A fun film from the thirties staring Jean Harlow, Spencer Tracy, and most importantly: William Powell and Myrna Loy. If those names don’t mean anything to you, don’t watch the film yet. Instead, get the Thin Man collection and watch them all. Half my wife’s and my enjoyment came from recognising the cast from the Thin Man and seeing them play off each other in a different situation. The film could almost be a prequel, showing how Nick and Nora got together.
The plot is lightweight and Tracy and Harlow are more annoying than comic, but Powell and Loy bring the screen to life. Tracy’s newspaper publishes a story about Loy that turns out to be untrue. Loy intends to sue for 5 million, so Tracey hires Powell to save the paper by faking a scandal about Loy using Harlow (Tracy’s betrothed) as Powell’s wife, but Powell falls for Loy. Which leads to lots of comic sparing, a touching romance and the best worst trout fishing you’ll ever see.
