Reporter Wallace Cook has been demoted to writing obituaries after being taken in by a charlatan who went on to humiliate his boss when he was exposed. Hoping to return to 'proper' reporting he manages to persuade his boss to let him write a piece about a Vermont girl, Hazel Flagg, who is dying of radium poisoning. He heads to Vermont to find her but just before they meet she learns that the doctor has made a mistake… one would expect her to be happy but the company she worked for had offered her a trip to see the sights of New York before she died and she was desperate to get out of her small town.When Wallace tells her that his paper wants to take her to New York and give her the best visit ever she doesn't hesitate to accept; surely it won't matter if she is 'dying' for a bit longer. Wallace takes her, along with her doctor, to New York and soon she is having a great time and everybody wants to be seen with this 'brave dying girl'. Wallace points out that half the people they see are phoneys which of course makes her feel guilty but she can't think of a way out of her lie. Of course she will eventually be found out but by then Wallace has fallen for her and others feel it would be embarrassing for themselves if the truth comes out.Given that this film is eighty years old it remains surprisingly fresh; the idea of having somebody perpetuating a lie to achieve fame and have a good time it timeless but seems especially believable in this celebrity obsessed time. The story is told in a way that is just about plausible and provides plenty of laughs. Fredric March did a good job as Wallace but it is Carole Lombard who dominates the film as Hazel; she makes her the most likable character despite the fact that we know she is a fraud… at least she acknowledges this to herself unlike many other characters. The supporting cast is pretty solid as well. While this is obviously a comedy there is some drama too as the question of what will ultimately happen to Hazel is raised… what does happen, not surprisingly, suits the light tone of the film. Overall I'd recommend this to anybody who enjoys older films or who wants a gentle comedy with no offensive material.

