Nothing Sacred

Journalist Wally Cook hopes to use small-town beauty Hazel Flagg to restore his tarnished reputation. She has been told that she is dying of radiation poisoning, and Cook plans to promote her as a big-time hero. As it turns out, Hazel’s doctor has since admitted that his diagnosis was in error, but both doctor and patient keep this a secret from Wally. The journalist takes Hazel to New York, where she becomes the toast of the town, showered with attention and beneficence by people from all strata of society. When Cook falls in love with Hazel and engages European experts to assess her chances of survival, her deception is threatened. A desperate Hazel plans to fake a public suicide attempt …

After sweeping blows against sensationalism and shock culture, screenwriter Ben Hecht’s script takes a pot shot at woman’s conventional status as victim, turning it into an egalitarian slugfest. While a wrestling match among men turns out to be a set-up for the entertainment of the masses, in the battle of the sexes, Carole Lombard’s fists fly until it’s a mutual knock-out. The only film Lombard ever made in colour is also considered the first screwball comedy shot in three-strip Technicolor.