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Whipsaw

Play trailer Poster for Whipsaw 1935 1h 18m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 3 Reviews 38% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
Hot jewels from London make their way to New York, where they are stolen by racketeer Ed Dexter (Harvey Stephens), who hides them with the help of his vivacious girlfriend, Vivian Palmer (Myrna Loy). Federal agent Ross McBride (Spencer Tracy) goes undercover to infiltrate Dexter's gang and, suspecting Vivian can lead him to the jewels, comes to her aid when she is chased by a rival gang. The two flee to the Midwest with both gangs in pursuit -- but Vivian is not as gullible as Ross thinks.

Critics Reviews

View All (3) Critics Reviews
Meyer Levin (Patterson Murphy) Esquire Magazine With those two players, you can't go far wrong. Apr 16, 2020 Full Review Ann Ross Maclean's Magazine Jewel thieves, gangsters, detectives and Myrna Loy in a fast, exciting, preposterous mix-up. Sep 25, 2019 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews A fairly entertaining romantic crime thriller even if not a gem. Rated: B Aug 17, 2016 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Splendid, but Powell would have been better. Tracy drags it down. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Audience Member Tracy substitutes poorly for Powell, coming just after The Thin Man and largely failing to inspire any chemistry with Loy. The script doesn't help, with a facile jewel plot and hokey romantic interlude where his amorous feelings are inspired by her prowess at midwifery. It's all over the place, which would be fine were there screwball dialogue or much crackle to the goings-on. However, if you've long seen all of the TCM heavy rotation from each - this has some good moments and is an interesting contrast. Now available from WA: https://www.wbshop.com/Whipsaw-1935/1000120281,default,pd.html?cgid= Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Terrific comedy with Spencer Tracey and the always fabulous Myrna Loy. They make a great pair, for a couple of actors who were half of their own respected screen pairs (Hepburn/Tracey and Powell/Loy). Not an all-time classic, but highly entertaining for classic film buffs. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Audience Member My new favorite movie. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Whipsaw is a movie that isn't bad, but when watching it I got the feeling that it missed its calling as a screwball comedy. I wouldn't compare it to a Rhodes scholar flipping burgers but maybe more like a pro-wrestler working as a gym teacher. Myrna Loy and Spencer Tracy for the most part have the chemistry necessary to pull Whipsaw off. She's cute and Tracy has a few funny moments. Again, Whipsaw isn't a bad movie but definitely a misplaced one. But when you're done watching it you'll realize why you don't hear the title Whipsaw associated with either of these actors. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Audience Member WHIPSAW: <i>transitive verb</i> to beset or victimize in two opposite ways at once, by a two-phase operation, or by the collusive action of two opponents A man buys four very expensive pearls, not knowing that jewel thieves are plotting to steal them. The jewel thieves soon discover that a crime syndicate wants a piece of their action. The crime syndicate doesn't know that the jewel thieves are plotting to double-cross them. The thieves enlist the help of a beautiful woman. The beautiful woman doesn't know that she's secretly transporting the stolen pearls. She meets up with a crook who agrees to help her escape the syndicate thugs that are following her. The crook is actually a federal agent. The agent doesn't know that the beautiful woman knows that he is a federal agent. The jewel thieves think they're fooling the syndicate who thinks they're fooling the beautiful woman who thinks she's fooling the federal agent who thinks he's fooling the beautiful woman and the wheel goes round and round and round and.... I know this all sounds a bit convoluted, but in the end we're talking about Myrna Loy and Spencer Tracy. I don't know about you but I'd pay money to watch the two of them play checkers for an hour and a half. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/10/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Whipsaw

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis Hot jewels from London make their way to New York, where they are stolen by racketeer Ed Dexter (Harvey Stephens), who hides them with the help of his vivacious girlfriend, Vivian Palmer (Myrna Loy). Federal agent Ross McBride (Spencer Tracy) goes undercover to infiltrate Dexter's gang and, suspecting Vivian can lead him to the jewels, comes to her aid when she is chased by a rival gang. The two flee to the Midwest with both gangs in pursuit -- but Vivian is not as gullible as Ross thinks.
Director
Sam Wood
Producer
Harry Rapf, Sam Wood
Screenwriter
Howard Emmett Rogers
Production Co
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (DVD)
Jan 25, 2010
Runtime
1h 18m