The Lady Eve (1941) | |
| Director(s) | Preston Sturges |
| Producer(s) | Paul Jones, Buddy G. DeSylva (uncredited), William LeBaron (executive uncredited), Albert Lewin (associate uncredited) |
| Top Genres | Comedy, Crime, Romance |
| Top Topics | Based on Play, Book-Based, Cruises, Gambling, Romance (Comic), Screwball Comedy |
Featured Cast:
The Lady Eve Overview:
The Lady Eve (1941) was a Comedy - Crime Film directed by Preston Sturges and produced by Buddy G. DeSylva, William LeBaron, Albert Lewin and Paul Jones.
The film was based on the stage play The Faithful Heart written by Monckton Hoffe performed at the Broadhurst Theatre, NY from Oct 10, 1922 - Nov 1922.
SYNOPSIS
This is perhaps the perfect movie comedy, with a runaway heiress - or, in this case, heir - double identities, barbed wit, inspired pratfalls, and the Sturges collection of supporting characters. One could ask for no more. Beer scion Fonda would rather spend his time chasing snakes up exotice rivers than running the family business, until he becomes fascinated with con girl Stanwyck and her crooked pop, Coburn, on an ocean liner. Of course, she falls for Fonda and then loses him when he learns of her occupation. She gets another chance in the guise of visiting royalty and charms everyone at a reception in her honor, including Fonda's tycoon father Pallette. Our favorite line: after Fonda has most of the formal dinner and drinks spilled on his tux and, finally, on his out-of-season dinner jacket, Pallette intones, "Why don't you put on a bathing suit!" Well, you have to see it.
(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).
.The Lady Eve was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1994.
Academy Awards 1941 --- Ceremony Number 14 (source: AMPAS)
| Award | Recipient | Result |
| Best Writing | Monckton Hoffe | Nominated |
BlogHub Articles:
“The Lady Eve” (1941): The Screwball Comedy That Trips You Up
By Stephen Reginald on Oct 23, 2026 From Classic Movie Man“The Lady Eve” (1941): The Screwball Comedy That Trips You Up Some comedies make you laugh at their characters. The Lady Eve makes you laugh with one of them — a card sharp who is better at her job than anyone around her, and who falls in love in the middle of a con.Henry Fond... Read full article
COMEDY GOLD #17: The horse from The Lady Eve (1941)
By Carol Martinheira on Jul 20, 2019 From The Old Hollywood GardenCOMEDY GOLD #17: The horse from The Lady Eve (1941) On July 20, 2019 By CarolIn Uncategorized Just when you thought Preston Sturges’ iconic screwball comedy The Lady Eve (1941) couldn’t get any better, in comes the horse that somehow managed to upstage both ... Read full article
5 things I love about The Lady Eve (1941)
By Carol Martinheira on Dec 5, 2017 From The Old Hollywood Garden5 things I love about The Lady Eve (1941) On December 5, 2017 By CarolIn Uncategorized I mean, what?s not to love, really? It?s just a delight of a movie. And like any screwball comedy, this is one of those movies that you can watch over and over. So I thought I?d shar... Read full article
Preston Sturges series: Screening of “The Lady Eve” May 24 at the Daystar Center
By Stephen Reginald on May 19, 2016 From Classic Movie ManPreston Sturges series: Screening of “The Lady Eve” May 24 at the Daystar Center Preston Sturges series: The Lady EveWhere: The Venue 1550 at the Daystar Center, 1550 S. State Street, Chicago, ILWhen: May 24, 2016Time: 6:30 p.m.Hosted by Stephen Reginald Father and daughter con art... Read full article
The Lady Eve (1941) – Updated
By 4 Star Film Fan on Dec 28, 2015 From 4 Star Films“You have the darndest way of bouncing a fellow down and bumping him up again” ~ Henry Fonda as Charles Pike The story goes that screenwriting wunderkind Preston Sturgest penned The Lady Eve with Barabara Stanwyck in mind. He promised her a great picture and he most certainly delivered a... Read full article
See all The Lady Eve articles
Quotes from
Jean Harrington: Good thing you weren't up there two years.
Jean Harrington: You see Hopsi, you don't know very much about girls. The best ones aren't as good as you think they are and the bad ones aren't as bad. Not nearly as bad.
Charles Pike: What I am trying to say is: I'm not a poet, I'm an ophiologist.
read more quotes from The Lady Eve...
Facts about
At the beginning Henry Fonda makes references to the help of a "Professor Marsdit". Raymond L. Ditmars of the AMNH at the time was the best-known reptile expert in the country, the kind of popularizer that Carl Sagan later became.
Preston Sturges wrote the script in Reno, Nevada, while awaiting his third divorce.
read more facts about The Lady Eve...
