La donna del giorno

It's always a pleasant surprise to run into one of Myrna Loy and William Powell's legendary pairings. "Libeled Lady" was even more pleasant than usual! Spencer Tracy is marvelous as the too smooth operator, while Harlow shrills her way through the film, stealing every scene.

Still and all, the real selling point of this film is the clever drawing room dialogue and rat-a-tat-tat delivery! One does not see this type of intelligent comedic script come out of Hollywood these days. Full of double entendre, perfectly honed sarcasm and beautifully timed quips, this film keeps you smiling, even as you wince at Powell's adept physical comedy, full of falls and falls and falls.

As for his co-star, watching Loy glow on screen is always magic, the moments that she raises an eyebrow and drops in a gem of a line, well, there's the real abracadabra...

One might wonder about casting 4 heavyweights in the same film-- any one of the leads could carry a film by themselves-- but all together you're afraid that they might either weigh down the film or, ala the "Dream Team" 1990, fail to live up to expectations. But this is one time you time you will not be disappointed-- with hysterical antics by Jean Harlowe, the always dependable repartee between classy Myrna Lowe and suave William Powell, and Spencer Tracy proving for the first time that he can handle snappy dialogue like the best of 'em-- the chemistry between the cast makes every scene in this film a delight.

The banter flies so fast you'll miss it-- this is the height of screwball comedy. When people say they don't write them like this anymore, alas, they really don't.

William Powell must have loved the year 1936. It was the year he made "The Great Ziegfeld" (which won the best picture Oscar), "My Man Godfrey"(for which he was nominated for best actor), and one of the best screwball romantic comedies ever made. That picture would be "Libeled Lady". Although this film is widely viewed,with good reason, as one of Jean Harlow's best films, I think that Powell steals the picture and runs away with the best performance.

Not that the rest of the cast is too shabby, either. Myrna Loy as the titled character, and Spencer Tracy as a newspaper editor from Hell, add to the madness and mayhem. And Harlow is at her best in her role as a woman who is engaged to Tracy, and married to Powell. That's as far as I'll go as far as the plot is concerned. Just see the movie.

One of the best points about this film is the fact that it was made before the production code was put in place. Movies like this could be much freer with sexual situations and dialogue, while still leaving much to the imagination.

The film is directed at breakneck speed by Jack Conway, who smartly, gets out of the way and lets his wonderful actors take over.

If you haven't seen "Libeled Lady" yet, you must make a point of watching for it the next time it's on Turner Classic Movies. Then tape it. You'll be glad you did. You'll want to watch it over and over again.

9 out of 10

This movie is over 70 years old but is far better than what mostly comes out of the film industry these days. The picture is genuinely funny and all the performers are excellent. In brief a newspaper who have libeled a lady need to get her legal action against them stopped to prevent the newspaper going out of business so they devise a plot to set up their victim. There are all sorts of comical twists and turns and plenty of good gags and amusing moments. The movie is very well directed, has an excellent script and the voters here on IMDb have got the high mark exactly right. Well done to Turner Classic Movies for showing this on their channel:

8/10

Spencer Tracy, William Powell, Myrna Loy, and Jean Harlow star in "Libeled Lady," about the attempts to convince a society woman to drop a lawsuit against a newspaper.

Spencer Tracy is a scream in his role of a newspaper editor who has been engaged to Jean Harlow for some time, but his work keeps getting in the way of their marriage and relationship. His whole life revolves around his newspaper. When an heiress, played by Loy, sues the newspaper for libel, Tracy puts William Powell to work, hoping that by photographing them together, he can convince Loy to drop the suit. But it will only work if Powell is a married man caught cheating, so Tracy convinces Harlow to marry him.

Harlow is her usual feisty self. Powell is marvelous, especially in his fishing scenes, which are classics, especially the one in which he literally chases a trout through a stream. It's laugh out loud material if there ever was any. Loy has the least showy part, though she's quite beautiful and works well with Powell, portending great things to come.

This is a very enjoyable film with Tracy milking the comedy for all it's worth. Apparently his comedic work was a revelation back then, unlike today, when we know how adept he was at it.