Rating: 4.5/5
On a ship leaving South America for the US, Jean (Barbara Stanwyck), the hottest woman who ever lived, meets Charles (Henry Fonda), a beautiful idiot who studies snakes. Did I mention that he’s also obscenely wealthy?
Jean, if that’s her real name, knows. She and her gay dads are con artists, and Charles is the mark. Jean’s doing a great job at the seduction part, but not so much with the taking his money. It seems she’s falling for the little dummy.
Except Charles isn’t traveling alone. His smarter-by-a-hair associate, Muggsy, suspects that there are sharks on the ship, trying to bleed Charles dry. He learns about Jean and the gang and fills in Charles just after he proposes to Jean.
Charles breaks it off and leaves without a goodbye. Jean isn’t having it. In the name of hate, she teams up with another con artist and concocts a new identity: Lady Eve, a British aristocrat. Believe it or not, Charles falls for it.
This film is sexy! Stanwyck and Fonda have tremendous chemistry. One of the best scenes in the movie is the two of them sitting cheek-to-cheek, her playing with his hair, and he blissed out of his mind.
Fonda also does physical comedy — something I don’t think he does in anything else! And he’s good at it. His falls made me cringe every time.
Preston Sturges has a sharp ear for witty dialogue. He fills every page of his script with witticisms.
I’ve seen it in every review, but it’s worth noting. This movie has an Oscar-winning horse performance. That horse is so funny.
This movie had me entranced from start to finish — one of the great romantic comedies.