***Out In The Classic Screw-Ball Comedy Night-Barbara Stanwyck’s-The Lady Eve

From The Pen Of Frank Jackman

DVD Review

The Lady Eve, starring Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, directed by Preston Sturges, 1941

Okay, moment of truth, moment of classic screwball truth anyway, women have been laying traps to ensnare men since, well, since Eve, and maybe before. And that premise drives this film entitled, ah, as if to put paid to that point, The Lady Eve, directed by the king of classic Hollywood screwball comedy (Sullivan’s Travels, among others). Of course if one went with the original story, that old Adam and Eve ensnarement story we would have a very short film, very short indeed and so Brother Sturges has flesh the piece out a bit.

He does that stretching by having Barbara Stanwyck (last heard from in this space leading Fred MacMurray down another garden path as a femme fatale in the film adaptation of James M. Cain’s Double Indemnity) put on her sophisticated comedic best as a professional card-shark, a roper for her shark father, travelling the Atlantic sea-lanes in search of, well, in search of the big chance haul. And to show that those wearisome trans-Atlantic rides on some old tub were well worth the effort she took dead aim at the scattered-brained scion of a brewing fortune, a role played by Henry Fonda who was heading home from a year down in the Amazon looking, well, let’s keep with the metaphor, snakes. Yeah, easy picking for a world- weary traveler like our Barbara.

Here is the hitch though while trying to fleece Henry she, well, she falls in love with the goof and so all bets are off, literally. The problem is that other protective forces put Henry wise to her gang of ship-board hustlers and so all marriage bets are off. But one should be very, very careful with a woman scorned because all hell is likely to break loose. And it does as Barbara seeks to ensnare Henry one more time this time by doing an impersonation as the well-born Lady Eve (Sidley if you are asking) in his hometown. Needless to say our goof falls, falls hard, and marries our Lady Eve. Only to find out on their honeymoon, once Barbara told him, that she was basically a tramp in furtherance of her revenge. So the goof leaves her again. Seeing that revenge wasn’t so sweet after all Barbara has something else up her sleeve. Watch the film to find out what that stratagem is. In the meantime remember this-women have been trying lay traps to ensnare men ever since Adam and Eve, maybe before. Got it.