Yes, it's true, that this film is still relevant today. News outlets look for the next big story, the crazier the story, the bigger the headline. But what this film does best is that it parodies the public that reads such headlines and they get away with it. It's pretty brilliant, actually. This is the same public that is most likely watching the film, and yet does the audience ever really catch on that the film is poking fun at them? I don't think so, probably because everyone has to agree that the public's obsession with scandal is pretty ridiculous.
Some of the best examples and the irony of it all come in a montage of Hazel's arrival in New York City. There are many headlines, such as, "Hazel Sets New High Point of Courage," says Mayor, which is read by a construction worker on one of the many still-under-construction skyscrapers on a beam up high on above the city while lunching. Then there's also the headline of the poet working a new poem about Hazel, while she sits by, seemingly, bored, as if a muse for a poet needed to sit by like a artist's model. Carole Lombard as always pulls off with such great comedic flair her portrayal of Hazel. That clip is followed by another headline with the beginning of a sappy poem about Hazel being on the brink of death. And who reads this headline? None other than the fisherman selling fish, who wraps a fish up with said headlined newspaper and hands over the product to his customer. Then there's the scene that follows, announcing a luncheon that Hazel attended that day. Once it zooms out, a table of snacks is revealed with the sign underneath it, "All Kinds of Cheese and Bologna Our Specialty." I don't think these particular scenes stood out for me the first couple of times I viewed it, but this last time--perhaps because I was taking notes--they were so obvious and I thought great. This montage makes fun of both journalism, the readers, and the subjects all at once without saying a single word of dialogue. I particularly liked the fish and cheese clips, which really made me laugh this time around.
The montage is followed by the scene at the wrestling match in which Wally tells Hazel not to get too excited over the match because it was all fake. Then he goes on and says some line about the whole thing being rigged and the only thing true about it was the ring that the match was held in. This particular bit just doesn't seem to hit the mark as it should. I like the lines, perhaps it's the way Fredric March delivers them, but they don't seem to go far enough. But I like that this bit is mentioned, it's just something seems off for me. But I do like that a wrestling match and its ridiculousness is used to comment on the current situation. And watching the two wrestlers and the ref go at each other is enjoyable.
The Heroines of History bit was also funny, although not laugh out loud funny. What I did enjoy was that Hazel was being compared as a heroine and also to these particular "heroines." The best part is Katinka who saved Holland by putting her finger in the dyke and then shows which finger--the middle finger. Of course, the scene ends great when Hazel goes up to the stage, completely drunk and passes out. Everyone thinks this is it. Oliver Stone tells Dr Downer not to spare their feelings because they "go to press in fifteen minutes." And this event gets its own headline, "Hazel Collapses."
There's also the reveal of Hazel's deception. Stone finds out and then so does the Mayor and other leaders. Everyone is upset to find out, but of course they all have their reputations at stake. So what do they do? They all agree to let the deception continue, and a headline with Hazel's farewell is sent to press. Hazel vanishes leaving a letter to the people of New York, telling them she wants to die alone, "like an elephant." Then Hazel and Wally are seen on a ship, and a passenger nearly discovers them. Hazel kind of downplays the whole thing and calls Hazel Flagg a phony. The passenger is beyond herself and reprimands her for talking about such a heroic woman that way. I guess the joke's on the public.
The ending seems off to me, and I think that's mostly because it seems abrupt or something of the sort. Of course, because Ben Hecht walked out during filming, multiple writers went in to work on the script, with two of them working on the ending. So that might explain why the ending doesn't seem to flow well, especially because apparently David O Selznick wanted a "happy ending," which Hecht refused. I think all these writers is what makes this film weak to me, but even still I can see some bits of genius in it, it's just not fully explored or developed because there are multiple points of view.
Nothing Sacred hasn't really been a favorite of mine so far, but I'm starting to see what people really rave about. It took a closer look at the film for this realization to happen, but I was hoping it would, and it's always nice to see that you can understand at least one thing of what people rave about in the end. I really like the way in which this criticism, this parody of the whole bit about scandalous stories, how people are obsessed with other's misfortunes and how everyone feeds off it, how it was executed in some areas of the film. No one's innocent here, it's a vicious circle, but you never realize that the film could be making fun of you too. And that is pretty brilliant.
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