Libeled Lady (1936) on Netflix
Connie Allenbury sues the New York Evening Star for libel. Editor Warren Haggerty turns to Bill Chandler, whose plan needs a wife, and Haggerty's fiancée Gladys Benton is volunteered.
- Netflix4.2/5
- IMDb7.8/109,754 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes88%
Trailer
Plot summary
Connie Allenbury, a wealthy socialite, is accused by a newspaper of breaking up a marriage, and she answers with a five-million-dollar libel suit against the New York Evening Star. Managing editor Warren Haggerty appeals to Bill Chandler, a former reporter and ladies' man, for a way out. Bill's plan is to have Connie caught alone with him when a wife of his turns up, which would end the case. Bill is single, so Haggerty offers his fiancée, Gladys Benton, as the bride in a marriage on paper only, and she protests. Bill then sails from England on the liner carrying Connie and her father, J. B. Allenbury, and pays men to pose as reporters and besiege her at the dock so that he can come to her aid.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Libeled Lady (1936)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Jean Harlow, then an off-screen couple with William Powell, wanted to play Connie Allenbury so her character would end up with Powell's, but MGM insisted the film stay a Powell-Myrna Loy vehicle. Already signed, Harlow settled for Gladys Benton.
- Spencer Tracy, who had been enamored of Myrna Loy, set up an "I hate Hornblow" table in the MGM commissary reserved for men who claimed Loy had romantically rejected them, according to Loy's autobiography.
- Lionel Barrymore was originally cast as Mr. Allenbury, and Rosalind Russell was originally considered to play Connie Allenbury, the part that went to Myrna Loy.
- The ocean liner in the film was played by two real ships: Cunard's RMS Berengaria, seen pierside as the fictional SS Queen Anne, and France's SS Normandie in an aerial shot.
