The Lady Eve (1941)
94%RT Audience Score: 87%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
2 wins & 1 nomination total
A career highlight for Preston Sturges, The Lady Eve benefits from Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda’s sparkling chemistry — and a script that inspired countless battle-of-the-sexes comedies.
The Lady Eve” is a classic romantic comedy that will have you laughing out loud. With its witty dialogue and slapstick humor, it’s no wonder why this film is still remembered fondly by fans of the genre. Barbara Stanwyck steals the show as the sexiest con woman ever captured on film, while Henry Fonda looks as delicate as a Lalique vase. The chemistry between Stanwyck and the dads, played by Eugene Pallette and Charles Coburn, is a real thoroughbred. If you’re looking for a sparkling and effervescent comedy, “The Lady Eve” is the perfect choice.
Production Company(ies)
Paramount Pictures,
Distributor
Criterion Collection, Paramount Pictures
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden – 301 N. Baldwin Avenue, Arcadia, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Passed
Year of Release
1941
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.37 : 1
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Runtime:1h 37m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Feb 25, 1941 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 16, 2001
Genre(s)
Comedy/Romance
Keyword(s)
starring Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Charles Coburn, Eugene Pallette, William Demarest, Eric Blore, directed by Preston Sturges, written by Monckton Hoffe, Paul Jones, genre: Comedy, Romance, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Sydney Morning Herald, The Age (Australia), Guardian, TIME Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Variety, Deep Focus Review, Common Sense Media, Gone With The Twins, Backseat Mafia, The MacGuffin, MPAA rating: N/A, produced by Paul Jones, distributed by Criterion Collection, Paramount Pictures, runtime: 1h 37m, original language: English, release date (theaters): Feb 25, 1941, release date (streaming): Oct 16, 2001, sound mix: Mono, aspect ratio: 35mm, Flat (1.37:1)
Worldwide gross: $13,020
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $317,382
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,841
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 34,611
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Henry Fonda – Charles Pike
Charles Coburn – “Colonel” Harrington
Eugene Pallette – Horace Pike
William Demarest – Muggsy (Ambrose Murgatroyd)
Eric Blore – Sir Alfred McGlennan Keith (“Pearlie”)
Director(s)
Preston Sturges
Writer(s)
Monckton Hoffe, Preston Sturges
Producer(s)
Paul Jones
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
2 wins & 1 nomination total
Academy Awards
All Critics (49) | Top Critics (13) | Fresh (49)
Written and directed by Preston Sturges, the film will please many and disappoint some.
May 2, 2020
SMH Staff
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
Fine comedy in an exciting tempo, but with slapstick that should give it popular.
May 1, 2020
Age Staff
The Age (Australia)
TOP CRITIC
Stanwyck completely upstages Fonda who looks as delicate as a Lalique vase. Her chemistry is more with the dads: with Coburn and Pallette. She is the real thoroughbred.
February 14, 2019 | Rating: 5/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
The picture returns the lately heavily dramatic Barbara Stanwyck to glamor.
February 10, 2014
TIME Staff
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Barbara Stanwyck is the sexiest con woman ever captured on film.
June 16, 2012
Joe Morgenstern
Wall Street Journal
TOP CRITIC
Third writer-director effort of Preston Sturges [from a story by Monckton Hoffe] is laugh entertainment of top proportions with its combo of slick situations, spontaneous dialog and a few slapstick falls tossed in for good measure.
November 13, 2007
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
By the year of its release in 1941, romantic comedy convention had been well established; however, the film serves as a grand lesson to any filmmaker posed with the question of how to approach the genre’s formulas.
March 20, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
With its snappy dialogue, frantic pace, and characters that appear oblivious to the absurdity of their situation, it’s easy to see why The Lady Eve is fondly remembered by fans of the genre.
December 8, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Alistair Lawrence
Common Sense Media
Innuendo and hilariously wry love banter supplement signature slapstick, along with Eugene Pallette’s familiar role as the patriarch of a family driven batty by affluence.
August 13, 2020 | Rating: 9/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
A sparkling and effervescent romantic comedy.
August 10, 2020
Rob Aldam
Backseat Mafia
It has a style and wit rarely seen today, while having all the slapstick you could ask for in a screwball comedy.
August 6, 2020
Allen Almachar
The MacGuffin
A riotous screwball classic.
July 27, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy…
Plot
Returning from a year up the Amazon studying snakes, the rich but unsophisticated Charles Pike meets con-artist Jean Harrington on a ship. They fall in love, but a misunderstanding causes them to split on bad terms. To get back at him, Jean disguises herself as an English lady, and comes back to tease and torment him.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Barbara Stanwyck is hailed as “the sexiest con woman ever captured on film” by Wall Street Journal critic Joe Morgenstern.
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