☆ ☆ ☆
Nothing Sacred (1937) – W. Wellman
I’ll admit that I was a little underwhelmed by
Nothing Sacred (screenplay by Ben Hecht, directed by William Wellman) although I
do see the blackness of the comedy here (despite the technicolor) which focuses
on how New York responds to the heart-wrenching story of young Hazel Flagg
(Carole Lombard) who has been diagnosed with radium poisoning and is soon to
die (but the comedy lies in the fact that it isn’t true and she’s scamming
everyone but perhaps rather innocently). Frederic March is the reporter (Wally
Cook) who sees the value (for his
career) in the personal interest story for his newspaper and travels to Vermont
to pick up Hazel and bring her to the big city for one final trip of a
lifetime. The daffy dipsomaniac doctor who made the errant diagnosis is also
along for the junket. The tension builds as we wonder how soon everyone will
find out that Hazel just isn’t sick and the implications of this for Cook’s
job, their budding romance, and, well, the investment of all those kind hearted
people who have put forward their public acknowledgment of Hazel’s bravery (and
encouraged people to join them). The point is that everyone’s out to make a
profit or to boost their own images/egos on the back of Hazel’s sad misfortune –
that is, nothing’s sacred. But alas the
film isn’t really very funny (not really screwball either – too slow and not
sharp enough for that) apart from some sight gags that wryly go by without
comment. A little bit racist and sexist
too. However, Lombard and March are good
as usual, even if the character actors in bit parts aren’t of the calibre found
elsewhere. Start with Sturges or Hawks.
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