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Nothing Sacred

Denen ist nichts heilig
Retrospective 2022
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.
by William A. Wellman
with Carole Lombard, Frederic March, Charles Winninger, Walter Connolly, Sig Rumann, Frank Fay, Troy Brown, Maxie Rosenblum, Margaret Hamilton, Olin Howlin USA 1937 English 74’ Colour 2018 digitally restored version. Restored by The Museum of Modern Art with support from the Celeste Bartos Fund for Film Preservation.

With

  • Carole Lombard
  • Frederic March
  • Charles Winninger
  • Walter Connolly
  • Sig Rumann
  • Frank Fay
  • Troy Brown
  • Maxie Rosenblum
  • Margaret Hamilton
  • Olin Howlin

Crew

Director William A. Wellman
Screenplay Ben Hecht based on the short story “Letter to the Editor” (1937) by James H. Street
Cinematography W. Howard Greene
Editing James E. Newcom, Hal C. Kern
Colour Correction Natalie Kalmus
Visual Effects Jack Cosgrove
Music Oscar Levant, Raymond Scott Quintette
Sound Fred J. Lau
Choreography Dave Gould
Art Director Lyle Wheeler
Costumes Travis Banton, Walter Plunkett
Producer David O. Selznick

Produced by

Selznick International Pictures, Inc.

Additional information

DCP: courtesy The Museum of Modern Art, New York