Directed by:
Preston SturgesScreenplay:
Preston SturgesCinematography:
Victor MilnerCast:
Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Charles Coburn, Eugene Pallette, William Demarest, Eric Blore, Martha O'Driscoll, Janet Beecher, Robert Greig, Luis Alberni (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
Barbara Stanwyck sizzles, Henry Fonda bumbles, and Preston Sturges runs riot in one of the all-time great screwballs, a pitch-perfect blend of comic zing and swoonworthy romance. Aboard a cruise liner sailing up the coast of South America, Stanwyck’s conniving card sharp sets her sights on Fonda’s nerdy snake researcher, who happens to be the heir to a brewery fortune. But when the con artist falls for her mark, her grift becomes a game of hearts—and she is determined to win it all. One in a string of matchless comedic marvels that Sturges wrote, directed, and produced as part of a dazzling 1940s run, this gender-flipped battle-of-wits farce is perhaps his most emotionally satisfying work, tempering its sparkling wit with a streak of tender poignancy supplied by the sensational Stanwyck at her peak. (Criterion)
(more)Reviews (2)
Having switched to comedy, Barbara Stanwyck plays a woman who knows not only what men want, but mainly what she herself wants. And how to get it. Henry Fonda appears in the role of her guileless victim. Whereas he – enchanted by the fragrance, appearance and intellect of the first alluring being he has seen after years spent in the wilderness – betrays the secret of his only trick (a card trick) without any hint of forethought, she subtly involves him in her intrigues. The traditional battle of the sexes doesn’t happen; we know who the winner will be from the beginning. A woman, not a deus ex machina, brings the central couple back together after a falling out. A pure femme fatale in the form of Stanwyck balancing on the very edge of what the Production Code allowed. She is so sensuous that she can alter the protagonist’s perception of reality (the soft-focus subjective shot through the eyes of the enchanted Fonda). She simply befuddles him, but with subtextual hints that filmmakers more timid than Sturges would rather have kept to themselves: the snake as a phallic symbol and Fonda’s subconscious materialised. Because, let’s not be naïve, after such a long period of abstinence, he cares only about one thing and is essentially a person of as little virtue as Stanwyck. Compared to other screwball comedies, The Lady Eve is slower (Sturges’s problems with rhythm are the most obvious when it comes to slapstick) and less sophisticated than the plot suggests, but for its essential alteration of the usual division of roles, it definitely should not be overlooked when tracing the roots of the American romantic comedy genre. 75%
()
Henry Fonda is incredibly adorable in the role of a dimwitted rich man, whom a beautiful stranger wants to swindle for money. However, not everything goes as planned and everything turns out differently. Sure, it's a bit cliché, but the performances are so excellent that you simply have to enjoy this comedy, including the absurd repetition of some funny elements.
()