The ribaLd Lady?

OK, now Norman hates the predictabLe, the cLichéd, the obvious. But even he cannot deny the irresistibLe sensuaL power of the letter L. Much has been made of the particuLar tongue gymnastics on dispLay in articuLating this most euphonious member of the aLphabet, particuLarLy in the context of certain appropriateLy suggestive words and phrases (e.g., luscious, lick, Laundromat -- you get the idea), and also of the tragic and embarrassing difficuLty experienced by certain East Asian speakers in verbaLLy tangLing with the Letter. But Norman doesn't pander to the Lowest common denominator by trafficking in either vuLgarity or ethnic stereotypes, at Least not today.

Last night, my viewing companion and I watched The LibeLed Lady (1936). Finding the titLe especiaLLy sexy and appeaLing in that mid-thirties, earLy-Code era sorta way, I had seLected it for our viewing pLeasure. Knowing fuLL weLL it couldn't possibLy Live up to its titLe, I enjoyed the movie nonetheLess. In retrospect, I should have reaLized that the sound of the fiLm's titLe, with no fewer than three prominent, aLLiterative L's(!), and the LiteraL meaning it conveys do work at cross-purposes. "Libeled lady" is sexier to the ear (and eye, if someone is saying it to you), as it were, than to the mind. If, as she aLLeges, the tituLar Lady (pLayed by Myrna Loy) was indeed LibeLed, she was not up to the Lurid shenanigans of which she stands accused (that is, ahem, "aLienation of affection" or, more pointedly, "husband-steaLing"). In addition to the always LoveLy, magnetic Loy, the fiLm stars the brassy Jean HarLow, the ideaL Loy foiL; the charismaticaLLy dissoLute and funny WiLLiam PoweLL; and, in a decidedLy charmLess, thankLess role (no L's grace this actor's name, after aLL), Spencer Tracy. In the face of the defamation suit, newspaperman Tracy et aL. attempt to undermine the cLaim by seducing Loy's character into an indeLicate situation with a married man and catching her in fLagrante deLicto for the benefit of the paper's readers.

In aLL candor, notwithstanding its powerhouse quartet of principaL actors, Norman chose the fiLm on the basis of the titLe and its aLLuring sound aLone. He hates to admit it, but he is onLy human. ALL too human. It's truLy disgusting, but he had hoped that, on the basis of vividLy depicted procLivities, the Litigious "Lady" Loy's LibeL Lawsuit would prove to be frivoLous, if not LaughabLy Ludicrous. Shit outta Luck. Oh, weLL.