The Lady Eve (1941)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Randy T

  
  Barbara Stanwyck exudes enough sexuality to spark a fence post. I don't think I've ever seen a film with such perfect casting. Hilarious and brilliant.

• AJ V

  
  An unusual romantic comedy, it's really funny, and has a good cast. Really worth watching.

• Jennifer D

  
  Hah! Delightful!! I'm not sure who was the bigger scene stealer, Barbra Stanwyck or Henry Fonda, I loved them both. Fonda was sweet and naive while Stanwyck was closer to her Ball of Fire role, witty and fiery and perfect! The story lagged a bit here and there, but the humor kept… More
  Hah! Delightful!! I'm not sure who was the bigger scene stealer, Barbra Stanwyck or Henry Fonda, I loved them both. Fonda was sweet and naive while Stanwyck was closer to her Ball of Fire role, witty and fiery and perfect! The story lagged a bit here and there, but the humor kept me going.

• First L

  
  Henry Fonda plays a big dope who wanders around clueless for an entire movie. It's Barbara Stanwyck who has the fun role, as she falls for the dope pretty early in the film, and spends the rest of the time trying to con the big lug into falling in love with her. Fonda plays… More
  Henry Fonda plays a big dope who wanders around clueless for an entire movie. It's Barbara Stanwyck who has the fun role, as she falls for the dope pretty early in the film, and spends the rest of the time trying to con the big lug into falling in love with her. Fonda plays Charles "Hopsy" Pike, a snake collector who is returning from the jungle aboard a cruise ship. It's a cruise ship that's also inhabited by a group of con men, including Jean (Barbara Stanwyck). It turns out Charlie isn't just a snake collector, he's also the heir to a million dollar brewing company ("Pike's Pale: the Ale that won for Yale"). All the women onboard the ship begin to throw themselves at him, but he's so clueless when it comes to women that he scarcely notices. When Jean begins to seduce Hopsy, it's a con that quickly becomes sincere. Hopsy does find out her true identity though, and leaves her for being an immoral woman (once again, the old hollywood standard plot device of a woman's questionable morals comes into play). She vows to get revenge for the shabby way he treats her, and poses as "The Lady Eve" in order to trick him into falling in love with her again. The idea being, Jean was really a nice girl from a not so nice background, whereas the Lady Eve would be a not-so-nice girl from a very nice background, teaching Hopsy not to judge a book by it's cover. It's a screwball comedy with plenty of laughs.

• Stephen M

  
  <I>"I wonder if now would be the time to tell you about Herman..."</I> As much as I admire <I>Sullivan's Travels</I> for its social conscience and <I>Unfaithfully Yours</I> for its unusual darkness of tone, <I>The Lady… More
  <I>"I wonder if now would be the time to tell you about Herman..."</I> As much as I admire <I>Sullivan's Travels</I> for its social conscience and <I>Unfaithfully Yours</I> for its unusual darkness of tone, <I>The Lady Eve</I> is my favourite of the Preston Sturges movies I've seen to date, simply because it's the funniest. Also, besides being typically amused by the obstacles Sturges places in the way of true love, in contrast to McCrea and Colbert in <I>The Palm Beach Story</I> I really do care what happens to Fonda and Stanwyck in this picture. Once he has fallen - quite literally - for Stanwyck, Fonda drifts through the remaining 80 minutes of the movie in a smitten daze while his sparkling co-star showcases her incredible versatility.

• Stella D

  
  babs' best film!!

• Saskia D

  
  I loved this movie, Barbara Stanwyck totally won me over with her sexy, witty and cunning role, definitely want to see more of her!. And Henry Fonda, what a silly goof. I'm usually not a fan of romantic comedies, but I'm happy to make an exception here! <div… More
  I loved this movie, Barbara Stanwyck totally won me over with her sexy, witty and cunning role, definitely want to see more of her!. And Henry Fonda, what a silly goof. I'm usually not a fan of romantic comedies, but I'm happy to make an exception here! <div style="width:462px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com/actor/henry-fonda/photos?p=9843968"><img src="http://content6.flixster.com/photo/98/43/96/9843968_gal.jpg" border="0"/></a><div style="text-align:center;font-size:10px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com">

• Jeremy S

  
  One of the cleverest romantic comedies of all. "I need him like the axe needs the turkey." Flawless

• Lanning :

  
  It's extremely difficult for me to choose my favorite Barbara Stanwyck movie so far, but this one is it -- so far. In addition to being a knockout beauty, Stanwyck has got to be one of the most talented actresses I've ever seen. <p> This is an excellent comedy in the… More
  It's extremely difficult for me to choose my favorite Barbara Stanwyck movie so far, but this one is it -- so far. In addition to being a knockout beauty, Stanwyck has got to be one of the most talented actresses I've ever seen. <p> This is an excellent comedy in the screwball romance tradition, and I'm not sure many people would think of pairing Stanwyck and comedy as readily as they would associate her with drama -- intensely wrought dramatic films such as <i>Double Indemnity.</i> She has it all covered, however, and for sure three things stand out across the board: <p> 1. Stanwyck has great timing and great delivery of lines, whether comic or dramatic. <p> 2. She can use her body, all of it, with great expertise, to work her scenes. <p> 3. Even without speaking a word, her face can express a huge range of emotion and thought. <p> Definitely one of the most cerebral actors I've ever seen. She's as camera-savvy as Irene Dunne and Kate Winslet. My only regret is that I never saw her bigger than life at a theater. <p>Big points for Henry Fonda in this one as well. I think he may actually be as good in comic as he is in dramatic roles.

• Jennifer X

  
  YES! It's been a while since I've seen a truly, truly good screwball comedy worthy enough to be added to my favorite movies. Gosh if only I could snag an adorable man like Henry Fonda had I possessed Barbara's Stanwyck's gift of seduction.

• moon r

  
  the only thing better than funny is hot n'funny...and, hooooboyooohboyooohboy! this one is all that and a bag of chips!

• Michael G

  
  A great, great movie. Stanwyck is incredible and Fonda plays a great doofus who is as clumsy as he is endearing. The first half on the boat is great but the last half is a bit more brilliantly ridiculous. You can't go wrong with this one.

• nefnie l

  
  What a funny movie.

• Marion R

  
  I thought it was cute, but just okay. The guy seemed really stupid

• Tom S

  
  1940s screwball isn't really my thing. But Sturges' subversion of the Hayes code is pretty fascinating.

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