The greatest movie ever!

Stylish but barely mediocre overall

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The main trouble with this movie is that none of its characters are all that likable. Lee Tracy as the carnival barker turned into a publicity man has a voice and brashness that quickly get annoying. The talent he's promoting, a young 'exotic' singer played by Lupe Velez, wears the requisite skimpy pre-Code outfits, but her musical and dance performances fall flat. Frank Morgan plays a Broadway show owner whose romances lack any semblance of reality or passion. There is simply no charm in this script, and Velez is the only actor cast who has the capability of breathing some into it, but she's almost entirely bottled up, which is a shame. There are some cute moments, such as when Tracy gets a compromising photo of Morgan and Lupez kissing, and blows up all sorts of copies to torment Morgan in his office. However, there are many other moments which are lame and anything but erotic, such as the whole nudist colony thing. The film seems to have been in search of something spicy, but you can't get that by giving it an ill-fitting and salacious title, including the most boring nudists possible, or by putting people together who have zero chemistry. Velez is the main reason to watch it, but you could also do much better.

Lee Tracy is a name few would remember today. However, for just a few years in the 1930s, he was a hot commodity--playing in some top films for top studios like RKO, Fox, Warner Brothers and MGM. So what happened to him? Well, he had two huge problems--he was typecast as the same sort of fast- talking sharpie (often a reporter or confidence man) AND he was an idiot. I really hate to be so blunt, but his off-camera behaviors severely alienated him and the studios apparently tired of working with him and apologizing for his actions.In "The Half Naked Truth", Tracy plays a very typical sort of role--the fast-talking showman who lies, tells half-truths and promotes his girlfriend, Lupe Valez, from a cheesy carnival sideshow act to the toast of Broadway. However ridiculous this was (as Valez' character had no discernible talent and the charisma of a case of the clap), the film is entertaining on a basic level. Don't think too much and you can enjoy it. So why did I give it only a 6? Well, it broke absolutely no new ground and Tracy's role is almost exactly like 1472343 others I've seen him do. In other words, it's fun but lacked originality to make it worthy of a higher score.

I would definitely rate the Broadway debut scene, so masterfully enacted by Frank Morgan (of all people!) and Lupe Velez – and also briefly featuring Max Steiner in the second of his only two on-camera appearances – as one of filmdom's Top One Hundred movie scenes. The rest of the movie – filmed at a frenetic pace by Gregory La Cava – is also top-notch viewing with Lee Tracy in fine form as Lupe's Clayton's friend (the friend you have when you're not having a friend). Production values are admirably extensive and once super-popular but now sadly under-rated director, Gregory La Cava, can be seen at the absolute zenith of his form. How can a director, once so super-popular with both critics and moviegoers in his day, be now so undeservedly forgotten? Available on an excellent Warner Archive DVD.

I was first attracted to "The Half Naked Truth" by the reputation of Lupe Velez. I had encountered her name linked in a romantic but ultimately tragic way to Gary Cooper. They were both reputed to be promiscuous and she at least to be violently jealous. He was mentioned in connection also in her suicide in that he tried to help her but as a married man who had long moved on but remained friends. Further reading suggested she had a very tough childhood the child of a prostitute who would turn tricks herself. So I checked out the movie out of curiosity about her. As mentioned by other reviewers , Lee Tracy is a driving force in this picture, as the hyper-active scheming cunning press agent, and his pace and presence swept me along in the fun. Yes, his character is a scoundrel. Yet he is an entertaining one that gives a twisted kind of value for his con. That value is delivered by the sexy and always entertaining Velez, she is the payoff that makes most forget that there is a con. However, Jimmy Bates is not just using her he's making her the toast of Broadway. This story, an early screwball comedy, presents us with two true to life screwballs who create a kind of chemistry that makes a molecule out of elements. When they are together fighting or scheming or making love, sparks are in the air. This is because Velez really is a Mexican spitfire and she gives as good as she gets. Just as Bates is ready to propose to her he discovers her making time with the big-time producer. She also plays a fine fake Princess when he asks it of her. They practically drive each other through the scenes with their energy bouncing off each other and this makes the half naked truth quite a romp. The supporting cast provide strong support. Eugene Palette takes the sidekick role even further in that he has his own operation going on with chamber maid Shirley Chambers, and he ultimately moves the story along both in the beginning and the end. This is an underrated gem, a veritable diamond in the rough.