This past Spring NYC’s Film Forum programmed a series entitled “The Newspaper Picture” and out of the entire schedule, ten of the movies starred Lee Tracy, including The Strange Love of Molly Louvain (1932), Love is a Racket (1932), Advice to the Lovelorn (1933), which was based on Nathanael West’s novel Miss Lonelyhearts, and Power of the Press (1943). It’s true that in many of his films he played a variety of journalists, from tabloid reporters to gossip columnists to press agents. And that’s probably due to his legendary performance on Broadway in 1928 as reporter Hildy Johnson in The Front Page, written by Charles MacArthur and Ben Hecht. Unfortunately, he didn’t get to play the role in the 1931 screen version – Pat O’Brien won that honor (and Rosalind Russell played the female version in Howard Hawks’ 1940 remake, His Girl Friday) but Fox Pictures realized his potential and brought him to Hollywood in 1929.    

Almost from the beginning Tracy was typecast as a brash, irrepressible urban go-getter type whose colorful slang vocabulary and speedy verbal delivery made him a natural for playing hucksters, pushy newsmen, carnival barkers and double-dealing politicians. If Tracy was around today, he could probably give speed rappers Twista and Ricky Brown aka “No Clue” a run for their money in terms of words or syllables per second.

Even in his own era, Tracy was certainly not the typical leading man type but he could more than hold his own opposite any major star through the sheer force of his personality which could be hilariously obnoxious or spellbinding in the way of a proselytizing preacher on a fire and brimstone roll. Often his signifying hand and body gestures suggest he might have made a great evangalist in the manner of an Elmer Gantry.

Today he is probably best known for Bombshell (1933), in which he plays an abrasive studio publicist who is constantly feuding with superstar Lola Burns (Jean Harlow), and for his final film performance as a dying President in Gore Vidal’s political drama, The Best Man (1964); it earned him his only Oscar nomination (as Best Supporting Actor). But I want to focus on two lesser known films which have played on TCM in the past and with a little luck may be programmed again someday – WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND (1932), directed by James Cruze (The Covered Wagon, 1923), and THE HALF NAKED TRUTH (1932).

My favorite of the two is WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND which could easily be an early draft of Frank Capra’s MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939) in terms of its storyline: an idealistic young Congressman arrives in the nation’s capital and quickly discovers that the town is run by lobbylists and special interest groups and that widespread corruption is easily dismissed  or ignored by D.C. insiders as part of the day to day reality. Gee, sounds like our current state of affairs. The big difference here is that Lee Tracy’s Congressman, Button Gwinett Brown, is not nearly as naïve as James Stewart’s Jefferson Smith. He’s a wily, persistent son-of-a-gun with a quick learning curve who proves to be a formidable adversary to the crooked powermongers in control. What starts out as lighthearted satire transitions into a serious political critique before the midpoint and builds to a suspenseful climax in which good triumphs but in a highly questionable way – through vigilante justice – which is just another form of fascism, depending on whose side you’re on. Flawed though the film may be due to its often schizophrenic shift between slapstick, cynical satire and high drama, it’s still a fascinating curio with Tracy consistently compelling as an unlikely patriotic hero.

The WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND screenplay by Jo Swerling was based on a story by Maxwell Anderson. Swerling, of course, had already worked numerous times with director Frank Capra at this point (Ladies of Leisure [1930], Rain or Shine [1930], The Miracle Woman [1931], Platinum Blonde [1931]) so it’s no surprise that the screenplay reflects the hopes and dreams and dire economical and social realities of the Depression era and a Populist political persuasion not unsimilar to Capra’s ’30s films.  According to notes on the AFI (American Film Institute) web site “…Columbia bought the screen rights to only the title of the Robert Sharon Allen-Drew Pearson best seller [of the same name], and hired Maxwell Anderson to write a fictionalized story to accompany the title. Although a Hollywood Reporter production chart credits technical advisor Eugene Thackeray (and Anderson) with screenplay, Thackery’s contribution to the final script has not been confirmed. Drew Pearson was an influential columnist for the Baltimore Sun when he co-wrote the book Washington Merry-Go-Round, a controversial political expose. Subsequent to the book’s publication, Pearson was fired from the Sun. He went on to co-write with Allen a nationally syndicated column under the book’s title until 1942, and subsequently wrote it for many years alone or in collaboration with other writers.”

