The Lady Eve

"I need him like the ax needs the turkey."

Jean Harrington (Stanwyck) is a con artist, with her father "Colonel" Harrington (Coburn) and Gerald (Cooper), who poses as their valet.  On board a ship from Africa to America, they find Charles Pike (Fonda) the naive heir to the Pike Ale fortune.  Pike has no interest in the family business and prefers to spend his time studying snakes.

Everyone on the ship knows his name and family.  All of the women try to catch Pike's eye, but only Jean succeeds.  While the Colonel and Gerald try to swindle Pike's money, Jean starts to fall for him.  Pike's valet, Muggsy (Demarest), is suspicious of Jean and her intentions.  Will Jean get her shot at love, or will her past ruin everything?


The story is based on Monckton Hoffe's "Two Bad Hats" (Hoffe was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Story).  Director Preston Sturges wrote the screenplay for the film.  It is a fast-pace (both the story and the dialog) story with lots of comedy and slapstick.  It also has a great romance and an incredible leading lady.

Barbara Stanwyck is wonderful in this film.  She is clearly in control throughout the film, with a deftness at both card and people handling.  She is the most interesting person on the screen and has a story or comeback for every occasion.  It is one of best known films/roles and one of 2 great comedic films she made in 1941 (the other was Ball of Fire).  Henry Fonda also had a knack for comedy (though he is best known as a dramatic lead) and really sells the awkward and clumsy nature of the character.  Throughout the film he is the main source of slapstick, repeatedly falling throughout... but it never feels old or unwelcome.

They are joined by a strong cast of character actors.  Charles Coburn is an excellent con artist, while also showing genuine warmth and emotion toward's Stanwyck's Jean.  Melville Cooper and Eric Blore add some humor as their con artist friends.  Eugene Pallette is perfect as Horace Pike, Charles' father.  And William Demarest hits all the right notes as Muggsy (especially at the Pike family home).

The film is considered a classic and was selected for preservation by the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 1994.  It features on many top movie lists and appeared on several of the American Film Institute's (AFI) top lists: 100 Years...100 Laughs and 100 Years...100 Passions, and was nominated for several others.

The Lady Eve (1941) 94 minutes
Director: Preston Sturges
Starring: Barbara Stanwyck as Jean Harrington
Henry Fonda as Charles Pike
Charles Coburn as Colonel Harrington
Eugene Pallette as Horace Pike
William Demarest as Muggsy
Eric Blore as Sir Alfred McGlennan Keith
Melville Cooper as Gerald