History Film / NothingSacred

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/la_reina_de_nueva_york_carole_lombard_1937.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Fake it 'til you make it.]]

Hazel Flagg (Lombard), a young woman from the dull small town of Warsaw, Vermont, is suffering from a fatal case of radium poisoning. Wally Cook (March), a newspaper reporter who is deep in his editor's doghouse, goes to Warsaw to interview Hazel for a story. Just as he arrives there, Hazel finds out she is ''not'' dying (it turns out her doctor is well-meaning but incompetent. He'd seen so many cases of radium poisoning that he diagnosed her too hastily after finding she was anemic -- which is all that was really wrong with her). Not wanting to miss the free trip to New York that Wally's paper is offering her, Hazel keeps the secret of her perfect health to herself. She rapidly becomes the most talked-about person in town, while falling in love with Wally, and panicking at the thought of her secret being exposed.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* DaEditor: Wally's boss, who amusingly happens to be named Oliver Stone.

* IllGirl: Hazel is celebrated for being a particularly stoic one, which is easier when you're not actually dying. Although her supposed condition is radium poisoning, it might as well be VictorianNovelDisease.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar:
** There is a FlippingTheBird joke, which is amazing to see in a film made during [[UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode censorship-heavy Hollywood]]: At the "heroines of history" show, the MC urges Katinka ("the Dutch girl who stuck her finger in the dike") to "show them the finger, babe", and she shows her bandaged but definitely upraised middle finger. (For the record, the bit about the "dike" is a case of HaveAGayOldTime.)
** It has been theorized (particularly by [=FilmStruck=]) that Hazel and Wally's fight in the bedroom is a euphemism for angry, SlapSlapKiss sex, considering the two of them were at rock-bottom at this point in the film and needed one last trick to try and keep up the rouse; so what better way to make Hazel look flushed, hot and bothered, [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers and moribund]]?

Hazel Flagg (Lombard), a young woman from the dull small town of Warsaw, Vermont, is suffering from a fatal case of radium poisoning. Wally Cook (March), a newspaper reporter who is deep in his editor's doghouse, goes to Warsaw to interview Hazel for a story. Just as he arrives there, Hazel finds out she is ''not'' dying (it turns out her doctor is well-meaning but incompetent). Not wanting to miss the free trip to New York that Wally's paper is offering her, Hazel keeps the secret of her perfect health to herself. She rapidly becomes the most talked-about person in town, while falling in love with Wally, and panicking at the thought of her secret being exposed.

* GenderFlip: In-universe. One of the "heroines of history" is Katinka, "the Dutch girl who stuck her finger in the dike." The character was a boy in [[Literature/HansBrinkerOrTheSilverSkates the original fairy tale]].

** It has been theorized (particularly by [=FilmStuck=]) that Hazel and Wally's fight in the bedroom is a euphemism for angry, SlapSlapKiss sex, considering the two of them were at rock-bottom at this point in the film and needed one last trick to try and keep up the rouse; so what better way to make Hazel look flushed, hot and bothered, [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers and moribund]]?

* BraidsBeadsAndBuckskins: At a fancy stage show where the performers are dressed as the "heroines of history," {{UsefulNotes/Pocahontas}} is represented with long braided hair, a stylized war bonnet, and (why not?) a tomahawk.

[[caption-width-right:350:Fake it 'till you make it.]]

''Nothing Sacred'' is one of the best of the screwball comedies of TheThirties. Interestingly, it was shot in Technicolor, which had been around for a while but was generally used as either a special effect or for big SceneryPorn spectacles. A small-scale film like ''Nothing Sacred'' being filmed entirely in color was unusual for the time. It was the only color film Lombard did before her untimely death in a plane crash in 1942.

''Nothing Sacred'' is one of the best of the screwball comedies of TheThirties. Interesting, it was shot in Technicolor. Technicolor had been around for a while but was generally used as either a special effect or for big SceneryPorn spectacles. A small-scale film like ''Nothing Sacred'' being filmed in color was unusual for the time. It was the only color film Lombard did before her untimely death in a plane crash in 1942.

''Nothing Sacred'' is a 1937 ScrewballComedy starring Creator/CaroleLombard and Creator/FredricMarch, directed by Creator/WilliamAWellman.

Lombard is Hazel Flagg, a young woman from the dull small town of Warsaw, Vermont, who is suffering from a fatal case of radium poisoning. Wally Cook (March), a newspaper reporter who is deep in his editor's doghouse, goes to Warsaw to interview Hazel for a story. Just as he arrives there, Hazel finds out she is ''not'' dying (it turns out her doctor is well-meaning but incompetent). Not wanting to miss the free trip to New York that Wally's paper is offering her, Hazel keeps the secret of her perfect health to herself. She rapidly becomes the most talked-about person in town, while falling in love with Wally, and panicking at the thought of her secret being exposed.

* PlayingSick: The central premise, of course. Also, Hazel uses the thermometer trick to fake pneumonia.

* BraidsBeadsAndBuckskins: When {{UsefulNotes/Pocahontas}} appears as one of the "heroines of history," she has long braided hair, a stylized war bonnet, and (why not?) a tomahawk.

* GenderFlip: In-universe. As noted above, [[Literature/HansBrinkerOrTheSilverSkates the fairy tale about the Dutch boy who stuck his finger in the dike]] is referenced, but the boy is changed to a girl so that she can be one of the "heroines of history."

** There is a FlippingTheBird joke, which is amazing to see in a film made during [[UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode censorship-heavy Hollywood:]] Hazel is attending a fancy stage show where the performers are dressed like great women of history. One is Katinka, "the Dutch girl who stuck her finger in the dike." The MC urges the actress to "show them the finger, babe", and she shows her bandaged but definitely upraised middle finger. (The bit about the "dike" is probably [[DoubleEntendre another joke]].)

* FlippingTheBird: Used for a pretty amazing joke in 1937. Hazel is attending a fancy stage show where the performers are dressed like great women of history. One is Katinka, "the Dutch girl who stuck her finger in the dike." The MC urges the actress to "show them the finger, babe", and she shows her bandaged but definitely upraised middle finger. (The bit about the "dike" is probably [[DoubleEntendre another joke]].)

** In the ''Living It Up'' remake, the fake patient is male and the reporter is female.

* TheRemake: Remade as ''Living It Up'', a musical starring [[Music/DeanMartin Martin]] and [[Creator/JerryLewis Lewis]].