The Lady Eve (1941)
Directed by Preston Sturges

Film Review

One of the most memorable and spirited of Hollywood's stupendous run of screwball comedies in the 1940s, the unflagging comic tour de force that is The Lady Eve typifies Preston Sturges's virtually unrivalled flair for comedy.  Regarded by many as the writer-director's best romantic comedy, this jewel from the Golden Age of American cinema sparkles with its seemingly unstoppable onslaught of excruciatingly funny one-liners and side-splitting surges of slapstick.  The Lady Eve is the most marvellously inspired reinterpretation of the Garden of Eden seduction of Adam by his predatory mate, performed with effortless élan by two of Hollywood's best-loved icons, who have never looked funnier on screen or off.

In what is assuredly his best comedic role, Henry Fonda relishes his part as the gauche serpent-fancying innocent who falls haplessly into the clutches of a deliciously scheming temptress, played by an irresistibly sultry Barbara Stanwyck.  The elegance and reptilian coolness that Stanwyck displays as she calmly seduces and then torments her prey is pure delight, and Fonda is both lovably pitiful and hilarious as the quivering lump of jelly he becomes in Stanwyck's merciless clutches.  Marvellously scripted, faultlessly directed, and with performances that are superlative to a tee, The Lady Eve is a bona fide comic masterpiece that is guaranteed to make you laugh, and laugh out loud.  If you haven't seen this one before, you are in for one Hell of a treat...

Film Synopsis

After a year looking for rare species of snakes in the forests of South America, Charles Pike, son of a ludicrously wealthy ale magnate, returns home by cruise ship.  Rich, handsome and thoroughly available, he is the object of intense scrutiny for every woman on the ship, none more so than Jean Harrington.  With typical feminine guile, Jean insinuates her way into Charles's affection and it's not long before the inexperienced young man is head over heels in love with her.  But when he learns that Jean and her father are a pair of unscrupulous cardsharps, Charles calls an abrupt end to their romance.  Determined to score a cruel revenge, Jean impersonates an English socialite to gain access to Charles's home and, once more, his vulnerable heart...