Nothing Sacred (1937) Plot Summary Explained

Hazel isn't actually dying. When her doctor tells her the truth, that she has no terminal illness, she becomes upset because she realizes she'll be stuck in the small, dull town of Warsaw, Vermont forever. Her fake terminal diagnosis was her ticket to escape and gain attention.

• Hazel Flagg
• Warsaw Vermont
• terminal illness
• escape

This is a euphemism the city officials create to explain Hazel's sudden disappearance. They claim she has gone off alone to die 'like an elephant', a reference to the myth that elephants retreat to die alone. It's a fabricated story to cover up the embarrassment of the hoax.

• elephant
• cover story
• euphemism
• hoax

Wally proposes under the mistaken impression that Hazel is terminally ill. His proposal comes from genuine emotion and perhaps guilt, he's fallen in love with her and wants to give her happiness in her supposed final days. He doesn't realize the entire story about her illness was a fabrication.

• Wally Cook
• proposal
• romance
• terminal illness

Once Hazel realizes the attention and free trip to New York she can get from being thought dying, she goes along with the deception. She enjoys the fame, the ticker-tape parade, and the key to the city. The opportunity to escape Vermont and live lavishly is too tempting for her to admit the truth.

• Hazel Flagg
• deception
• fame
• New York

Once Hazel's story becomes a sensation and boosts the Morning Star's circulation dramatically, the newspaper has a financial incentive to keep the lie alive. Her inspiring story is a goldmine for ratings and revenue, so they choose profit over truth.

• Morning Star newspaper
• circulation
• lie
• deception

Wally gets demoted after his major misreporting error, he mistakenly called Harlem bootblack Ernest Walker a nobleman hosting a charity event. When the mistake is exposed, his credibility is destroyed and he's forced out of real reporting into writing obituaries.

• Wally Cook
• demotion
• obituaries
• Ernest Walker

Hazel's primary motivation is escaping her mundane life in Warsaw, Vermont. The fake terminal illness gives her a free trip to New York, fame, admiration, and financial opportunities she would never have otherwise. She simply chooses to ride the wave of deception as long as it benefits her.

• motivation
• escape
• fame
• Vermont

The movie ends happily with Wally and Hazel marrying and sailing to the tropics. The city officials create a cover story about Hazel leaving to die 'like an elephant,' which allows everyone to save face. The film is a comedy that prioritizes a happy ending over realistic consequences for the hoax.

• ending
• consequences
• wedding
• tropics

Ernest Walker is a Harlem bootblack (shoe shiner) that Wally mistakenly reports as a nobleman from the East hosting a charity event. This false story damages Wally's reputation and sets his career back, leading to his demotion and desperate search for a redemption story.

• Ernest Walker
• Harlem
• bootblack
• misreport

Three independent doctors examine Hazel and confirm she is completely healthy, she has no radium poisoning and is not dying. This revelation threatens to expose the entire hoax and cause massive embarrassment for the newspaper and city officials.

• doctors
• examination
• truth
• diagnosis

Hazel receives a ticker-tape parade and the key to the city because her supposed brave battle against radium poisoning inspires the public. Her story becomes a feel-good sensation that boosts the newspaper's circulation, making her a local hero before the truth comes out.

• ticker-tape parade
• key to the city
• fame
• hero