Nothing Sacred (1937)
“The whole town's crying. She's faking it.”
Streamed free from the Internet Archive · no signup, no cost — this film is in the public domain.
Synopsis
When ambitious reporter Wally Cook gets word that Vermont factory girl Hazel Flagg is dying of radium poisoning, he sees the human-interest scoop that can resurrect his sunken career. He brings her to New York, where the city showers the doomed heroine with parades, banquets, and tearful tributes. The only problem: Hazel isn't dying at all, having been misdiagnosed by her bumbling hometown doctor. As the lie balloons into a public spectacle, Hazel and Wally are trapped in their own runaway hoax, careening toward a reckoning the whole city will witness. Shot in glorious Technicolor, it is a savage, fast-talking satire of tabloid sentimentality and manufactured celebrity.
Cast
About the Director
William A. Wellman — William A. Wellman, the rugged former World War I aviator known as Wild Bill, had already won acclaim for the war epic Wings and the gritty The Public Enemy before turning his hand to this Technicolor screwball. It was Wellman who pushed producer David O. Selznick to cast Carole Lombard as Hazel, a role first intended for Janet Gaynor. His brisk, unsentimental touch keeps the comedy sharp-edged, letting the cynicism of Ben Hecht's script cut through the candy-colored surfaces.
Why It’s Free: The Public-Domain Story
Nothing Sacred fell into the public domain in the United States because its copyright was not renewed. Under the law of the era, a film's initial copyright term had to be actively renewed with the U.S. Copyright Office after 28 years to remain protected. Selznick International Pictures allowed that renewal window to lapse, and the picture entered the public domain in 1965.
Behind the Scenes
Ben Hecht reportedly dashed off the screenplay in roughly two weeks, with later rewrites and uncredited hands shaping the final script. Production ran from June to August of 1937 under Selznick International's banner. The film holds a special place in Carole Lombard's filmography as her only feature shot in three-strip Technicolor, and it stands among the earliest screwball comedies to be made in color.
Did You Know?
- It was Carole Lombard's first and only feature film shot in Technicolor.
- The screenplay is credited to Ben Hecht, who is said to have written much of it in a very short span.
- Wellman convinced Selznick to cast Lombard in a role originally earmarked for Janet Gaynor.
- It is often cited as one of the first screwball comedies filmed in color.
Reception & Legacy
Critics praised the film's biting wit and Lombard's luminous comic performance, though it reportedly failed to recoup its costs at the box office. Over the decades its reputation has only grown, and it is now regarded as a classic of the screwball cycle and one of the sharpest satires of media sensationalism Hollywood produced in the 1930s. Its lapse into the public domain has kept it widely circulated.
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