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The Lady Eve - Criterion Collection | Year: 1941 Classification: Comedy Directed: - Preston Sturges Actors/Actresses: - Barbara Stanwyck - Henry Fonda Another Great Sturges Comedy The Lady Eve is another of the great comedies from writer/director Preston Sturges. Henry Fonda plays a wealthy snake scientist who has been up the Amazon looking for unusual specimens. On the boat back to the States, he literally falls for Barbara Stanwyck. But she is part of a team of con artists seeking to relieve him of his money. The complication is that she starts to really fall in love with him. Out of this situation Sturges provides some hilarious moments. Fonda just can't stop falling over. He falls over feet, over furniture and into mud and has any number of objects fall on him. This is one of his few comedy roles and he does a fine job keeping up with the comic talent around him. Sturges uses Fonda's screen persona and subverts it with the result that the film becomes a sort of Lady Eve meets Young Mr Lincoln. It shows what happens when decent, methodical, idealistic Hank meets conniving, sophisticated, gold-digging Barbara. Stanwyck plays her part to perfection. She can be hard-boiled, but also vulnerable. She can be frighteningly icy, but allows her emotions to peek through the façade. Stanwyck also shows that she can perform a good imitation of an upper-class English accent. It only falls down when she uses a few examples of American English like 'pants' instead of 'trousers', but this is the script's fault not hers. The supporting cast in The Lady Eve is full of Sturges regulars like William Demarest who is his usual gruff no-nonsense self, seeing through all tricks. The cast also has the wonderful Eugene Pallette as Fonda's father. A scene where he calls for his breakfast by banging lids like cymbals is one of the funniest in the film. The script is full of great lines and the dialogue is so fast and witty that it is certainly necessary to see The Lady Eve more than once in order to appreciate all of the humour. The print used for the Criterion DVD is nearly perfect. I noticed one moment where the image flickers, but it only lasts a fraction of a second. Otherwise I saw only clear bright images. The sound quality is also good with none of the background hiss and indistinct dialogue which sometimes plagues films from this period. The DVD also has quite a few extras. The commentary by Marian Keane is a bit academic for my taste and some of Keane's speculations I found to be a bit wild. Nevertheless it has some good insights and is well worth listening to. There is also a collection of stills to scroll through and a recording of the Lux Theater adaptation of the film. I didn't find the extras on this DVD as interesting as those on some other Criterion DVDs, but the film itself is so good I hardly minded. Clever and VERY funny... This is a fantastic screwball comedy! Like all of Sturges films, it is very witty and fast paced. Additionally, like many of the other Sturges films, it manages to get away with a lot for a movie made in the 1940s (when movies were still under the Hays production code). Essentially, The Lady Eve is the story of a naive (but very wealthy) adventurer right out of the Amazon, played by Henry Fonda (in his only screwball performance) who meets a sly and sexy girl named Eve, played by Barbara Stanwyck on a boat and immediately falls for her. When, however, he realizes she and her father are really professional gamblers who roam around getting money from people by playing card games, he is furious and leaves her. The rest of the movie deals with her hilarious efforts to win him back under a different name - that of the Lady Eve Sidwich. This movie keeps the laughs coming at a frantic pace! The DVD is great - this is a must have. If you haven't seen it yet, get ready for a great time! Never play cards with a card sharp <BR>Director: Preston Sturges<BR>Format: Black & White<BR>Studio: Universal Studios <BR>Video Release Date: August 4, 1998 Cast: Barbara Stanwyck ... Jean Harrington/Lady Eve Sidwich <BR>Henry Fonda ... Charles Pike ('Hopsie') <BR>Charles Coburn ... 'Colonel' Harrington <BR>Eugene Pallette ... Horace Pike <BR>William Demarest ... Muggsy (Ambrose Murgatroyd) <BR>Eric Blore ... Sir Alfred McGlennan Keith ('Pearlie') <BR>Melville Cooper ... Gerald <BR>Martha O'Driscoll ... Martha <BR>Janet Beecher ... Janet Pike <BR>Robert Greig ... Burrows <BR>Dora Clement ... Gertrude <BR>Luis Alberni ... Emile, Pike's chef <BR>Harry Depp ... Man With Glasses on Boat <BR>Robert Dudley ... Husband on Boat <BR>Ray Flynn ... Lawyer <BR>Kenneth Gibson ... Party Guest <BR>Sam Ash ... Husband on Boat <BR>Alfred Hall ... Party Guest <BR>Eddie Hall ... Chauffeur <BR>John Hartley ... Young Man on Boat <BR>Arthur Hoyt ... Lawyer at Phone in Pike's Office <BR>Arthur Stuart Hull ... Party Guest <BR>Jack W. Johnston ... Lawyer <BR>Harry A. Bailey ... Lawyer Ambrose Barker ... Mac <BR>Bertram Marburgh ... Party Guest <BR>George Melford ... Party Guest <BR>Torben Meyer ... Mr. Clink, Purser <BR>Frank Moran ... Party Bartender <BR>Joseph North ... Second Butler at Party <BR>Wilson Benge ... First Butler at Party <BR>Victor Potel ... Second Steward <BR>Jack Richardson ... Father of Girl on Board <BR>Cyril Ring ... Husband on Boat <BR>Abdullah Abbas ... Man With Potted Palm <BR>Harry Rosenthal ... Piano Tuner <BR>Reginald Sheffield ... Professor Jones <BR>Norman Ainsley ... Sir Alfred's Servant <BR>Julius Tannen ... Lawyer <BR>Walter Walker ... Sparky <BR>Robert Warwick ... Passenger <BR>Pat West ... Ship's Bartender <BR>Gayne Whitman ... Party Guest <BR>Al Bridge ... First Steward <BR>Jimmy Conlin ... Third Steward <BR>Wanda McKay ... Daughter on Boat <BR>Esther Michelson ... Wife on Boat <BR>Ella Neal ... Daughter on Boat <BR>Barbara Pepper ... Lady Wrestler Type <BR>Jean Phillips ... Sweetie <BR>Wilda Bennett ... Party Guest <BR>Evelyn Beresford ... Party Guest <BR>Frances Raymond ... Old Lady on Boat <BR>Marcelle Christopher ... Daughter on Boat <BR>Georgie Cooper ... Party Guest <BR>Nell Craig ... Boat Passenger at Railing <BR>Eva Dennison ... Mother on Boat <BR>Helen Dickson ... Mother on Boat <BR>Pauline Drake ... Social Secretary <BR>Betty Farrington ... Mother on Boat <BR>Bess Flowers ... Party Guest <BR>Almeda Fowler ... Mother on Boat A trio of card sharps on a cruise ship tries to take a rich man's son, Charles Pike (Henry Fonda) at cards. Unfortunately for both of them, Pike falls for Jean Harrington (Barbara Stanwyck), and she him. Also unfortunately, her background as a card cheat comes out and puts the kibosh on the romance. The story Never play cards with a card sharp Cast: Barbara Stanwyck ... Jean Harrington/Lady Eve Sidwich Ambrose Barker ... Mac A trio of card sharps on a cruise ship tries to take a rich man's son, Charles Pike (Henry Fonda) at cards. Unfortunately for both of them, Pike falls for Jean Harrington (Barbara Stanwyck), and she him. Also unfortunately, her background as a card cheat comes out and puts the kibosh on the romance. The story Buy The Lady Eve at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on The Lady Eve Search with the Priority Search Engine on The Lady Eve This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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