In another interesting side note, Button Gwinnett was one of the signers of the original Declaration of Independence, the character Lee Tracy is named after in the movie. Gwinnett was from Georgia and Tracy was born in Atlanta, Ga. so there are serendipitous connections the average moviegoer would have missed. Yet, nobody who has seen this can fail to take note of Lee Tracy’s powder keg performance, which proves he could be a riveting dramatic actor as well as a dazzling comedian in the same movie. Sure, he wasn’t handsome or suave or charming but his crazy-like-a-fox charisma made him the sort of person you’d want on your side in a fight against “the bad guys.” And the on-again, off-again flirtation/romance between Gwinnett and Alice Wylie (Constance Cummings), the daughter of a Congressman, was just one of Tracy’s many on-screen romantic pairings proving that studio executives saw him as a leading man. And he was one – from Big Time (1929), his first starring role, up until Two-Fisted (1935). After that his career begin to falter as he drifted into B-pictures and supporting roles.

According to most sources, he could be just as rude, offensive and self-destructive as some of the characters he played offscreen and it earned him a reputation of being difficult. As a result, he didn’t stay with any studio long and after being fired by MGM for his allegedly embarrassing behavior on the set of Viva Villa! in Mexico (he was said to have urinated in public onto a passing military parade below from his balcony), he moved to RKO for awhile and then freelanced. More than anything, Tracy was probably his own worst enemy in terms of sabotaging his film career. But considering his short shelf life as a movie actor, he left us some gems to savor such as providing the comic relief as a nosy reporter in DOCTOR X (1932) or his gossip columnist modeled on Walter Winchell in BLESSED EVENT (1932) or the movie agent representing a washed-up silent film star (John Barrymore) in DINNER AT EIGHT (1934)….and many more Pre-Code and Post-Code delights that are still waiting to be discovered. But back to WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND.

This is the sort of timeless political parable where you can see contemporary politicians in the roles of these crooked and ineffectual cinematic politicians and lobbyists. The chief villain could be an earlier version of Tom Delay; instead of a guy who launched a political career from a pest control business, we have a bootlegger named Edward T. Norton (Alan Dinehart), who plots to eventually control all news media in the U.S. and is lobbying to force through a bill that will have taxpayers contributing to a bogus patriot named General Digger – in reality, it’s a crook who stole land from Native Americans and is getting four million dollars as a reward.

The dialogue crackles with wit and wisdom at times and Tracy has his share of rabble rousing speeches such as the one he makes to a crowd of angry war veterans referred to as “The Bonus Army” who have set up a squatters camp in Washington: “Let me tell you this: This nation is in trouble, great trouble, plagued with a thousand problems. This isn’t just a depression; this is a crisis! You’ve got a Senate and a House of Representatives, filled mostly with honest, patriotic men. . . . And they’re all striving to bring this nation back to its place in the sun. But they’re handicapped–hamstrung by a hidden government–an evil, marauding crew that has turned the Constitution of the United States into a bill of sale.” He also doesn’t pull any punches with his socialite girlfriend when he realizes she is oblivious to her senator father’s complicit involvement in Norton’s schemes: “You think you know your Washington. Your Washington is just a Vassar daisy chain. To you, it’s all a merry-go-round: embassies, parties, teas, dances. Why, if you got into a covered wagon, you’d ask for a chauffeur. You’re like all the rest of the people around here: soft and dizzy and useless.”

In contrast to WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND, THE HALF NAKED TRUTH (1932) is a breezy screwball comedy that has plenty of laugh-out-loud moments within its 77 minute running time. Tracy is teamed with the sexy Lupe Velez whose crack comic timing is a good match for the actor’s over caffeinated persona. When they’re together, it’s like watching a dog and cat fight – the fur flies. The movie begins in a rundown carnival on the verge of bankrupcy where Tracy is a sideshow pitchman (perfect casting) named Bates. He concocts a scam to lure the nearby townies to see exotic dancer Teresita (Velez) under false advertising; he promises Teresita will reveal the identity of a local dignitary who impregnated her mother and abandoned them years before. Undercover cops crash the show, however, and a riot breaks out with Bates, Teresita and Achilles (Eugene Pallette) fleeing to New York City where Bates wastes no time concocting another elaborate ruse. This time he tries to pass Teresita and Achilles off as Princess Exotica, a Turkish emigre, and her bodyguard. Through much conniving and manipulation, he manages to hoodwink Farrell (Frank Morgan), a famous Broadway impresario,  into making Teresita the star of his new musical revue.

