Libeled Lady [Blu-ray]

Overview

In this film, William Powell and Myrna Loy star as Bill Chandler and Connie Allenbury. She's an heiress, while he's a former newspaper man. Bill is enlisted by his ex-boss to get the goods on Connie, who turns around and sues the paper for libel.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/24/2020
UPC:	0883929729715
Original Release:	1936
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Presentation:	[B&W]
Language:	English
Time:	1:38:00
Sales rank:	5,561

Special Features

WB Comedy Short Keystone Hotel; MGM Short New Shoes; MGM Cartoon Little Cheeser; Audio-Only Leo Is on the Air Radio Promo; Theatrical Trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Myrna Loy	Connie Allenbury
William Powell	Bill Chandler
Spencer Tracy	Warren Haggerty
Jean Harlow	Gladys
Walter Connolly	Allenbury
Charley Grapewin	Blane,Mr. Bane
Cora Witherspoon	Mrs. Burns-Norvell
E.E. Clive	Fishing Instructor
Bunny Beatty	Babs
Otto Yamaoka	Ching
Charles Trowbridge	Graham
Spencer Charters	Magistrate McCall
George Chandler	Bellhop
Greta Meyer	Connie's Maid
Billy Benedict	Joe
Hal K. Dawson	Harvey Allen
Fred Graham	Press Man
William Stack	Editor
Selmer Jackson	Adams, Editor of Washington Chronicle,Adams, Editor of Washington Chronicle
William 'Billy' Newell	Divorce Detective
Duke York	Taxi Driver
Pat West	Detective
Edwin Stanley	Clerk
Wally Maher	Photographer
Pinky Parker	Photographer,Butler
Harry Lash	Photographer
Pat Somerset	Photographer
Tom Mahoney	Alex
Richard Tucker	Barker
Libby Taylor	Tiny, Gladys' Maid
Eric Lonsdale	Reporter
Olaf Hytten	Reporter
Charles Irwin	Steward
Eddie Shubert	Mac, the Circulation Editor
George Davis	Waiter
Thomas Pogue	Minister
Myra Marsh	Secretary
Hattie McDaniel	Maid in Hall
Howard Hickman	Cable Editor
James T. Mack	Pop
Jack Mulhall	Barker
Dennis O'Keefe	Barker
Charles King	Barker,Charles Archibald, the Lawyer
Nick Thompson	Hot Dog Stand Man
Inez Palange	Fortune Teller
Harry C. Bradley	Justice of Peace
Bodil Rosing	Wife of Justice of Peace
Robin Adair	Palmer, the English Reporter
Sherry Hall	Denver Courier Editor
Alphonse Martell	Table Captain
Eric Wilton	Steward on Dock
Jay Eaton	Dance Extra
Ralph Brooks	Dance Extra
Norman Ainsley	Actor
William Axt	Composer

Technical Credits

George Oppenheimer

Maurine Dallas Watkins

Wallace Sullivan

Howard Emmet Rogers

Maurine Watkins

Jack Conway	Director
George Oppenheimer	Screenwriter
Maurine Dallas Watkins	Screenwriter
Wallace Sullivan	Screenwriter
Howard Emmet Rogers	Screenwriter
Lawrence Weingarten	Producer
Maurine Watkins	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

While Libeled Lady is not one of the greatest screwball comedies, it is still a good, very funny representative of the genre, and contains a truly classic fishing sequence. That it misses making it into the top tier is due to minor problems with the script and direction. The former feels a little underdeveloped, as if the four credited screenwriters were too busy concentrating on bits of business and funny lines to devote enough attention to fully developing the characters and justifying the turns of plot. Jack Conway's direction is also a little too consistently raucous, robbing some of the sequences of their impact. However, this is a small price to pay, and the lightning pace certainly has its own benefits. Of the film's luminous quartet, Spencer Tracy might seem the odd man out, but he, in fact, gives a marvelously outsized performance and is unafraid to appear out-and-out silly when the occasion calls for it. William Powell is silky smooth, using his self-deprecating humor to good effect, and Myrna Loy is both sassy and sophisticated. Jean Harlow is vibrant, working her special magic on the proceedings and proving that few actresses of the period could equal her way with a one-liner.