Date: Fri 12-Feb-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Quick Words:

Playing-Stanwyck-Fonda-Eve

Full Text:

NOW PLAYING: A Vintage Video That's A Valentine Treat

By Trey Paul Alexander III

Valentine's Day is upon us and no doubt many of the folks who will frequent

the country's cinemas during this Hallmark holiday weekend will be taking in

such fare as the romantic-minded new releases Message in a Bottle and Blast

From The Past . But what about those who opt for a quiet evening at home,

nestled on the couch, watching a video? What should you get? Love Story has

already been rented; you just saw Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in You've Got Mail ,

so Sleepless in Seattle would be redundant; Dr Zhivago, Titanic and Gone With

The Wind are too long; and Casablanca , great movie that it is, has already

worn out the heads on your VCR from multiple viewings. What are you to do?

Might I suggest another golden great, albeit much lesser known than the

aforementioned Bogie-Bergman classic (and released one year earlier, in 1941),

but a wonderful viewing on Valentine's Day or any other... The Lady Eve .

Charles (Henry Fonda) is the young, rich heir of Pike's Pale ("The Ale That

Won For Yale"), whose heart belongs not to a brewery, but to the study of

snakes. After spending a year of exploration in the Amazon, Charles and his

faithful companion/guardian, Mugsy (the gloriously crabby William Demarest),

set out for their home in Connecticut. Serpent-enthusiast Charles, who boasts

he can be distracted by "nothing but reptiles," returns to civilization only

to be smitten by a proverbial snake in the grass, a clever con woman, Jean

(Barbara Stanwyck), and her scheming father. The wealthy ale magnate is

quickly marked as a grape-A sap, ripe for the picking. But as Jean moves in on

her mark, the unexpected happens... she falls in surprising love with him as

he stumbles predictably head over heels to her charms. But that's just the

first 20 minutes!

Starring the sensational Stanwyck and an understated Fonda, The Lady Eve is

writer-director Preston Sturges, master of deft dialogue and elaborate

screwball comedy, at the top of his game. Forget about the syrupy sweetness

and predictability you often have to stomach with other romantic comedies, or

the sappy sentimentality of many romantic dramas. Sturges infuses The Lady Eve

with acute dialogue that will have you making extensive use of the rewind

button, and a tone that is just tart enough to cut through the comedy and give

the screwball proceedings some weight.

A key component to this comedy's cutting edge is the crisp, knowing and

sharp-witted sensibilities of Stanwyck, a cool customer with a fiery spark

that goes beyond simply come-hither glances, batting eyelashes or other tricks

upon which lesser talents might solely rely. Though certainly physically

captivating, and capable of enchanting solely upon those gifts, it is a keen

intelligence and reliance upon her quick wit that sets Stanwyck apart.

From the moment Jean observes the bookish Charles in a cruise ship's banquet

hall and does a play-by-play on the pick-up routines performed by scores of

debutantes hoping to catch his eye (and win his wallet), Stanwyck has won us.

We're rooting for her, even though we know she's out to bilk the unsuspecting

and often clueless fellow. As Jean, she's a stunner, a charmer and a true

femme fatale, though it's fair to say that since this is a romantic comedy,

she won't be as ruinous to Fonda as she proved to be to Fred MacMurray a few

years later in the 1944 noir classic Double Indemnity .

So if you're looking for something fresh to watch this Valentine's Day -- and

believe me, this 1941 film is more sprightly, crisp and fun to watch than many

of the contemporary love stories starring Julia, Meg or Sandra (sorry, ladies)

-- go out and rent The Lady Eve and fall under the enchanting spell of

Stanwyck and chuckle at the bumbling slapstick of the wry Fonda. You'll be

glad you did.