THE LADY EVE

Of all the great Preston Sturges film comedies this is my favourite by some distance, it's simply perfect - and any list of great romantic comedies without this at or near the top is not worth your time.

Henry Fonda is perfectly cast as the unworldly and bookish Charles Pike, son of a wealthy beer baron, ably supported by a stellar supporting cast: Charles Coburn as the conman "Colonel" Harrington, Melville Cooper as his aide Gerald, William Demarest as Charles' minder Muggsy, Eugene Pallette as Charles' father, and best of all Eric Blore as a conman pretending to be an English aristocrat, Sir Alfred McGlennan Keith.

But of course the person who excels above everyone else is the great Barbara Stanwyck as Jean Harrington, daughter of the Colonel.  She is totally convincing as the con artist who can twist Charles around her little finger whilst also falling for him, as he does for her.  The scene when he rejects her after discovering the truth about her is heart-rending thanks to her performance.

That sets the scene for the second half of the film where the farcical zaniness one expects from Sturges comes to the fore but not so as to undermine the central romance, as Jean, posing as the Lady Eve Sidwich, manages to get Charles to fall for her all over again. 

Everything is wrapped up cleverly and satisfactorily, and indeed the entire screenplay is a model of economy, with scarcely a wasted line.

Of the many fine comedic moments, two scenes stand out for me: a card game where Jean is determined to stop her father taking Charles to the cleaners, and the scene where Charles tries to declare his love to Eve despite a horse that keeps butting in.

A delight from start to finish.

RATING: ✓✓✓ Cancel All Arrangements

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