Product Details

• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Marengo Films
• DVD Release Date: November 21, 2006
• Run Time: 186 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000IJ7AGU
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #83,590 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Nothing Sacred: A young woman who aspires to be an actress arrives in Hollywood with a bucket full of dreams. Life is tough for young actresses and only after she meets famous star Norman Maine does she get a break in film. Their romance turns into a lo

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Let's get it right., July 7, 2008

By	Norma Luce "like 'em old" (California USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The editorial comment is just a teensy off - the movie it's describing is "A Star Is Born," not "Nothing Sacred" as stated. That said, let me say that this double feature from Marengo is a happy little surprise. Criterion quality being a 10 and Madacy being, well, a 1, I'm giving Marengo a good solid 7 for overall quality.

Nowadays, everybody and their dog's company is offering old movies on DVD. With the results you'd expect. Having spent about a bazillion bucks on old movies, I learned the hard way that you generally get what you pay for. So, I wasn't expecting much when I ordered Marengo's double feature of "Nothing Sacred" and "A Star Is Born." Imagine my delight when it turned out to be a terrific bargain.

Both movies are Selznick productions made in 1937, both directed by William Wellman and both are technicolor starring vehicles for Frederick March. March's leading ladies are respectively Carole Lombard and Janet Gaynor.

"Nothing Sacred," co-starring Lombard, is a hilarious screwball comedy about fibbing, fraud and all the attendant tangle-ups. The ensemble cast plays it broadly and brilliantly. Hazel Flagg (Lombard) has been diagnosed with radium poisoning (fatal) by the local doc. But early on, Doc admits to her that she's OK after all - says he'd got so he was seeing radium poisoning everywhere. Hazel's a little disappointed. Not much excitement in a small New England burg and it was fun being the center of attention. Meanwhile, a reporter (March) from a big New York paper has arrived to do a human interest story on Flagg. He's so taken with her "bravery" in the face of impending death that he offers her a fabulous all-expenses-paid trip to New York to do it up right before the bitter end. They know it's wrong, but Hazel and Doc convince themselves that after all they've been through they're entitled. So, off they go, Hazel becoming the next New York flavor of the month. The movie's a great romp, skewering hypocrisy, affectation, sham and pretense, sparing "Nothing Sacred."

"A Star Is Born," co-starring Gaynor, is a well made drama that was rather overshadowed by the Judy Garland/James Mason remake of 1954. But this picture has merit because of the fine performances of the cast and Wellman's directorial touch. Janet Gaynor plays Esther Blodgett, an average kid who wants to be in the movies, so her loving granny subsidizes the trip out to Hollywood with her funeral money. Esther meets top actor Norman Maine (March) by accident while waitressing at a party and it's through him that she eventually gets her toehold in the industry. They fall in love, marry and live "happily" ever after. As Esther's star rises, Norman's becomes eclipsed and he succumbs to alchoholism. There's hypocrisy, affectation, sham and pretense in this movie, too, framed within the story of the movie industry itself. However, instead of fun and satire, we find tragedy and sorrow.

Gaynor had a meteoric rise in silents and in fact became the recipient of the first Oscar for best actress in 1929. She was at the top of her game in this piece, receiving the nomination again for best actress, but her career abruptly ended after just two more pictures, eerily echoing the theme of "A Star Is Born."

So, I recommend you get this DVD, kids. The price is right. The quality's surprisingly good and the stories are ideal vehicles for the stars and director. A jug of root beer, a tub of popcorn and thee...

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Newly Remastered, December 12, 2006

By	Craig H. Cosgray (DALLAS, TEXAS USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Marengo Films is proud to announce the release of these two fine films. A Star is Born is presented in beautiful Technicolor. We put the print through a scene for scene color correction and complete sound design and believe this is the finest print of this movie on the market. Nothing Sacred - an older film - starring Carole Lombard also filmed in Technicolor was a bit worn but through color correction and sound design we believe we have restored it to close to it's original beauty.

4.0 out of 5 stars Marengo print better than Alpha Video print, November 11, 2009

By	Paul Wilson (Modesto, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

I'm not going to discuss the movie (which I like). I just want to indicate that I have seen and compared two of the releases of Nothing Sacred on DVD and the Marengo version, despite having problems, is superior to the Alpha release in both picture and sound. I can't speak for other versions. The Alpha Video print seems to be the most popular version of this movie that is purchased here at Amazon but it is inferior to the Marengo DVD of Nothing Sacred/A Star is Born. I can only hope that perhaps a Criterion or Kino version will come out soon. There is still a lot of room for improvement.