Whipsaw is a messy, charming road trip movie with a very tired Spencer Tracy

Is it worth your time?

If you have about eighty minutes and you like watching old stars bicker in rainstorms, then yeah, Whipsaw is worth a look. It is perfect for a lazy Sunday when you do not want to think too hard about complex plots.

People who love 1930s fast-talk will enjoy it. If you hate movies where the main guy is kind of a jerk to the lady for no reason, you might want to skip this one. 🚗

I went into this thinking it was a hard-boiled crime story about jewel thieves. It starts that way, with shadows and tough guys talking about 'the job' in that way they did back then.

But then it becomes a road trip movie. Then it suddenly becomes a movie about delivering babies in a storm? It is a bit of a mess, but a sweet mess.

The Tracy and Loy Dynamic

Spencer Tracy looks like he hasn't slept in three days. He has these heavy bags under his eyes that make him look like a real person, not a movie star.

He is playing Ross Thomas, an agent pretending to be a crook. He is trying to trick Vivian (Myrna Loy) into trusting him. Myrna Loy is, as usual, the coolest person in the room. 💎

She has this way of looking at him like she knows exactly what he is thinking. Even when the script makes her character seem a bit naive, Loy plays it with a wink.

They have this chemistry that feels like an old married couple who are currently annoyed with each other. It's not flashy like some of the other romances from that era, but it feels solid.

I kept waiting for him to just tell her the truth. The lying gets a bit uncomfortable after a while, especially when she starts being really nice to him.

The Weird Missouri Detour

The movie takes this sharp turn when they get stuck in a storm in Missouri. They end up at a farmhouse with a bunch of strangers.

Suddenly, the jewel heist doesn't matter anymore. We spend a long time watching them deal with a medical emergency at the farm. It feels like the movie forgot it was a crime thriller for twenty minutes.

There is this actor, John Qualen, who plays a nervous father. He is in everything from this era, like The Greene Murder Case, and he always has the same worried face.

This whole section is slow. Some people will hate it because it stops the plot dead in its tracks.

I actually liked it. It showed a softer side of Tracy's character that made the ending feel a little more earned. ⛈️

Random Notes from my Notepad

• The car they drive looks incredibly uncomfortable for a cross-country trip.
• There is a scene with a mirror where Tracy looks at himself and you can tell he feels like a total heel.
• The bad guys are pretty forgettable. They just kind of show up at the end to get shot or arrested.
• Why does everyone in 1935 wear a full suit to go on a muddy road trip?
• The lighting in the farmhouse is actually really moody and nice.

The ending happens very fast. It feels like the director realized they only had five minutes of film left and needed to wrap everything up. ✈️

It is not as weird as something like Sham Poo, the Magician, but it has its moments of oddity. I think the script had too many writers (there are four listed!) and they all wanted a different movie.

One writer probably wanted a comedy, and another wanted a gritty drama like Fury of the Jungle. The result is Whipsaw, which is just... okay.

Final Thoughts

It's not a masterpiece. It won't change your life or make you rethink cinema. But it’s got heart.

I like movies that feel like they were made by people just trying to tell a decent story. It doesn't feel like a 'product' made by a computer. It feels like a 1935 B-movie that got lucky with two great leads.

Watch it for Myrna Loy’s side-eye. It is worth the price of admission alone. 🎞️

Also, the title Whipsaw barely makes sense for the plot. I think they just thought it sounded cool and tough.

If you're looking for something else, maybe try The Dawn of Freedom or even Buck Privates for something lighter. But this one is a nice middle ground.