"Nothing Sacred" is screwball comedy at its best. It's a wild mix of barbs, witty lines, crazy antics and uproariously funny scenes. It's also a wonderful farce about the press and politics. Its satire mocks the high society of New York, the "hicks" of small town New England, and the false sentimentality of the public.The four lead roles are superb. Carole Lombard is Hazel Flagg and Fredric March is Wally Cook. They play marvelously off one another as the comedy shifts into high gear. Charles Winninger plays small own Dr. Enoch Downer who carries a 20-year grudge against the big city newspaper for cheating him out of a quiz prize. Walter Connolly, another staple of Hollywood's golden age of comedy, is Oliver Stone, publisher of the New York Morning Star newspaper. The supporting cast of more than 90 has many actors who have one to several lines -- all very funny. Some snippets that may seem to have little to do with the story are hilarious. One scene shows a construction worker sitting on a steel girder 60 stories up and reading a newspaper on his lunch break. Another scene of a newspaper front page segues into the street food market, and a vendor wraps a big fish in the paper. Another is a close-up of a chalkboard sign at the market, "Miss Hazel Flagg lunched here to-day." The camera pans out and the sign below the produce reads, "All kinds of cheese and bologna our specialty." Screenwriter Ben Hecht and director William Wellman must have thrown every outlandish thought they had into the film. Some wacky scenarios had me laughing aloud. Wally and Hazel attend a wrestling match in Madison Square Garden. It's the funniest wrestling scene put on film. The wrestlers throw the referee and one another out of the ring, and the ref jumps on one of the wrestlers to help the other guy. It's a riot. Toward the film's end, Wally figures out how to fake Hazel's pneumonia. He has to get her pulse racing and her temperature up, so he eggs her on to fight with him. This hilarious scenario had me in stitches. Carole Lombard shows why she was considered Hollywood's queen of screwball comedy. This is one of the funniest scenes I've ever seen in a movie. The film has more side-splitting scenarios. From start to finish, it is loaded with wackiness. It's one of the best screwball comedies ever made. It's the perfect anecdote to play when one is down or needs to laugh. Here are some samples to wet the whistles of those who haven't yet seen this film. The lines are much funnier with the scenes. Wally, "Well, he's got a different quality of charm. He's sort of a cross between a Ferris wheel and a werewolf. But with a likable streak."Oliver, "Doctor, I want to know the worst. I don't want you to spare our feelings. We go to press in 15 minutes."Hazel, "I don't suppose newspapermen marry, as a rule?" Wally, "Not after they're 14 or 15. That's the dangerous age for the journalist. His ideals are not yet formed and he falls easy prey to elderly waitresses. Once his fine side is born, he waits." Hazel, "For what?" Wally, "For sounds of a fire alarm, Miss Flagg. He waits to go rushing off to the fire." Hazel," What fire's that, Mr. Cook?" Wally, "Love!"Wally, "Stop looking so happy and gallant, will ya? It breaks my heart."Hazel, "Oh, Enoch ... If you were only as honest as you look."Wally, "Oliver thought we could get the president, but he's still fishing. I arranged to have the symphony orchestra there instead."Nightclub emcee, "Show them the finger, babe."Oliver, "I am sitting here, Mr. Cook, trying to figure some way out of the blackest disaster that has ever struck down an innocent man since the days of Judas Iscariot."Oliver, "That's Hazel Flagg. The biggest fake of the century. A lying, faking witch with the soul of an eel and the brain of a tarantula." Wally, "She hasn't' got anything wrong with her at all? Sweet heaven, I can't believe it. It's like some kind of miracle."Oliver, "The whole city is getting ready to laugh at us. A howl that'll be heard around the world. It'll be worse than the French Revolution."Wally, "Oliver's having a catfit. You know, I've been misjudging him. When I told him you were safe and sound, he choked up, and he couldn't talk for a minute."Oliver, "Before I'm finished with that female Dracula, she'll know one thing. That Oliver Stone is worse than radium poisoning." Hazel, "You won't hate me so much if I'm behind bars." Oliver, "Pneumonia? It's a lie, I tell you. Temperature of 106? Dying? Go back and take her temperature again. I don't trust that girl until I get a doctor. No, not Dr. Downer. Tell Mo to throw that Vermont quack out of the room the minute he shows his face."Hazel, "What's the use? Why fight them any longer?" Wally, "Because I love you. Because I'm going to marry you and I don't want to spend my honeymoon hanging around Sing Sing throwing kisses to you in the exercise yard. Oliver, "Pneumonia! It's the finger of God if it's true. It's like a pardon from the gallows."Wally, "Now listen to me, and listen carefully. When you come to …" Hazel, "What do you mean, 'come to?'" Wally, "I mean, when you regain consciousness."Mrs. Cartwright (chief ranger), "Miss Flagg … if you persist in flaunting your recovery in this flagrant manner, the trees of America will be without girlfriends.'Fake disappearance note, "I have gone to face the end alone – like an elephant."

There's a line when it comes to making comedies. That line is, sane (if not always accurate or reasonable) depictions of humorous situations, and completely and utterly insane depictions. This movie crosses the line into insane. While I totally buy that the death sentence she'd been given was a misdiagnosis, the stuff that happens after is just ridiculous. Yes, she wants to go to New York. But lying about dying, just to see a stupid city? Dear god. This pushes my ability to suspend disbelief to the absolute limits. However, I'll give this movie a 5 because it is supposed to be over the top. I just wish they knew the definition of restraint.

Nothing Scared was another great screwball comedy directed by William Wellman. It starred Carole Lombard and Fredric March. Carole Lombard was great in this movie just like she was in My Man Godfrey. She was a woman name Hazel who supposedly diagnosed with radium poisoning. She does a great job hiding the fact that she actually doesn't have the poison. She was very believable. Wally was a newsman who was looking for Hazel. They wanted to bring her to New York before she died to get the newspaper the publicity it needed. She decided to not tell the truth and live with the publicity like she was a celebrity. They were both perfect for each other which made it work. Wally fell for her throughout the movie still without knowing she was faking it. He had to learn the hard way that she actually was faking it but still loved her even after finding out. I thought the color in this movie was pretty good for that time. It made it a little easier to watch.