This a fun movie with four of Hollywood’s great talents firing on all cylinders. Spencer Tracy plays newspaper editor Walter Haggerty. He’s a fast talking, muckraking kind of guy who finds himself in a tight spot when he gets called in to work on his wedding day! His London correspondent has filed a story that socialite Connie Allenbury (Myrna Loy) was involved in some type of husband-stealing, home-wrecking, affair. The paper later figures out that this story is false and Haggerty immediately tells everyone that it was obvious their reporter was wasted when he phoned in the story!
He gives the order to halt the printing of the paper and tries to recall all the copies that have already gone out. He’s doesn’t get all of them and Allenbury is aware of what the paper printed. As if wrongly branding this fine rich chick a no-good slut isn’t bad enough, she just happens to be the daughter of a rich guy that the newspaper constantly feuds with!
Haggerty tries to smooth things over with Mr. Allenbury, but is told that Connie is going to file a libel suit against the paper and ask for five million dollars in damages!
So your newspaper is about to bite the dust. What do you do? Cook up a crazy scheme to weasel your way out of it, that’s what you do!
Haggerty gives the order to find Bill Chandler. He was the best in the biz until Haggerty fired him. After much searching, Chandler (William Powell) is located at a fancy hotel in town. Haggerty wants Chandler to be back on the payroll to get them out of this mess. He negotiates a fifty-thousand dollar fee and then Haggerty discovers that Chandler couldn’t even afford to pay his hotel bill!
The plan is for Chandler to sail to London in time to get back on the boat and sail back with the Allenburys. Then he’s going to insinuate himself into their company and eventually get himself in position to be alone with Connie.
Haggerty will then have a detective bust in on them and catch them together, proving she is a home-wrecking skank. Oh and Chandler is going to get himself married before he leaves so that she will be seen in a compromising situation with a married man!
This is going to get her to drop the lawsuit and save the newspaper and everyone will live happily ever after. What does Chandler’s wife think of all this? Well, it turns out he isn’t exactly married and Haggerty needs to find a bride for him pronto. Guess who he finds? Why, his own fiancee of course!
Jean Harlow plays the somewhat brassy Gladys and is a little reluctant to follow through on this scheme, but as is expected in these absurd comedic situations, eventually acquiesces.
The whole fake marriage scheme is put into place and Chandler meets up with the Allenburys on the boat. He tries to use all his dapper charm on Connie, but she’s used to gold diggers sniffing around and is understandably cool and distant.
So, Chandler tries to worm his way into the father’s good graces. He finds out that Mr. Allenbury is an avid fisherman, specializing in trout. Somehow Chandler gets himself invited by the old man to go on a fishing trip with him and Connie once they get back to the States.
Of course, Chandler knows nothing about fishing so Haggerty has all the equipment and a teacher sent over to the hotel suite where Chandler and Gladys are pretending to be newlyweds. Chandler practices casting and when Gladys bends over, you’re just waiting for that fish hook to snag her ass. And it does! You know, you can’t argue with the classic bits of comedy.
From here on out, it’s hijinks and emotional mayhem that will keep you thoroughly entertained in spite of the patently ridiculous plan Haggerty has cooked up.
Each of the stars was up to the task given them in this movie. Other than his films with Katherine Hepburn you may not have thought of Spencer Tracy as a comedian, but he keeps up with everyone else on the screen and more than holds his own in his exchanges with William Powell and Jean Harlow.
This was one of several teamings that Powell and Myrna Loy would enjoy, and the chemistry they shared (his classy masculinity and her smart, cool beauty) is apparent in this one. For her part, Harlow is quite sympathetic as Haggerty’s neglected girlfriend.
A smart and funny ride from beginning to end and skillfully blending both witty banter and physical comedy, Libeled Lady is essential screwball comedy viewing.
© 2010 MonsterHunter
