US 94m Dir: Preston Sturges Key Cast: Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda
I'm not really a fan of the screwball comedy genre and unfortunately this is one of the prime examples of the genre.
Beautiful con artist Jean Harrington (Barbara Stanwyck) attempts to fleece rich snake expert Charles Pike (Henry Fonda) aboard an ocean liner. She inadvertently falls in love with the man but is rejected when he discovers she is a con artist. Scorned, she then takes on the guise of Lady Eve and once again attempts to con Charles.
Like most examples of the genre, this is a mismatched couple spending half the time hating each other and half the time in love with each other. The twist of the second identity adds a little interest but relies heavily on the idea that Charles would believe it was a different woman. There is some attempt to explain how he falls for it but it's still difficult to conceive that this intelligent man who knows that Jean is a con-artists would so easily fall for it.
Speaking of falling, there's a whole lot of slapstick here. I'm not so intellectually snobbish to think that slapstick comedy is never funny but here there's no real artistry or even point to it. It's vaguely amusing the first time Charles falls over but after the tenth time it becomes rather tedious.
Another reason I didn't entirely get on with this is that it felt to me like Henry Fonda was miscast. Fonda was a great actor but he just didn't feel right in the role which needed a stronger comic personality like Cary Grant. It's fortunate that Barbara Stanwyck is a hoot here, good as Jean but fantastic as Eve. Stanwyck was by far the highlight of the film for me.
Unusually, there's quite a sexual element to this. Obviously it still sticks to the production code of the time but it feels like it edges closer to it than most other films of it's day, most notably with the film ending with the lead couple closing a door and clearly about to have sex- the dialogue confirms they are married which meant the censors didn't have much to complain about.
A pretty stereotypical example of a genre I don't particularly love. albeit with an excellent Barbara Stanwyck performance.
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