And My Barbara Stanwyck Blogathon Pick is… The Lady Eve…
I am so excited to be participating in the Barbara Stanwyck Blogathon. I’m a huge fan of Barbara Stanwyck and I just love screwball comedies, so The Lady Eve is the perfect pick for me! A Big Thank You to The Girl with the White Parasol for hosting this wonderful event!
So what’s so great The Lady Eve??? Well, the exquisite script (courtesy of Preston Sturges), the fabulous cast of veteran character actors (Charles Coburn, Eugene Pallette, William Demarest, Eric Blore, Melville Cooper), Henry Fonda of course (the perfectly naive millionaire/scientist), and — Barbara Stanwyck (the card-sharp-seductress-turned-romantic-pushover). And, although the cast is undoubtedly stellar, Barbara Stanwyck ‘owns’ this film. Her performance is absolutely heartfelt. Sure, when we ‘meet’ her we learn that she’s a crook, a seductress and a gold digger, but we like her anyway; and when she genuinely falls for Fonda (and boy does she fall), we witness her love, her hurt, her anger and her remorse – and we root for her to win Fonda back.
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The Storyline: In a nutshell, Stanwyck plays Jean Harrington, a classy card sharp who is traveling and ‘working’ with her partners-in-crime — her dad ‘Colonel’ Harrington (Charles Coburn) and his partner/valet Gerald (Melville Cooper). The larcenous trio are on a cruise preparing to fleece their next victim…humm, who will it be? In ‘stumbles’ Henry Fonda who plays Charles Pike, a scientist returning from the Amazon where he was studying snakes for the past year. Oh — and by the way, Pike just so happens to be the heir to a huge brewery fortune, and is also quite a naive, clumsy bachelor. So that sets the stage for an interesting mix of events as Stanwyck moves effortlessly from playful seductress, to woman in love, to woman scorned, to woman seeking ‘revenge’, to woman in love again.
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The Scenes: There are some wonderfully priceless scenes in this film — and I could list them from now until forever, but I’ve narrowed them down to a few of my favorites:
Stanwyck’s calculated meeting with Fonda — when she purposely trips him, then scolds him for breaking the heel of her shoe:
The ‘accidental’ meeting between Jean and Pike
Jean: Why don’t you look where you’re going!?!
Pike: Why don’t I look!?!
Jean: Look what you did to my shoe, you knocked the heel off!
Pike: Oh I did? Well I’m certainly sorry.
Jean: You did and you can just take me right down to my cabin for another pair of slippers.
Pike: Oh well, certainly. I guess it’s the least I can do. By the way my name is Pike.
Jean: Oh everybody knows that, nobody’s talking about anything else. This is my father Colonel Harrington. My name is Jean, it’s really Eugenia…come on. Funny our meeting like this, isn’t it?
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Stanwyck’s plan of attack — when she skillfully tantalizes poor Fonda:
The seduction scene in Jean’s stateroom where she toys with Pike’s hair — and heart
Jean: When I marry, it’s going to be somebody I’ve never seen before – I mean I won’t know what he looks like or where he’ll come from or what he’ll be. I want him to sort of take me by surprise.
Pike: Like a burglar.
Jean: That’s right, and the night will be heavy with perfume and I’ll hear his step behind me and somebody breathing heavily and then — ah — ah — you’d better go to bed Hopsie. I think I can sleep peacefully now
Pike: I wish I could say the same.
Jean: Why Hopsie!
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Stanwyck’s moment of truth — when Fonda confronts her after learning who she really is:
A heartbroken Jean as she tries to explain herself to Pike
Jean: Maybe I wanted you to love me a little more too. You believe me, don’t you? You don’t think I was going to marry you without telling you? You don’t think that badly of me? Or do you?
Pike: Why didn’t you let your father rob me last night?
Jean: If you didn’t believe what I just told you, you wouldn’t believe that either. You wouldn’t understand.
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Stanwyck’s revenge — telling tall tales of elopements and affairs:
The wedding night scene where Jean discloses a myriad of indiscretions to a stunned Pike
Jean: I knew I could trust and confide in you. I suppose that’s why I fell in love with you.
Pike: Thank you.
Jean: I wonder if now would be the time to tell you about Herman.
Pike: Herman. Herman! Who was Herman!?!
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Stanwyck’s remorse – as she realizes she desperately wants Fonda back:
A distraught Jean tries to get Pike to speak to her, but to no avail…
Jean: I don’t want any money. I don’t want anything. He can have back his jewelry and anything else there is and I’ll go to Reno at my own expense. I think that’s only fair. Only one thing I want. I want to see him first. And I want him to ask me to be free.
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And I’m going to stop here because I don’t want to ruin the ending for you 🙂
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This post was written in conjunction with the Barbara Stanwyck Blogathon hosted by The Girl with the White Parasol. There are so many more wonderful Classic Bloggers participating in this event so please be sure to check out the other entries.
–Annmarie Gatti for Classic Movie Hub
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One of my all-time faves! I love the scene at the beginning where Stanwyck watches Fonda via her compact mirror, and makes up dialogue for all the women trying to get his attention.
Fabulous cast and terrific script. You’ve done this film justice with your post, Lady Eve!
So many moments to love in The Lady Eve. All the scenes you listed are great ones. For me personally, I’d have to include the scene where she out-cheats her father at cards and the one where the horse keeps butting into Pike’s proposal. Both send me into fits of giggles every time. This is the essential movie for every Barbara Stanwyck fan and it contains, I think, her greatest performance. I’m very glad you decided to write about it for the blogathon.
I love the way Sturges takes all of our romantic expectations, turns them on their head and kicks them in the pants. A movie, and a performance from Stanwyck, that will never dull with time.
I LOVE this film. Henry Fonda is so defenseless and nerd, just adorable. And what to say about Babs? She is perfect in everything. I liked all the scenes you chose. When Pike goes over the couch yet… wondeful and so funny.
Don’t forget to read my contribution to the blogathon! 🙂
Kisses!