Love Is News Reviews

An often hilarious screwball comedy about the ladies and gentlemen of the press, LOVE IS NEWS was remade two more times as SWEET ROSIE O'GRADY and THAT WONDERFUL URGE, but neither captured the essence of this delightful, well-made tale. Young is a poor little rich girl. She is forever tailed by the 1930s version of the paparazzi and spends most of her time avoiding the Fourth Estate. Power, who is in danger of being fired by his boss, Ameche, tricks Young into an interview. She is so angered that she decides to show this newshound just how little fun public notice can be. She tells every paper in town, with the exception of Power's, that she is leaving her fiance, Sanders, in favor of Power and settling a million-dollar wedding gift on him. Wedding banns will be posted shortly. Ameche is rankled that Power didn't give him the scoop and fires the confused newsman. Now Power is the center of the news and surrounded by reporters and photographers and men who try to sell him things. Despite his protests, nobody believes Power. By this time, Young and Power have actually fallen in love, although neither will admit it, so what transpires is a love-hate relationship that everyone knows will wind up with them in a clinch when "The End" flashes on the screen. They wind up in jail, where they occupy adjacent cells and shout through the bars. She wants a puff from his last cigarette and he agrees to it, but she takes the butt and bites his fingers. Later, he dumps her in a mud puddle as revenge. They learn that Sanders, a gigolo who preys on rich women, is about to marry Young's cousin, Moore. In order to forestall that marriage, Young announces to the press that she will once again marry Sanders. Upon hearing this news, the mercenary Sanders drops Moore. Power doesn't understand what Young is up to and angrily tells her off. Before she can explain her reasons, he's out the door. Next day, Power is offered the job of managing editor at the paper that fired him and he doesn't understand why until he learns that Young's uncle, Digges, now owns a large share of it. The lovers are finally united and the picture predictably ends happily. Power is splendid as the tough newspaperman who tames the heiress, but anyone who has seen IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT will recognize the derivation of the story, right down to the various adventures in the hinterlands. This was the era for breezy comedies, and Fox thought their studio could do what Frank Capra was doing at Columbia. It worked well, but not brilliantly. The picture starts slowly, revs up in the second reel, and takes off like a rocket for the remainder. It was a terrific book for a musical, and that's what it became in the first remake, SWEET ROSIE O'GRADY, then went back to a straight comedy for the next one.