
Robert J. Maxwell
This movie wasn't as entertaining as I expected it to be, considering it's been touted as one of the 30s best examples of screwball comedy.The problem is not with the direction, which is competent enough, and certainly not with the performers. William Powell, Spencer Tracy, Myrna Loy, and Jean Harlow. How could they go wrong? They fit perfectly into their diverse niches.No, it's the screenplay that is lacking. It prances along, accompanied by chipper music, but the dialog does not scintillate, neither do the awkward situations provoke laughs.William Powell is trying to seduce high-maintenance Myrna Loy and to succeed he must get close to her father by pretending to be an expert fisherman, and fishing is a topic he knows nothing about. Howard Hawks did it at least as well in "Man's Favorite Sport," one of Hawks' lesser efforts.Well, "Libeled Lady" has its reputation, and maybe at the time I was suffering from another attack of agenbite of inwit, a diagnosis my psychiatrist has foisted on me, along with those curious pills that do nothing for the disease except make you not mind having it. Maybe you'll get more out of it.
vincentlynch-moonoi
I had only watched this movie once before, and watched it this time specifically because I am reading the new Spencer Tracy biography. There is one trait of Tracy's acting which is brought up over and over in the biography, and one that I recognized long ago since Tracy is one of my two favorite actors -- call it what you will either subtlety or understatement. But as I have watched so many of Tracy's movies over the past few years, I have realized that in his earlier years, Tracy did not always utilize that trait. Perhaps he hadn't fully realized that it was underplaying roles that was what made him a true movie star. You'll see it in "Fury" (1936) and "San Francisco" (1936), but you won't see it here. Here Tracy is just another actor, and that's fine, but this is not one of those Tracy roles that one will savor. Then again, it's a screwball comedy, so perhaps director Jack Conway didn't allow Tracy to play the role in that manner.It is a funny concept -- newspaper slanders a young society dame (Myrna Loy) and she and her father (Walter Connolly) sue. One of the newspaper's bigwigs (Tracy) gets the idea to hire a sort of slick playboy reporter (William Powell) to romance Loy and get something on her...hence the lawsuit will disappear. But of course, there are drastic complications.Tracy and Jean Harlow may have gotten equal billing here with Powell and Loy, but make no mistake, this is really a Powell and Loy picture...and particularly Powell. In fact, although I'm a dedicated Tracy fan, I've never seen Powell more engaging and funny. The best lines are his, and the fishing segment is hilarious.Highly recommended comedy with fine performances by Powell and Loy...perhaps better than they were in the Thin Man series. And a special recognition for character actor Walter Connolly. Well worth a spot on your DVD shelf.
