"Libeled Lady" gives Jean Harlow, William Powell, Myrna Loy and Spencer Tracy co-top billing in this romantic comedy about a newspaper editor who sets up an elaborate ruse to keep an heiress from going through with a libel suit that could potentially shut down his newspaper if lost. Spencer Tracy plays the editor Warren Haggerty, who when he discovers that his newspaper published a story wrongfully accusing Connie Allenbury (Myrna Loy) of husband stealing, hatches a plan to head off the libel suit. Somehow, after leaving her on his wedding day to attend to the paper, Haggerty convinces his fiance Gladys Benton (Jean Harlow) to agree to marry his former reporter Bill Chandler (played by William Powell) and conspire with him to turn the tables on Connie. Are you with me here? Because it is all a bit confusing at first. So evidently Bill is contracted to seduce Connie and put her in a position where Gladys will walk in on them and cause enough of a scene in order to alert the media. The plan then is that the embarrassment of the ordeal will convince Connie to drop the suit. You have to swallow some feelings of incredulity here that first of all Gladys would agree to all this and Chandler is some suave ladies' man who can charm Connie into dropping this suit. William Powell is a fine actor but I never really see him as a leading man. With his average looks and wisecracking personality, I'm surprised he wasn't pigeonholed into supporting character roles. Although the film is co-billed with the four of them, it is really just another William Powell-Myrna Loy film, with Tracy and Harlow mostly playing supporting roles. The acting and comedic timing is first rate by all, but the wrting and editing are hit-and-miss at times. Overall it is an entertaining film worth a watch if anything to see Jean Harlow in one of her last films.

In the best movies of the thirties, the stars are glib (in the best way) and glamorous. Libeled Lady is blessed with a clever script that serves up fastballs that the cast handles adroitly. And I have to credit the amazing wardrobe by Dolly Tree, made all the more remarkable as she was responsible for the wardrobes of 23 films in 1936. Loy's wardrobe, in particular, is impeccable.This was the 5th in the series of William Powell/Myrna Loy pairings. They were cranking them out at a rate of about 2 per year during this period, so you might think that the chemistry between them would be stale or formulaic. But in Libeled Lady, the chemistry is fresh and the relationship between their characters is not just another Thin Man performance.Then there are Spencer Tracy and Jean Harlow. Tracy is adept at the machine-gun delivery required by this (screwball) comedy, and Harlow just shines, showing more depth of character and emotion than she is sometimes given credit for. After Libeled Lady, she only acted in two films, so the screen never saw what greater depths of performance she might have achieved. (She died of uremic poisoning during the filming of Saratoga Trunk)The plot involves a newspaperman (Powell), good at the con, who ingratiates himself to a wealthy young woman (Loy) and her father in order to set her up for a blackmail situation. She suspects his motives, but he manages to pull her in. Plenty of plot curves ensue, adding humor and more character development.I particularly liked the fishing scene. Without much dialogue it advances the plot, provides some laughs and shows that Dolly Tree can even make Myrna Loy look sexy in fishing gear.

I had only watched this movie once before, and watched it this time specifically because I am reading the new Spencer Tracy biography. There is one trait of Tracy's acting which is brought up over and over in the biography, and one that I recognized long ago since Tracy is one of my two favorite actors -- call it what you will either subtlety or understatement. But as I have watched so many of Tracy's movies over the past few years, I have realized that in his earlier years, Tracy did not always utilize that trait. Perhaps he hadn't fully realized that it was underplaying roles that was what made him a true movie star. You'll see it in "Fury" (1936) and "San Francisco" (1936), but you won't see it here. Here Tracy is just another actor, and that's fine, but this is not one of those Tracy roles that one will savor. Then again, it's a screwball comedy, so perhaps director Jack Conway didn't allow Tracy to play the role in that manner.It is a funny concept -- newspaper slanders a young society dame (Myrna Loy) and she and her father (Walter Connolly) sue. One of the newspaper's bigwigs (Tracy) gets the idea to hire a sort of slick playboy reporter (William Powell) to romance Loy and get something on her...hence the lawsuit will disappear. But of course, there are drastic complications.Tracy and Jean Harlow may have gotten equal billing here with Powell and Loy, but make no mistake, this is really a Powell and Loy picture...and particularly Powell. In fact, although I'm a dedicated Tracy fan, I've never seen Powell more engaging and funny. The best lines are his, and the fishing segment is hilarious.Highly recommended comedy with fine performances by Powell and Loy...perhaps better than they were in the Thin Man series. And a special recognition for character actor Walter Connolly. Well worth a spot on your DVD shelf.

Connie Allenbury (Myrna Loy) is suing a newspaper for $5 million. The editor Haggerty (Spencer Tracy) realizes that he has to hire back Bill Chandler (William Powell), a man he previously sacked, as Bill is the "best in the business". Bill comes up with the scheme to catch Connie in a compromising situation with himself and use this as a bribe to stop her from filing her lawsuit. First, he must marry Gladys (Jean Harlow) for maximum impact on scandal factor. However, Gladys is engaged to Haggerty and can't stand Bill! This makes for a humorous beginning. The rest of the film follows Bill's attempts to entrap Connie. Gladys and some photographers are to storm in and catch Bill and Connie together, and thus save the newspaper. Things don't go as planned...The film has an excellent cast. I think William Powell steals the acting honours but that is just opinion. Jean Harlow has some fantastic outfits - check out those fluffy sleeves! - and the sets are great. The film is funny with an enjoyable cast that breeze through this easy-going film.Sometimes the dialogue can be delivered in that slightly too rapid fashion but it is never irritating. The ending is all rather convenient but so what. I also think it would have been funnier and created more tension between Bill and Heggarty if Bill had suggested that he marry Gladys instead of Heggarty. Poor Gladys has continually had her wedding day scuppered by Heggarty's dedication to his newspaper. Bill could have really added insult to injury by suggesting the idea of himself marrying Gladys. I never quite knew how the film would end with both Gladys and Connie falling for Bill and I found this added an extra dimension of interest to the story. As the story progresses, we see Gladys and Bill getting more and more friendly.The film transports you into another time - black and white film world - and it's great being there.