|
|
Rating:  - Nothing Sacred
The DVD case says the film is B&W. Unfortunately the DVD is technicolor. Video quality is blurry, washed out and unwatchable. I would have preferred a crisp B&W version. This version is a waste of time and money. Could not even finish watching this DVD because of the poor quality.
Rating:  - A Movie of its era
Nothing Sacred falls into the madcap comedy genre. Carol Lombard is terrific as a woman who thought she was dying and then isn't. The story illustrates some timeless truths -- namely that lies take on a life of their own. The importance of the press dates the film -- the newspaper publisher is all-powerful, sort of a William Randolf Hearst character. The movie raises some moral questions that are relevant today -- when the dying girl isn't going to die, people are actually disappointed. One note that dates the film: The portrayal of African-Americans is stereotypic for the era and may even be considered offensive.
Rating: - for good clean fun, there's nothing like a wake
Nothing Sacred is considered a screwball comedy; but I'm afraid I have to differ to some degree. I thought the humor was lukewarm although the plot moves along at a good pace. The convincing acting held my attention and the choreography worked well in scenes involving crowds and hotel rooms.
When the movie begins, we meet Wally Cook (Fredric March), a newspaper reporter who has just cost his paper, The Morning Star, some embarrassment with a phony story. Although Wally gets a rotten demotion he soon convinces his boss Oliver Stone (Walter Connolly) that he has a sure-fire plan to get the biggest scoop in town. There's a lady in Vermont who is stricken with radium poisoning for which there is no cure and Wally wants to bring her to town (New York) and play it up for the newspaper to become hot stuff again.
Guess what? This stricken young lady, Hazel Flagg (Carole Lombard), is just about to learn that she's not ill--at all. Wally Cook comes to Vermont to escort her and her pal Dr. Enoch Downer (Charles Winninger) to New York, thinking all the while that she's dying and that the paper is getting an exclusive scoop on the story. Hazel wants to enjoy and have some fun--so she concocts a scheme of her own. Instead of telling Wally and the other New Yorkers that she's well, she lets them think she's dying as they throw lavish parties in her honor and give her the key to the city.
But not long after there's a major fly in the ointment. An Austrian radium poisoning expert, Dr. Emil Eggelhoffer (Sig Ruman), comes to New York with his associates--and he wants to see if he can help this poor dying girl--who's not really dying at all.
Of course, from here the plot can go nearly anywhere. Will Dr. Eggelhoffer find out the truth about Hazel not being ill? If so, what will he do--will he spread the word and ruin the newspaper's now phony scoop? What about Hazel and Wally--how will their relationship develop over time, especially if Wally learns the truth about Hazel being in perfectly good health?
I recommend this movie for fans of Carole Lombard, Fredric March and the director William Wellman. Look also for a brief but very good performance by Margaret Hamilton as the Vermont drugstore lady; Margaret played this role just two years before she played the wicked witch in The Wizard Of Oz. I must admit that the humor wasn't as good as I expected. Nevertheless, the film has its good moments and great cinematography; and the dialogue works while the plot develops nicely.
Four stars.
Rating:  - Carole Lombard is adorable in this screwball slapstick
This is a screwball comedy about a young woman named Hazel Flagg (Carole Lombard) from a small town of Warsaw, Vermont is supposedly dying of radium poisoning. Wally Cook (Fredric March), a New York newspaper reporter writes a series of stories about her; the readers learn about Hazel and they get caught up with this story. Emotions run high, sympathy flows, and soon Hazel becomes the toast of New York.
When a team of doctors examine Hazel, the truth comes out; she is not dying, the situation becomes a farce, and may cost Wally his job; by this time Hazel is in love with Wally. Therefore instead of hurting his career, she decides to fake her suicide by drowning during a cruise trip. Wally rush to save her but only to be saved by Hazel, because he can't swim. There are some fine moments in the movie, my favorites are; the fight scene between Wally and Hazel when he tries to give her symptoms of pneumonia to cover up his misreporting. The entire scene is completely offbeat, and hilarious. Secondly, when Hazel in a fireman's hat rescues Wally in the drowning scene; disaster turns into laughter. Carole Lombard offers outstanding performance as an innocent small town girl caught between love and pride; small town and big city. She is not only beautiful but adorable as a helpless girl from a rural town.
Max Rosenbloom, a well known boxer at that time has a cameo role and gives Hazel boxing lessons to prepare her for her fight scene with Wally. Ben Hecht adapted this story from a letter published in Hearst's International-Cosmopolitan by James Street, and the movie was produced by David Selznick. It was later revealed that Hecht wanted John Barrymore to be casted for the film, but David Selznick refused, since Barrymore was a confirmed alcoholic.
Rating: - "Hollywood's Golden Age of Classic Comedies (2006) ... Passport Video"
Passport Video and Koch Entertainment Distribution present "CLASSIC COMEDIES FROM HOLLYWOOD'S GOLDEN AGE" (Dolby digitally remastered) --- relive the laughter from Hollywood's Golden Age...spanning the early years of comedy ('20s--'40s) --- this collection features signature films from comedy's greatest names...besides that you just discovered the essential collection of classic comedy performances --- this compilation features more hours of the best routines in comedy history than you could shake a stick at...laugh along with your favorite film, scene and actors that keep you coming back for more.
15 Fabulously Funny Feature Films (in alphabetical order in which they appear)
1. FATHER'S LITTLE DIVIDEND (1951) Spencer Tracy, Elizabeth Taylor & Joan Bennett
2. GENERAL, THE (1927 Buster Keaton
3. GOLD RUSH, THE (1925) Charlie Chaplin
4. HIS GIRL FRIDAY (1940) Cary Grant & Rosalind Russell
5. INSPECTOR GENERAL,THE (1949) Danny Kaye & Elsa Lanchester
6. JUDGE PRIEST (1934) Will Rogers & Hattie McDaniel
7. LIFE WITH FATHER (1947) William Powell, Elizabeth Taylor & Irene Dunne
8. MILKY WAY,THE (1936) Harold Lloyd & Adolphe Menjou
9. MR. ROBINSON CRUSOE (1932) Douglas Fairbanks Sr.
10. MY MAN GODFREY (1936) William Powell & Carole Lombard
11. NOTHING SACRED (1937) Fredric March & Carole Lombard
12. PALOOKA (1934) Stu Erwin & Jimmy Durante
13. SPEAK EASILY (1932) Buster Keaton & Jimmy Durante
14. THAT UNCERTAIN FEELING (1941) Merle Oberon & Melvyn Douglas
15. TOPPER RETURNS (1941) Joan Blondell & Roland Young
Great job by Passport Video for releasing "Classic Comedies From Hollywood's Golden Age", the digital transfere with a somewhat clean and clear print...looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage era of the '20s, '30s & '40s ... order your copy now from Amazon or Passport Video where there are plenty of copies available on DVD, stay tuned once again for top notch performances mixed with laughter ... they're funny, they're sad, but most of all they're passionate ... here's a side-splitting collectioin of classic comedies that appeal to every sense of humor from slapstick to sophisticated --- they say that laughter is always the best medicine, try some you just might like it..
Total Time: 1315 mins on 5-DVD's ~ Passport Video DVD #5870 ~ (7/11/2006)
|
|