When a major newspaper accuses wealthy socialite Connie Allenbury (Myrna Loy) of being a homewrecker, and she files a multi-million-dollar libel lawsuit, the publication's frazzled head editor, Warren Haggerty (Spencer Tracy), must find a way to turn the tables on her. Soon Haggerty's harried fiancée, Gladys Benton (Jean Harlow), and his dashing friend Bill Chandler (William Powell) are in on a scheme that aims to discredit Connie, with amusing and unexpected results.
There are few on-screen pairings that will ever come close to the chemistry shared between William Powell and Myrna Loy. Watching the way they play off each other is almost a cinematic religious experience. I remember the first time I watched The Thin Man (1934) and how utterly enchanted I was by them. I was so enchanted, in fact, that I immediately went out and bought The Thin Man box set, which included all six films. When I finished those, I went on to watch all fourteen movies Powell and Loy made together between 1934 and 1947. That’s the kind of hold they have on me.
Their wit and playful banter are in full display in Libeled Lady (1936), a classic screwball comedy with romantic hijinks thrown in for good measure. It’s a fast-paced romp packed with more marriages than you can count, a barrage of one-liners flying through the air like heat-seeking missiles, and a fishing scene that has me laughing so loudly I’m convinced they can hear me seven counties over.
The chemistry between Powell and Loy is already a force to be reckoned with, but when you add Jean Harlow and Spencer Tracy into the mix, it becomes something truly special. The four of them work so effortlessly together that it’s no surprise Libeled Lady earned a Best Picture nomination, ultimately losing to The Great Ziegfeld—another William Powell and Myrna Loy film, no less.
The pace of the movie is exactly why this review is going to be short on specifics and heavy on demands that you go watch it for yourself. I’m struggling to single out moments without giving anything away, and this is very much a movie best experienced firsthand. If for no other reason, watch it to see William Powell and Myrna Loy at the absolute peak of their powers. You won’t regret it.
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