Along with NEVER ON SUNDAY, NOTHING SACRED is my favorite of Romancefest 2013, so far, a delightful little screwball comedy from 1937 about a Manhatan newsman (Frederic March) who wants to do a human interest story on a small-town girl who is dying young from radium poisoning (Carole Lombard).As the movie begins, Lombard has just learned from her drunken country doctor (Charles Winninger) that the radium poisoning diagnosis was a mistake. However, when March arrives in town, she allows him to believe she is still sick so she can take advantage of the trip to the big city and live a little.
Upon arriving in New York, Lombard becomes the toast of the town, inspiring the citizens of the city everywhere she goes and bringing them to tears just by showing her face in public. March is disgusted with this maudlin display from the otherwise cynical slickers, but he can't help himself from falling in love with the spunky and "brave" Lombard.
Aside from the rapid fire pace, the constant laughs and the great performance from Lombard, NOTHING SACRED is also notable for the beautiful Technicolor photography. Other films from this era were in color, as well, but most of the ones I've seen are either fantasies or period pieces, and rarely contemporary stories shot on real locations. So, it was pretty cool to see full-color shots of New York City and surrounding locations -- almost like stepping right back in time.
The whole cast is great in this flick and every joke works, even the one that has March punching Lombard in the face, if you can believe it.
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