Great Film overall

Don't Believe the Hype

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

1937's "Love is News" marked the second film to pair Tyrone Power and Don Ameche ("Ladies in Love" came first), but it was the first to offer Power top billing, which reportedly infuriated leading lady Loretta Young. She definitely comes off worst of the three, as heiress Tony Gateson, tiring of the gossip printed about her, getting even with hot shot reporter Steve Leyton (Power) by offering up a scoop for all the other newspapers, that she and Leyton are engaged. Naturally, this doesn't sit well with her former fiancée (George Sanders), but her uncle (Dudley Digges) plays along so far as to buy an interest in Steve's ailing paper, Don Ameche as the harried editor. The stars are able to carry the thin screwball plot, while the supporting players prove even better, in particular Slim Summerville's judge and Walter Catlett's fellow reporter. Fans of Lon Chaney Jr. will be most disappointed, as what would have been his first film under a two year contract with Fox found his role as an unbilled newsman left on the cutting room floor, a fate repeated in "That I May Live," "Born Reckless," and "Walking Down Broadway."

While watching Love is News, what I wished for was that this film would have been cast and directed by a whole different team. Because I like screwball comedy, it's hard to do, and requires a finesse, a light touch, and a specific feather tone from both director and actors to handle delicate material - like a soufflé - a little bit too heavy- handed, and it falls flat. With the exception of Slim Summerville as the small-town judge, the performances were uniformly bad. None of the very young and green principals knew how to handle comedy - so they just went broad and big - Don Ameche bellowed, Loretta grinned and mugged, and Tyrone Power was over-animated. Of course it was the director's fault - pump it up, give me bigger, bigger. But he was dealing with actors who were not natural comedians, whose charms were more in smaller gestures. I kept dreaming of the usual stable who could handle the material - Jean Arthur, Carole Lombard, Cary Grant, Melvyn Douglas - because the storyline was fun and sillilly amusing - an heiress turns the tables on a reporter, and decides to put him under the glare of publicity by planting a false story. I watched it all the way through, seeing potential in the script, and wishing it had been at another studio and cast differently, with a different director. I think it could have been a classic. There were priceless moments, from the fake car crash, to the jail scene, the airport scene - that with the right actors and a director like Mitchell Leisen or Greg LaCava or Howard Hawkes could have catapulted this film in a minor classic instead of an ersatz version of the classic screwballs by people who knew how to do it

LOVE IS NEWS is a great old style film that they just don't make any more. It's really a shame, as I had a lot of fun watching it and don't know why the film isn't better known. Sure, I'll admit that the plot is hard to believe, but this is like most screwball comedies of the era! You just need to suspend disbelief and enjoy.This is one of the earliest films of Tyrone Power and considering his short record in films, it was quite the coup to be starring in this film with Loretta Young. Power plays a guy much like many of Clark Gable's--glib, good looking and not afraid to stretch the truth...'a bit'. In fact, Gable played newspaper men like this on at least a couple occasions at rival MGM. Power, despite his lack of experience, was at the top of his game--delivering a professional and enjoyable performance. Young is equally likable, though considering she'd been in films for some time and her track record, it wasn't surprising at all that she was up to the task.The film begins with Power sneaking on to a plane to get an interview with a rich millionairess (Young). The problem, though, is that Young hates reporters, as they've made her life a circus for years and she gets no peace at all. So, on a lark, when she discovers that Power is yet another reporter, she decides to give him a piece of his own medicine and have him learn what it's like to be constantly hounded. She tells the other reporters that she and Power are engaged and soon Power is besieged with fortune hunters, reporters and people wanting to sell him practically everything! And, no matter how much he tries to convince everyone that his is NOT engaged, Young insists that they are! Knowing where this all will end isn't a total surprise but the journey there is exceptional--and fun! The supporting characters (I particularly liked Slim Summerville as the judge and he had a great little jail) were great, the writing (aside from a ridiculous plot) was great and the whole thing was directed very well--resulting in a funny as well as romantic old film. After seeing it, I could easily see why Power soon rose to fame--this was an excellent vehicle.By the way, this film and its remake (also starring Tyrone Power), THAT WONDERFUL URGE, are available bundled together on DVD. Of the two, LOVE IS NEWS is definitely the better film--not just because it's original but because it just works much better.

Love is News (1937) *** (out of 4) Loretta Young plays a millionaire with a strong hatred of the press who she feels is constantly telling lies on her. One reporter (Tyrone Power) is the most guilty with his lies but Young plans on getting even by announcing to the world that they're going to be married. This way the reporter will know what it's like to be in the spotlight all the time. I read a couple negative reviews of this film but I thought they were way too hard on the film, which I found to be incredibly entertaining throughout with some terrific laughs from the cast. Young is my favorite actress and she delivers another strong performance here as she really captures that society girl image and delivers great comic timing. Power also comes off terrific as does Don Ameche in his role as Power's editor. The two men are constantly battling over the headlines and their comic timing together is wonderful and adds many laughs. Power also works great with Young and the two deliver the laughs as well as the romantic angle. George Sanders has a small role as Young's ex-fiancé. The film runs 78-minutes and there are very few scenes that don't work. The screwball antics are all very funny and the entire situation just makes for some wonderful laughs. One of the highlights is a scene in the bar where Power and another reporter are playing checkers on the floor with whiskey and beer.