Sunday, May 17, 2015

Libeled Lady (1936)


Today is the first National Classic Movie Day. What better way to celebrate than write about one of my favorite movies, which also just so happens to be a Romantic Comedy. It stars four of the biggest stars of the 1930s: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Jean Harlow, and Spencer Tracy. Yep, it's Libeled Lady.


First of all, a definition of "libel":
Libel - a published false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation; a written defamation.


The following synopsis is from the TCM website (it's been a while since I've seen the movie and I don't own it on DVD yet):

The presses at The New York Evening Star stop too late to kill a false story on heiress Connie Allenbury (Loy), so she sues the paper for libel, asking $5,000,000 in damages. Warren Haggerty (Tracy), the paper's editor, would do anything to get her to drop the suit, although he is happy that it has saved him from finally taking his girl friend Gladys (Harlow) to the altar. Hoping to get themselves out of the suit, Haggerty and the owner, Mr. Bane, reluctantly track down former Star employee Bill Chandler (Powell), a specialist in libel cases. Bill tricks Haggerty into a big salary, then plans his strategy: he will marry someone in name only, then pursue Connie and have his "wife" find them in a compromising situation, thereby forcing her to drop the suit. Although she doesn't like the idea, Gladys agrees to marry Bill when Haggerty promises to marry her later. Bill arranges to meet Connie and her father, J. B. Allenbury (Connolly), and eventually she becomes attracted to him.

 
 
No one can resist that face
 
 
 
On a fishing trip, Bill begins to return her affection and he tricks Haggerty and Gladys into postponing the plans. Back in New York, Bill and Connie see each other secretly, while Gladys begins to appreciate Bill's suave attentions. When Haggerty suspects that Bill isn't doing his job, he goes to Connie to plead for the paper and runs into Bill. He then incites Gladys into going through with the plan by printing a false society column linking Bill and Connie. He follows Gladys to a charity carnival they are attending. When Mr. Allenbury hears gossip that Bill may have a wife, he warns Connie, who instead proposes to Bill. When Gladys and Haggerty go to their hotel, they discover that Bill and Connie are married and that he has told her everything.

The showdown

Bill reveals that he had discovered the day before that Gladys' Yucatan divorce from her first husband was not valid and thus her marriage to him was a fake. Gladys, however, says that she got another divorce later in Reno and really is married to Bill. She refuses to let Bill go, but Connie makes her realize that she only fell for Bill because he showed her the little kindnesses that Haggerty didn't. When the women hear the men fighting, Gladys rushes to Haggerty and they make up. Finally, Mr. Allenbury arrives and demands an explanation, which they loudly and simultaneously give him.

 
Would I ask you to do this thing for me if I didn't consider you practically my wife?


You can't build a life on hate, or a marriage on spite. Marriage is too important.
Mine only lasted an hour, but... I know.

The absolute best scene in the entire movie is when Powell, pretending to be an expert on fly-fishing, actually has to go fishing with Loy and her father, who are avid fly-fishers. You can watch the scene below:

 
               

On the set (note Powell's upside-down book)

 
Filming the scene


Another interesting aspect of the film is that at this time, Powell and Harlow were a couple. Harlow wanted to play the part of Connie so she would be the one that ended up with Powell, but the studio wanted another Powell/Low movie. Harlow had to be content with the roll of Gladys. This makes her scenes with Powell all the more interesting as she has to act as though Powell thoroughly disgusts her and her character has to pretend to be madly in love with him. She calls him and ape and bites his hand when they're alone and kisses him passionately when they're not. Unfortunately, after making just two more pictures, Harlow died 8 months after the release of Libeled Lady, leaving behind a heartbroken Powell. She was only 26.

 
 
A couple costume sketches by Dolly Tree for Harlow and Loy.

                
 
The hat from the sketch
 
If the above clips haven't encouraged you to immediately find a copy of this movie to watch, perhaps Robert Osborne can persuade you. After all, it is one of his top five favorite comedies...
 


Behind-the-scenes photos and costume sketches from the TCMDb Archives. All other pictures found via Pinterest.


This movie airs on TCM on Nov. 13th at 11pm EST.
Also, be sure to check out this awesome behind-the-scenes look at the movie by Silver Scenes.

This post is part of the My Favorite Classic Movie Blogathon hosted by Classic Film and TV Café. Be sure and check out all the other fantastic posts.

 
How did you celebrate?
Myrna flipping pancakes on the set

14 comments:

  1. Thanks for writing about this movie! It's a great one and deserves more attention!

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    1. That's one of the reasons I chose it! Everyone always gets so wrapped up in "The Thin Man" seires that they tend to not pay attention to Powell and Loy's other great films.

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  2. My father was a huge Jean Harlow fan, so when this was shown on TNT (prior to the "invention" of TCM) in the early 1980s, he taped it for me. It was, and remains, one of my favorite Jean Harlow films. I'm glad she was eventually cast as Gladys, because she and Powell are quite fun together. Love the sketches of the costumes!

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    1. This was the first film I saw Harlow in. Since then I've watched several others. She really was a great actress.

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  3. I love this movie! Myrna Loy and William Powell are never not the best. I hadn't had much interest in Jean Harlow until I saw some of her movies and realized she is a sharper actress than you would think. Wife vs. Secretary (1936) is a great one of hers, where she is the not-at-all predatory secretary to Clark Gable. Myrna Loy is the wife.

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    1. I have seen all but one of Powell and Loy's movies. This was my first Harlow film. Wife vs. Secretary was my second I think. Since then I have seen several of her films. She had such a sad life.

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  4. I'm so glad you chose this film. It is SUCH a great film and it really needs more publicity. It's a film you never tire of.

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    1. Thanks! I agree ;) I really need to get this one on dvd...

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  5. I am so happy you chose this film as well. It's one of the great comedies from the 1930s but not as well known as others. The star power is just dizzying, seriously! I'm a huge Loy/Powell fan, but I must say my favorite characters are Tracy and Harlow here, especially Harlow. It's so interesting watching her and Powell battle it out when you know about their real relationship off screen; there's no one better for her role - I'm glad they didn't give her Loy's character!

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    1. Yeah, she wouldn't have been right in Loy's character at all! This was the first film I saw with Harlow and it definitely made me want to watch more! Loy and Powell are my favorite on-screen couple :)

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  6. I have been wanting to watch this film for ages but it seems almost impossible to find in the UK - really enjoyed reading your post which confirmed that I'll probably love it. Will renew my efforts to source it here!

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    1. It's so frustrating when you want to watch a movie but can't find a copy or it costs to much to buy it! I hope you find it someday! (By the way, your comment is the 100th on this blog ;)

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  7. Hello there - I am keen to try and get a high res scan of the Dolly Tree sketch for Myrna Loy shown above to use in my biography of Dolly Tree. Do you own this still or can you let me know who does? It would be great to include. Many thanks indeed Gary (gazchappers@btinternet.com)

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