The Lady Eve (1941) [The Criterion Collection #103] [Re-UP]

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The Lady Eve (1941) [The Criterion Collection #103] [Re-UP]

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Having discovered the comic brilliance of writer cum director Preston Sturges with Criterion's release of Sullivan's Travels, I was anxiously awaiting its predecessor, The Lady Eve, released earlier the same year. Sturges produced a record seven films in four years, marking a string of inspiring comedies that may never be bested. His first feature, The Great McGinty, marked the first film to be directed by a writer, and won Sturges the first ever Oscar for a screenplay. As a reward for this honor, Paramount gave him access to their "A" actors for Eve, for which he cast Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck as the principles. What follows is perhaps one of the finest comedies of all time, and one that words alone can't amply do justice to, as even the New York Times placed it above Citizen Kane and How Green Was My Valley as the number one film of 1941.

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The Lady Eve (1941) [The Criterion Collection #103] [Re-UP]

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"Funny our meeting like this, isn't it?" - Jean Harrington

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The Lady Eve (1941) [The Criterion Collection #103] [Re-UP]

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We first meet Charles Pike (Fonda), ophiologist and heir to an ale brewing empire, as he leaves the expedition he has been on for the past year collecting specimens from far up the Amazon river with his trusty companion and manservant, Ambrose "Muggsy" Murgatroyd (Demarest). The last words from those in his team are to mind the pitfalls of women, a message he would do well to heed. As his transport pulls alongside the steamer he will make the remainder of his journey on, his arrival sparks a flurry of interest from the female passengers, all wanting a shot at this handsome millionaire. Among them however, are Jean Harrington (Stanwyck) and her father (Coburn), whose plans for liberating Mr. Pike's money are in the form of a card game con, rather than the romantic notions others on board may be contemplating. In the first of many hurts to befall our hero, Jean announces her presence by plonking him on the head with an apple. Welcome to Eden.

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The Lady Eve (1941) [The Criterion Collection #103] [Re-UP]

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Charles tries to keep to himself in the dining room, but instead is the center of attention, with every skirt in the house playing up to him in one way or another, and the supply of Pike's Ale being depleted in the process. Jean watches the reactions around the room in her hand mirror, before setting the unsuspecting Pike up for his first of many fallsуliterally. With Charles' attention, the scam begins, as her beguiling seductiveness entrances the young manуafter all, he has just been up the river for a year. The snare set, she and her father execute the setup, letting Pike win $600 in a card game, and while Muggsy smells the con a mile away, Charles refuses to believe it, as his attraction for Jean gets the better of him. Unfortunately for Jean, the feeling is mutual, much to the dismay of her father, who is set on bilking some of those ale-sourced fortunes. With a relationship blooming and the pair in love, it seems nothing but the truth can stand in their wayуas it does, for when Charles realizes what has been going on, Jean is the one left feeling the sucker. Enter the Lady Eve.

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The Lady Eve (1941) [The Criterion Collection #103] [Re-UP]

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Sturges plays on the deceptiveness of appearances, which play a central part in the film, from the Harrington's guise while cardsharking on the cruise lines, to the distinction—or lack there of—between beer and ale. This concept of recognition runs on many levels throughout The Lady Eve, adding an additional layer of complexity to the storyline. Each character has at least two names, begging the question as to which part of their personalities are truly being represented at any given moment. As Stanwyck's character comments at one point, "How did he know I was a Lady?" and how does one distinguish between beer and ale, when all they have as evidence is the superficial?

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The Lady Eve (1941) [The Criterion Collection #103] [Re-UP]

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The Lady Eve is by definition a screwball comedy, but it is Sturges' gift for dialogue that sets this apart from other films in the genre. Sturges is said to have had his scripts dictated while he himself acted the parts (he claims his only real direction comes in the writing), and his ability to capture this intercourse with wit and sincerity is what makes this picture shine. Of course, without a capable cast the picture would fall apart, and here we also luck out with priceless performances from the cast. The language rolls off their tongues in pure perfection: sharp, biting and filled with double entendres. Stanwyck flirts and fawns unabashedly as Fonda reacts stupefied and dumfounded, a comic symbiosis brimming with chemistry. The sexual tension as Fonda and Stanwyck converse cheek to cheek is thick enough to cut with a knife—as the scene would have been if the censor boards who found it indecent had their way. Sturges also relies on the choice casting of his supporting players, all of whom enrich the production with their characterizations: Sturges staple William Demarest, as the always suspicious Ambrose "Muggsy" Murgatroyd; Eugene Pallette's riotous embodiment of Charles' Ale baron father; Charles Coburn as Jean's conniving yet honorable in-his-own-way father, 'Colonel' Harrington, and Eric Blore as the fellow con posing as Sir Alfred McGlennan Keith.

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The Lady Eve (1941) [The Criterion Collection #103] [Re-UP]

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The blend of sophisticated and witty dialogue with ample slapstick comedy would make The Lady Eve the template for a Sturges film, one that would see him nominated for two more screenplay Oscars in 1944 for The Miracle of Morgan's Creek and Hail the Conquering Hero. However, Sturges' meteoric rise to the pinnacles of the movie industry was bested only by his untimely fall from grace, which would follow only a few years after his departure from Paramount, who were growing upset with the director's independent and stubborn nature. Troubled co-ventures with millionaire Howard Hughes, and box office failures under Sturges' subsequent contract with 20th Century Foxуwhich made him one of the highest paid men in Americaуleft the director broke and out of work by the mid-1950s. However, when he had the magic, Sturges' star shone like no other before him, and Criterion has done well to release another wonderful comedic adventure from this master writer and director. I can give a hearty recommendation on The Lady Eve with no hesitation.

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The Lady Eve (1941) [The Criterion Collection #103] [Re-UP]

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May the farce be with you.

Preston Sturges' third feature film, The Lady Eve is a comic tour de force, chock full of slapstick antics, trademark dialogue, impecable acting, and a story that works on many levels. Rounded out with an array of suitable supplements, this makes a perfect companion piece to Criterion's Sullivan's Travels, and another must own title from the Collection. Don't miss it.

digitallyOBSESSED!com

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The Lady Eve (1941) [The Criterion Collection #103] [Re-UP]

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Special Feature:
- Sparkling new digital transfer
- Audio commentary by noted film scholar Marian Keane
- Video introduction by writer-director Peter Bogdanovich
- The 1942 broadcast of the Lux Radio Theatre adaptation, performed by Barbara Stanwyck and Ray Milland
- Edith Head costume designs
- Scrapbook of original publicity materials and production stills
- Original theatrical trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired

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