Le 4 perle

There are some good scenes but in general there's a forced contrivance to the playing, and the action scenes are amateurish. The plot of jewel thieves is preposterous and annoyingly depicted. Tracy and Loy are good as always but not enough to overcome a general feeling of lifelessness. However, John Qualen appears about 2/3 through and adds a spark by breathing life into the country-farmer cliche.

A trio of thieves plans to steal a set of pearls. They follow them across the Atlantic and abscond with them in New York City. But their actions are being monitored by the Department of Justice and a rival gang.

Vivian Palmer (Myrna Loy), who is one of the jewel thieves, teams up with Ross McBride (Spencer Tracy) to elude the police and their other ruthless pursuers. But neither trusts the other. Circumstances force them to pool their resources and efforts, and they learn more about each other. The term "whipsaw" relates to McBride's feeling of being torn between two opposing allegiances.

Myrna Loy really holds this film together. She displays layers of emotions and confusion as her character attempts to play both sides against the other. This is a good romance; the chemistry between Loy and Tracy is strong.

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.

Government agent Ross McBride is on the trail of stolen pearls. Pretending to be a crook, he tags onto Vivian Palmer on a cross country trail in the hope that she will lead him to her partners. However, she quickly discovers the truth, which puts each of them in a difficult position.

A film which flows smoothly throughout and one which works on two levels, as a crime drama and a love story, even if an unlikely one at the start. Add in the talents of Myrna Loy and Spencer Tracy and it becomes something which is worth watching.

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.