Whipsaw

Whipsaw (1935)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Myrna Loy is in with jewel thieves when she runs into another mug (Spencer Tracy) who's actually an undercover cop. Loy, knowing his real identity, plays along and the two hit the road with Tracy hoping she'll lead him to her gang. Considering the talent involve you have to put this one down as a minor disappointment even though there's still a lot of stuff to enjoy. The biggest problem with the film is that it's rather flat and doesn't contain too much energy outside of the performances. It seems the film never knew if it wanted to be a drama, a romantic comedy or perhaps just a romantic melodrama. It doesn't really do any of them things very well as there aren't too many laughs and the drama isn't really there as the story is pretty predictable. What does work is the romantic angle thanks in large part to the wonderful performances by Loy and Tracy. Loy makes for a terrific leading lady and comes off quite sensitive to the point where you have no problem seeing why the agent Tracy would fall for her. Tracy plays it pretty tough and believable but has no trouble sinking into his wonderful charm. The two of them together makes for a great couple and they certainly keep the rather standard screenplay going. John Qualen plays a farmer who the leads meet half way through the film and he delivers nice work as well. While there's no question a stronger screenplay would have done wonders with the film there's also no doubt that Loy and Tracy really shine here. Fans of the stars will probably find themselves enjoying this a lot more due to them.

Spencer Tracy is an FBI man who pretends he's a con man to capture Myrna Loy and her fellow criminals in "Whipsaw," a 1935 film. When Loy's confederates steal valuable pearls, Tracy attaches himself to her so she will lead him to the robbers and the pearls. The only problem is, Loy is onto him.

This is a meandering story and not up the level of either actor. Loy is very beautiful and Tracy is appealing, but they're burdened by a silly plot that has them driving, riding in an airplane, and staying in hotels without much else going on. There is a nice sequence when a horrible rainstorm traps them at a farmhouse where they help an expectant mother give birth to twins. That whole section is the best part of the film.

The stars are very good together and probably in 1935 this went over a lot better. But now we know what Tracy and Loy were capable of, so "Whipsaw" is disappointing.

Myrna Loy play Vivian, a woman who helps a gang of jewel thieves, but not on this particular heist of some pearls. A rival gang knows that Vivian is associated with the thieves, and is watching her so that when she heads off to rendezvous with the gang that they can follow her to the pearls. And this rival gang does not consist of nice guys. They have no problem with killing people who get in their way.

Spencer Tracy is a federal agent pretending to be an ex-con so he can travel along with Vivian and apprehend the jewel thieves when she unwittingly leads him to them. But Vivian realizes he is a cop and is trying to find a way to get away from him without letting him know that she knows.

Then they run into a bad rainstorm out in the middle of nowhere and stop at the house of a man whose wife is having a baby - two of them actually. And it is there that everything changes in a way you could probably write yourself if you:

1. Are familiar with how MGM of the 1930s often shoehorned these rustic scenes into films to get the city slickers to come to their senses.

2. realize the vagaries of the production code.

3. can paint by numbers

The acting is the real reason to hang around. Myrna Loy is playing the elegant person she portrayed in so many films made after The Thin Man. Spencer Tracy is in the final phase of his "tough guy" era which he was in over at Fox and at first at MGM, even if he is just pretending to be a tough guy here. And in fact he is portraying somebody who is acting, which can't be easy to do subtly. It is interesting to see how the two play off of each other and attempt to keep up a believable front.

It's a very complicated story about cross and double-cross. Spencer Tracy is an undercover cop masquerading as a crook. He picks up Myrna Loy to lead him to the the mugs who have stolen some very expensive pearls. She makes him immediately, and tries to use him to throw off the tails. What she doesn't known is that she is carrying the pearls herself.

Sam Wood directs for romance rather than laughs, and it doesn't quite work. Tracy is not a romantic lead, no matter how James Wong Howe lights the leads. Apparently this was intended as a role for William Powell, and you can see the sort of romantic lushness that would have echoed ONE-WAY PASSAGE, but second-rate hotels in Kansas City, whether it's Kansas or Missouri, don't do much for the ambience, nor does Tracy spending much of show talking slang out of the side of his mouth help, no matter how beautiful Miss Loy is.

Ed Dexter and Harry Ames are a jewel thief team. Doc Evans and Steve Arnold lead a rival team. They threaten Ed and Harry over a valuable target. Ed and Harry turn them in with an anonymous call to the cops. Ed and Harry manage to steal the jewels while their rivals are in custody. The cops know that Vivian Palmer (Myrna Loy) is connected to the thieves. Agent Ross McBride (Spencer Tracy) goes undercover as a crook named Danny Ackerman and makes contact with Vivian.

Vivian is too obvious with her disbelief of Danny right from the start. She should hide it a lot better than that. Also I don't buy their romance. That's the biggest issue. It feels forced. The whole story feels a bit forced. I do love Tracy and Loy as individual performers. In another movie, they may be a good pairing.