Tracy will become one of MGM's most valuable stars." Curtis notes that the studio managed Tracy with care, a welcome change from the ineptitude and apathy he had known while at Fox, which was like "a shot of adrenaline" for the actor. His first film under the new contract was the quickly produced The Murder Man (1935), which included the feature film debut of James Stewart. Thalberg then began a strategy of pairing Tracy with the studio's top actresses: Whipsaw (1935) co-starred Myrna Loy and was a commercial success. Riffraff (1936) put Tracy opposite Jean Harlow. Both films were, however, designed and promoted to showcase their leading ladies, thus continuing Tracy's reputation as a secondary star. Fury (1936) was the first film to prove that Tracy could make a success on his own merit. Directed by Fritz Lang, Tracy played an innocent man who swears revenge after narrowly escaping death by a lynch mob. The film and performance received excellent reviews. It made a profit of $1.3 million worldwide. Curtis writes: "audiences who, just a year earlier, had no clear handle on him, were suddenly turning out to see him. It was a transition that was nothing short of miraculous ... [and showed] a willingness on the part of the public to embrace a leading man who was not textbook handsome nor bigger than life." Fury was followed one month later with the release of the big-budget disaster movie San Francisco (1936). Tracy played a supporting role alongside Clark Gable in the film, allowing audiences to see him with the top male star in Hollywood. Taking on the role of a priest, Tracy reportedly felt a heavy responsibility in representing the church. Despite having only 17 minutes of screen time, Tracy was highly praised for his performance and received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. San Francisco became the highest-grossing picture of 1936. Donald Deschner, in his book on Tracy, credits Fury and San Francisco as the "two films that changed his career and gave him the status of a major star". By this point, Tracy entered a period of self-imposed sobriety and MGM expressed pleasure with Tracy's professionalism. His public reputation continued to grow with Libeled Lady (also 1936), a screwball comedy that cast him with William Powell, Loy and Harlow. According to Curtis, "Powell, Harlow and Loy were among the biggest draws in the industry, and equal billing