The Lady Eve - Criterion Collection

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In 1941, Barbara Stanwyck was offered two screwball roles equally suited to her tart intelligence, deft comic timing, and undeniable sex appeal, and it's a photo finish as to which was funnier--showgirl-on-the-lam Sugarpuss O'Shea, the title character in Howard Hawks's Ball of Fire, or con artist Jean Harrington a.k.a. Lady Eve Sidwich, the delirious fulcrum for this classic Preston Sturges comedy. Under Sturges's typically antic microscope, the collision between the gold-digging Harrington and the very rich, very hapless brewery-heir-turned-herpetologist Charles Pike (a wonderfully callow, guileless Henry Fonda) yields ample opportunity for the writer-director to skewer issues of class and sex; as always, Sturges is bold in pushing the censors' envelope, capturing a palpable erotic heat between the canny Jean and the literally feverish Charlie, who, after a year up the Amazon, is instantly smitten by the mere sight of her shapely ankles (in hindsight, a precursor to her subsequent effect in Double Indemnity). To give away the plot machinations driving the farce would spoil the fun, beyond confirming impersonations, mixed signals, and misunderstandings as the turns in a consistently rollicking ride that makes good use of Charles Coburn and screwball character veterans Eugene Pallette, William Demarest, and Eric Blore. --Sam Sutherland

Description

A conniving father and daughter meet up with the heir to a brewery fortune-a wealthy but naïve snake enthusiast-and attempt to bamboozle him at a cruise ship card table. Their plan is quickly abandoned when the daughter falls in love with their prey. But when the heir gets wise to her gold-digging ways, she must plot to re-conquer his heart. One of Sturges' most clever and beloved romantic comedies, The Lady Eve balances broad slapstick and sophisticated sexiness with perfect grace.

Customer Reviews:

You go, Barbara!.......2007-08-16

This is a classic comedy. Barbara is funny with impecable timing as is Henry Fonda. This comedy may seem out of character for both of them if you view their later film endeavors. But they make it work wonderfully with a tremendous support cast. Classic-you have to have it!

An Essential Screen Comedy.......2007-07-26

This is one of the greatest of the classic Hollywood comedies. Barbara Stanwyk is quite hilarious, and Fonda an excellent comic foil.

An obvious classic.......2007-07-05

The Lady Eve and Palm Beach Story are the best of the Sturges movies. The Lady Eve is smart, sophisiticated and uproariously funny. Sturges was at the peak of his creativity and had not yet gone into the realm of the broad comedy with excessive slapstick that happened shortly after this movie. Eveis glorious. Stanwyck and Fonda have never been better.

Ahead of it's time.......2007-02-12

You know, most of the time if you watch a screwball comedy from back in the day you go into it expecting unrealistic dialog and somewhat predictable plot twists. Many of the best classic movies are classics only because of the chemistry of the stars.

That's not the case at all with this movie. As a screenwriter, Preston Sturges (who also directed) was way ahead of his time. You still have the snappy, quick dialog between characters. Barbara Stanwyck seems to speak 1000 words per minute. But the dialog never seems forced. You never feel like the characters are only speaking to set up the next joke.

The plot is what you'd expect from a romantic comedy--Stanwyck is a gold digger who's out to swindle a naive, rich man--Henry Fonda. But she ends up falling for him, just as he realizes her game. In a typical movie you'd expect her to attempt and win him back right away through a series of funny, unsuccessful acts--but that's not what happens here. Instead the plot takes a turn towards black comedy for a bit before Fonda and Stanwyck ultimately get together.

The twists are pretty unpredictable and the second half of the movie is really where you find all the laughs, with the first 30 minutes setting things up. If you like movies like "Bringing Up Baby" or "His Girl Friday," then you'll love this.

A Great Comedy; Ties With the Best Final Lines Since "Some Like It Hot".......2006-11-06

"The Lady Eve" is a film that holds a place on The American Film Institute's Top 100 Comedies (#55) and is directed by the legendary Preston Sturges. I found the movie at a library and I figured: A. It's got Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck. B. It's directed by Preston Sturges. C. It's in the Criterion Collection. D. It's free. After viewing it, I think it's justifiably a legendary comedy. It's definitely a movie with a frequently used idea, but it's so charming and funny...It's kind of hard to resist. The movie stars Henry Fonda as Charles Pike, an brewery heir, who is boarding an Ocean liner after having finished a snake-hunting expedition in South America. Also aboard this liner is Jean Harrington (Barbara Stanwyck, 'Double Indemnity'), a con-woman who travels with her father Colonel Harrington (Charles Coburn). Both are looking for rich people to rip off via card games and Jean quickly sets her sighs on Charles. After a wonderful scene, in which Jean watches Charles in the crowded dining area turning down every proposal or trick from the girls that walk by, she gets his attention by tripping him. The movie (it's only 90 minutes) gets to the point quickly. Jean's original plan is to get some money out of Charles, but finds herself falling in love with him. This falling occurs in a great, unbroken shot in which Jean toys with Charles' hair. In a lesser film they would've walked around, flirting, and then she would've returned to see her father and announced "I'm in love!" The movie takes a strange turn, when Charles finds out who Jean and her father are; He quickly severs contact with her, which makes her quite angry. Her anger doesn't last long and when she winds up in the same town that Charles lives in, she formulates a plan with the help of a con-man friend Sir Alfred McGlennan Keith (Eric Blore). She poses as Lady Eve Sidwich and attends a party at Charles' house. Charles is quickly struck by how much the Lady Eve resembles Jean ("It's the same dame!" his valet Muggsay (William Demarest) will tell him frequently throughout the film), but he soon finds himself falling for Eve as well. Now, this movie is pretty predictable for the most part. I knew what was going to happen mid-way through the film, but that doesn't matter. It's not what's happening, it's what is happening as that other stuff is happening. The movie has some great one-liners and scene-stealing performances, notably by Demarest as Muggsay who all-but steals every scene he is in. The movie final three lines (spoken by Jean, Charles, and Muggsay) are really great. I think they rank right up there with the closing lines of "Some Like It Hot." Movies like this don't come around much anymore, it's a rarity when a film flows this well. It's a great romantic-comedy, period.

GRADE: A-

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