The love-hate relationship between Teresita and Bates in THE HALF NAKED TRUTH mirrors the funny, combative duo of BOMBSHELL. Eight years before Velez scored a hit film series as the “Mexican Spitfire,” she was already honing her comic skills here which pitted her volatile, shrieking, language-mangling showgirl against Tracy’s arm-twisting shyster. As much fun as they are together, the supporting players almost steal the movie from them, especially Frank Morgan as the sap producer, a married man who is photographed by Tracy’s hidden camera in a private moment with Princess Exotica – he ‘s trying to seduce her with an olive between his teeth. The photograph becomes a running joke in the film and turns up repeatedly in bigger and more outlandish variations including a billboard poster outside his office window.

Eugene Pallette – I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this young before – is equally hilarious as the loyal but not too bright business partner of Bates. In one of the funniest episodes, Bates convinces Achilles and Gladys (Shirley Chambers), a dim-witted hotel maid, to pose as members of a vegetarian nudist cult who have set up camp in New York’s Central Park. The stunt receives front page headlines and earns Gladys a stage contract with Farrell, who is anxious to  replace Teresita with her after that incriminating encounter with his star attraction. But the nuttiest aspect of this sequence is the sight of Pallette in a Neanderthal hairpiece and fake beard and a skimpy caveman outfit that accents his tubby physique. Franklin Pangborn also scores some laughs in his brief scenes as a frazzled hotel clerk who is conned by Tracy’s character.

THE HALF NAKED TRUTH was directed by Gregory La Cava (My Man Godfrey [1936], Stage Door [1937]) and produced by David O. Selznick at RKO before he moved back over to MGM where he first started in the business as a script reader. True to his bad reputation, Tracy created problems for Selznick during the filming of the movie. According to notes on the AFI web site, “…actor Lee Tracy provoked the ire of Selznick because of his repeated late arrivals and absences from the set. In a “strictly confidential” 8 Oct 1932 inter-office memo, Selznick recommended that, “for the good of the company and the industry,” a legal suit be brought against Tracy for the total amount of monies he had cost the studio. Selznick suggested serving Tracy with the lawsuit “on the set as soon as the last scene has been finished, and in front of the entire company.” As threatened, RKO withheld $3,500 from Tracy’s final paycheck and then filed a $10,000 “conciliation” suit against him through the Conciliation Committee of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences on 14 Oct 1932. Dr. Frederic Bergstrom, speaking to the press on behalf of Tracy, stated that Tracy was suffering from a nervous breakdown and that his set absences had been the result of stomach disorders. In spite of Selznick’s stated desire to run Tracy “out of the industry,” RKO finally settled the suit out of court. By agreement, RKO paid Tracy $1,500, half of his withheld salary, and promised that, if he behaved himself during production, he would be rewarded with the other half as a bonus upon completion of his next RKO movie.”    

Tracy may have been a pain in the ass to work with – and it certainly caught up with him later – but his talent is undeniable and he’s one of the iconic actors of the Pre-Code era – ballsy, rude and street smart. I’d love to see TCM make him “Star of the Month” someday and there are others overdue for that distinction such as Warren William, Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Mickey Rooney……

Initially I was also going to discuss TURN BACK THE CLOCK (1933), a most unusual fantasy comedy with Tracy and Mae Clark that prefigures Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life in its what-might-have-been dream structure but I’ll cover that another time. Meanwhile, Lee Tracy watchers can mark their calendars for October 29th when TCM presents DOCTOR X (1932) at 6 am ET.

Other Lee Tracy links you may enjoy:

http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/64/64leetracy.php Imogen Sara Smith at Bright Lights Film Journal

http://abrokenheartandaglassofbeer.blogspot.com/2007/08/untitled.html A Broken Heart and a Glass of Beer