Interesting obviously for the fact that they made a woman the fast talking lead reporter. That gender reversal created a battle of the sexes that was a true battle for the time as gender roles were being formed in the 30s into the 40’s in regards to making women sexual objects of men’s desires and creating the machissimo image of the man as head of the house that would dominate in the 50s.
This is one of those films that challenged the conventional notions of the time. However, the woman like all these other 30’s films ends up getting married and owned by the man, Cary Grant, at the end. This contributes once again to the schizophrenic message that yes there are strong leading ladies who are sexually free and dominant, but also yes they need to be tamed by men through marriage… you're not really sure which message to heed the most.
This is the effect of the Hays Code enforcing a moral order as well as the shifting moral attitudes of the times against the producers and veterans of hollywood who made movies during the silent era and early 30’s when strong stories and strong women and sexuality and bold moral choices were the thing of the day. Its almost as if the filmmakers here know what they are doing is out of step with the moral progress of the past and in a way going backwards in restricting the role of a woman.
This movie was exceptionally good. The filmmaking is definitely beyond compare at this point in time, we rarely feel anymore that we’re on a set but rather in a real location, the courthouse.
Cary grant is amazing and this really feels like a precursor to billy wilder’s One Two Three.