The Lady Eve
The Lady Eve is a 1941 American screwball comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda.[2] The film is based on a story by Monckton Hoffe about a mismatched couple who meet on board an ocean liner.[3][4] In 1994, The Lady Eve, which is included on many all-time "Top 100" lists, was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[5][6][7][8]
The Lady Eve
Preston Sturges
"Two Bad Hats"
by Monckton Hoffe
Paul Jones
Buddy G. DeSylva (uncredited)
Phil Boutelje
Charles Bradshaw
Gil Grau
Sigmund Krumgold
John Leipold
Leo Shuken
(all uncredited)
Paramount Pictures
- February 25, 1941
94 minutes
United States
English
$660,000[1]
Release[edit]
Theatrical release[edit]
The film premiered in New York City on February 25, 1941, and went into general release on March 21.[11] It was marketed with a number of taglines, including: "When you deal a fast shuffle ... love is in the cards."[2] The film ranked among the top-grossing films of the year.[10]
Home video[edit]
The Lady Eve was released on home video in the United States on July 12, 1990, and was rereleased on June 30, 1993.[10] Despite issues with the condition of the surviving original film elements, the film was scanned in 4K and issued on Blu-ray disc by Criterion on July 14, 2020.[14]
Reception and themes[edit]
After The Lady Eve premiered at the Rialto Theatre, The New York Times reviewer Bosley Crowther characterized the film as "a sparkling romantic comedy". He further described the director's work: "It isn't often that this corner has good reason to bang a gong and holler 'Hurry, hurry, hurry!' As a matter of fact, it is all too rare indeed that we have even moderate provocation to mark a wonder of the cinematic world. Too many of the films on which we comment boil down to woeful mediocrity, and too many of the people who make them betray a depressing weariness."[15]
More than 50 years later, Roger Ebert gave the film high praise: "If I were asked to name the single scene in all of romantic comedy that was sexiest and funniest at the same time, I would advise beginning at six seconds past the 20-minute mark in Preston Sturges's The Lady Eve."[16]
Some have identified a theme of gender inversion, with Jean Harrington clearly in control for the majority of the film until her feelings get in the way of her original intentions. Until she realizes that she loves Charles, there is little sense of the struggle between equals that typifies most romantic comedies. The film has been lauded for a unique blend of slapstick and satire.[17] Film scholars have observed the theme of the fall of man implied by the film's title; in the literal sense, the fall is evidenced in Pike's frequent pratfalls, and figuratively, he falls from innocence as he is lured into Jean's deceptive plots.[18]
Film critic Andrew Sarris identifies the theme of deceptiveness throughout the film, with things as small as the distinction, or lack thereof, between beer and ale, as well as the various disguises of Jean Harrington, adding depth to the plot line. Most of the characters have two names (Charles is Hopsie, Jean is Eve Sidwich); this lack of recognition sets the stage for the storyline. Sturges repeatedly suggests that the "lowliest boob could rise to the top with the right degree of luck, bluff and fraud".[19]
At the 14th Academy Awards, the film was nominated for Best Original Story for Monckton Hoffe, but Here Comes Mr. Jordan (Harry Segall) proved victorious. The National Board of Review nominated the film for Best Picture, and The New York Times named it as the best film of 1941.[2]
In 1994, The Lady Eve was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". In 2008, The Lady Eve was selected by Empire magazine as among the 500 greatest movies of all time,[20] and one of the best 1,000 by The New York Times.[21] In 2012, the film ranked #110 on Sight and Sound's critics' poll, and #174 on the directors' poll as selected by the British Film Institute.[22] The Lady Eve was listed by Time magazine as one of its "All-TIME 100 Movies".[23] The film ranked 59th on Entertainment Weekly's list of the 100 greatest films of all time.[24] FilmSite.org, a subsidiary of American Movie Classics, placed The Lady Eve on its list of the 100 greatest films.[25] Films101.com ranked the film as the 97th best film of all time.[26]
The Lady Eve appears on two of the American Film Institute's lists, and was nominated for several others:
The Writers Guild of America ranked its screenplay as the 52nd best ever written.[29]
Influences[edit]
In 1956, the plot of The Lady Eve was recycled for the film The Birds and the Bees starring George Gobel, Mitzi Gaynor and David Niven. Preston Sturges received a co-writer credit for the film, although he did not actually participate in the project.[30]
The plot was employed as the model for Corrupting Dr. Nice, a 1997 science fiction novel by John Kessel involving time travel.[31]
Barbara Stanwyck's Jean Harrington was one of the key reference points that James Mangold came up with for Phoebe Waller-Bridge to employ in her performance as Helena Shaw in the 2023 film Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the fifth and last Indiana Jones movie.[32]
Radio adaptation[edit]
The Lady Eve was presented on Hollywood Star Time on September 21, 1946, with Joan Blondell and John Lund in the starring roles.[33]