Timothy E
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- Timothy Ewanyshyn
Nothing Sacred is one of the great screwball comedies of the 1930s starring Carole Lombard in one of her most acclaimed roles. The screenplay is credited to Ben Hecht(His Girl Friday) and apparently included uncredited contributions from such luminaries as Dorothy Parker, Ring Lardner, Jr., Moss Hart, and George S. Kaufman. The film was directed by William Wellman(The Ox-Bow Incident, A Star Is Born) and produced by David O. Selznick(Gone With The Wind) with music by Oscar Levant, Alfred Newman, and Max Steiner. Nothing Sacred is credited with being the first technicolor feature to employ rear screen projection and process effects.
NOTHING SACRED BLU-RAY
Studio: Kino
Year: 1937
Rated: Not Rated
Film Length:1 hour, 18 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audio: English LPCM 2.0
Release Date: December 20, 2011
The Movie
Nothing Sacred lives up to its title as it leaves nothing sacred in its subject matter. Carole Lombard stars as Hazel Flagg, a young woman who feels trapped in small town Warsaw, Vermont, and has resigned herself to living out her remaining days following her medical diagnosis of radium poisoning. Wally Cook(Fredric March) is a newspaper reporter in New York for the Morning Star who is striving to get back into the good graces of editor Oliver Stone(Walter Connolly) after the subject of one of his headlines is exposed as a fraud.
Wally hears about the young woman dying of radiation poisoning and whisks her away to New York with her quack physician, Dr. Downer(Charles Winninger). Hazel realizes by the time that Wally takes her to New York that she is actually healthy but she is so eager to be wined and dined in the big city that she allows it to happen without consideration of the consequences. Wally and Hazel fall in love during their time together in New York and Wally is unaware that the truth of Hazel’s medical condition will ruin his career.
Nothing Sacred is a terrific satire that was ahead of its time. We live in a time when individuals hungry for fame and opportunity are willing to lie and deceive in pursuit of these goals, and this may have been true in 1937, and but even more today in the era of reality TV "stars" and fame whores whose celebrity status derives solely from being famous. Nothing Sacred is a biting satire of the fifth estate and other institutions that follow their own self interest, and still succeeds as a very funny comedy independent of this subtext. The novel concept of this film was remade years later by Lewis and Martin as Living It Up.
Video
Nothing Sacred appears on Blu-Ray in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. This edition was mastered in 1080p from a 35mm technicolor nitrate print from the George Eastman House. This is one of the earliest technicolor feature films, and colors are vibrant without being garish. Skin tones tend to be very pale which was apparently an aesthetic choice by the producers rather than a sign of a defective transfer. Scratches and blemishes are present on this transfer but the originating print is obviously in excellent condition given its age. The amount of film grain fluctuates between scenes and may be excessive for some viewers accustomed to, or spoiled by, the look of sublime restoration efforts like The Wizard of Oz and Gone With The Wind in which there is no perceptible grain visible. One must appreciate that the same restoration efforts have not gone into this transfer as into those other films, but neither does the video quality fall much shorter. This is a very nice video transfer of a nitrate print with minimal flaws.
Audio
The English lossless PCM 2.0 Audio track is good, given the limitations inherent in the original recording. There is none of the inconsistency of sound volume that can still persist after digital cleanup that plagues many other films from the 1930s. There is some minor popping and crackling still evident near the beginnings and ends of each reel but this is minimal.
Special Features
The special features are limited to the following:
Theatrical Trailers: Original trailers are included for Nothing Sacred(2:04), A Star Is Born(2:47), as well as a modern style trailer for Pandora and the Flying Dutchman produced for the 2010 re-release in the UK(1:32).
Conclusion
Nothing Sacred is one of the great screwball comedies of the 1930s featuring an actress who left us too soon while still in her prime. The video quality is excellent even if the quality fluctuates somewhat between scenes. The audio is also very good for a 1937 feature film. Special features are limited to an original trailer as well as trailers for other classic Blu-ray releases from Kino. Nothing Sacred on Blu-ray is recommended for fans of classic 30s comedy and essential viewing for Carole Lombard fans.
