Ensofter Overrated and overhyped

Cortechba Overrated

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

mike48128 Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda in what is considered one of the best comedy "farces" of all time. It creeps up on the viewer slowly after Jean Harrington (Barbara) trips Charlie Pike (Fonda) in the grand dinning room of a cruise ship, just to get his attention. She is a card shark and intends to take him for every penny he is worth, but Jean falls head-over-heels in love with him. Her dad, the Colonel, (Charles Coburn) cheats Charlie out of $32,000 with a check he never cashes. Charlie is the heir to the family brewing fortune and prefers to capture snakes in the Amazon, so he brings a small one on shipboard. Jean breaks her shoe (on purpose) and lures him back to her stateroom, and thus the romance begins begins. A colorful cast includes gravel-voiced Eugene Paulette as "Charlie's dad" and William Frawley as "Muggsy", a family "retainer". In the last 40 minutes of the film, Director Sturges pulls out all the stops as Charlie is plagued by a barrage of pratfalls and stains several dinner jackets, the best one being the "gravy and prime rib spill". Jean passes herself off as "Lady Eve Sidwich" and Charlie is captivated once again, this time into marriage. Impossible, one would think, with fake credentials, but go with it. On their honeymoon trip on the train, she invents a "casting call" of "dozens" of willing Englishmen, starting at age 16, that she has amorous adventures with. Charlie leaves the train in anger and disgust. Jean is unable to go through with the final deception of a lucrative divorce settlement, much to the disapproval of her father. She meets him again in the same shipboard scenario. This time, when she trips him, he chases her back to her stateroom post-haste. "I'm married" he confesses. "So am I" she replies. Everyone failed to realize that Jean and Eve were the exact same person, as her fake British accent starts to slip toward the end of the film. Only Muggsy gets it right: "It's the same dame". Of course she is!

Antonius Block Barbara Stanwyck sizzles in this movie, which has a bit of everything – sex, intrigue, and comedy. She plays a card sharp who travels with her father and his associate, bilking rich people out of their money. Henry Fonda plays her mark, a bumbling herpetologist and heir to a brewery business, but his naïve innocence makes her fall for him. The scenes where she is seducing him are absolutely electric. Later, she begins to be protective of him, and the gambling scene with her father (played by Charles Coburn) is wonderful. Frankly, Stanwyck's eyes and face are so alive that she steals every scene she's in.Director Preston Sturges paces the movie very well, there is never a dull moment or anything wasted. At the midway point it's hard to say what will happen, but I won't give anything away, except to say the first half of the movie is a bit better than the second. Released in 1941, it's got a couple of topical references, including William Demarest doing a Hitler impression, which was an interesting reminder of the darkness looming in the world. Overall, a very enjoyable movie, and a memorable Stanwyck performance.

erictopp I had high expectations for this film. I liked the quirky "Sullivan's Travels" and wanted to see what Preston Sturgess could do with a screwball comedy.Unfortunately, "The Lady Eve" was a disappointment. The opening scene introduces Charles (Henry Fonda), a dedicated ophidiologist. Then we meet Jean (Barbara Stanwyck) and Harrington (Charles Coburn), a couple of professional gamblers looking to take money off rich suckers aboard a cruise liner. There is some snappy dialog as Jean targets Charles for a take-down. Stanwyck has charisma in this role and the supporting cast do a fine job up to this point.Then things go off the rails. Charles is boring and Fonda gives no life to this character. Why a cynic like Jean should go gooey-eyed over him is absurd. I dislike movies where the romantic leads say "I love you" when there is nothing to make you think these are anything more than words in a script.The setup for this supposed romance is stupid. Jean finds that Charles' passion is for snakes. She is deathly afraid of snakes. This could be an act but her running out of his cabin and down the stairs is sped up for a cheap gag. Will he give up snakes for her? No! So now she is in love and wants to marry him?That is pretty much the end of the snake theme. After the opening credits, we are led to expect that snakes and the legend of Eve must be a big part of this story. A snake appears in a brief scene at the Pike mansion later. Will a snake appear at the wedding to reveal Eve is Jean after all? No!There are a couple of other things in the film that go nowhere. On the ship, Charles goes dizzy at the smell of Jean's perfume. At the mansion, Eve wears the same perfume but Charles refuses to believe that Eve is Jean. When Charles is courting Eve, the horse misbehaves. They shoot the scene from a different angle with the horse in shot. If this is meant to be a sight gag, it doesn't work.The final scene is ridiculous. Charles is back on a ship where he meets Jean again. Why is he on a ship? Why is Jean there? Most importantly, why does Charles say he is in love with Jean? It makes no sense.Screwball comedies are funny. This is not.For a much better movie about a con artist marrying a clumsy naturalist, watch "A New Leaf" instead.

SnoopyStyle Charles Pike (Henry Fonda) is an heir to a beer fortune. He would rather study snakes in the jungle than face gold-digging reptiles in the modern jungle. He's going home on a cruise ship being hunted by every women on board. Jean Harrington (Barbara Stanwyck), her father Colonel Harrington (Charles Coburn) and his partner Gerald (Melville Cooper) are a team of con artists. Jean literally trips Charles into her trap. Muggsy (William Demarest) is his ever-present suspicious guardian.Stanwyck talking trash about the other girls is brilliant. It's classic Preston Sturges and it takes a ballsy chick like Stanwyck to deliver those lines properly. She's great and so is Henry Fonda who has the sincere boy scout quality. The moment he pulls down her revealing skirt is all Fonda. They make for quite a rom-com pairing and Sturges showcases them magnificently.