The Lady Eve - Criterion Collection

Media:	DVD
Directed by:	Preston Sturges
Starring:	Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda
Release date:	16 October, 2001
List price:	~~$39.95~~
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The Lady Eve - Criterion Collection

Average rating: Stars

A message of love

The Lady Eve is a movie that has a universal appeal. People all over the world can relate to its message. In my review I'd like to not only discuss the message of The Lady Eve but to also discuss a form of criticism called "sociological criticism" and use it to analyze the movie The Lady Eve. After discussing the sociological critic's point of view, I will apply its criticism to the movie The Lady Eve and I will discuss whether or not the sociological critic would approve of the content of its text. This review will allow you to understand sociological criticism and use its criteria to critique any form of text.
To understand sociological criticism it's important to know what factors the sociological critic considers when analyzing text. Sociological criticism analyzes, evaluates and interprets text from the perspective of a particular social group. It asks, "How does the text reflect the plight, concerns, and likes of different sociological groups such as young people, senior citizens, women, the rich, the poor, homosexuals, etc?" In other words, sociological criticism looks at how text affects particular sociological groups in society.
To begin this review of The Lady Eve it is necessary to start of with a brief synopsis of the movie. The Lady Eve starred Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck. Fonda plays Charles Pike, the clumsy, snake-loving son of a wealthy brewer. Stanwyck plays Jean Harrington, a beautiful, fast-talking hustler. The movie starts out with a scene of Charles in the Amazon preparing to return home with a rare breed of snake. Jean and her father happen to be on the same ship as Charles and they plan to hustle him with their card-playing skills. While trying to scam Charles out of his money, Jean falls in love with him as does he with her. Jean abandons her schemes to rob Charles to the dismay of her father. As soon as everything seemed to be going well with the couple, Charles found out the true identity of Jean and her father and didn't want to have anything to do with them. Jean asked for forgiveness but Charles was too upset to grant it. While they were apart they longed for each other, but Jean wanted revenge for the heartache Charles caused her. Jean later disguised herself as a duchess to see Charles again. Charles married the duchess not knowing she was really Jean. While they were married Jean, under the guise of a duchess, tortured Charles by telling him she had been with many men before her marriage to him. Charles got so upset that he decided to divorce the duchess. Later Jean revealed her true identity to Charles and they kissed and realized that they belonged together.
I think the two main characters best represent the sociological group of young people. Both characters were young and as the movie shows, the two experienced some of the stereotypical antics of young people in love. I believe that still today a lot of young people can relate to what Jean and Charles went through. An interesting characteristic of this movie and most romantic comedies is that the man and woman bound to fall in love are two very different people. Their personalities and characters are so different as to destroy the audience's hope of the two ever getting together. I think that still today most young people would say that opposites attract. A lot of young, wholesome girls and women are looking for flashy, fast-talking boys and men because they're exciting to them as Jean was to Charles in this movie. This situation is seen in The Lady Eve except the female is the flashy, fast-talking love interest and the male quiet and wholesome. Charles is a quiet, clumsy man. He is shy and has a passion for reptiles and nature. He has a heart of gold, but is by no means "Casanova" when it comes to women. Jean, on the other hand, is quit the opposite of Charles. She is a fast-talking woman with what would be considered a "vulgar" mouth in past times. She is very forward and has a dominating personality. Despite their different personalities, Charles and Jean fall in love with each other. There were also many obstacles keeping the two from being together. Charles found out about Jean's scam to rob him and he was angered. It seemed as though his anger and her resentment denied all possibilities of them becoming a couple. In The Lady Eve, the male and female don't compromise their individual identities, they only complete each others. The trials that befall them only make their love stronger and make them more deserving of each other.
A lot of young people throughout history have defied the "rules" of love imposed upon them. A classical example of this defiance comes from the story of Romeo and Juliet. Romeo and Juliet were two young people from families who were enemies. The danger of being together only made their love stronger. Another example of young love similar to The Lady Eve can be seen in Aladdin. Aladdin was a poor, young boy who fell in love with a beautiful princess named Jasmine. The law of their land was that royalty was only to marry royalty. Aladdin and Jasmin's love changed this archaic law as the end of the movie shows. Today we see young people of different races dating, marrying and having children. Interracial dating is something that only fifty years ago was forbidden. In some places it is still looked down upon today but the number of interracial couples has grown greatly and continues to grow today. There is also a stigma placed on homosexual couples. Years ago couples of the same sex had to hide their love in fear of being killed or severely injured if they were ever found out. There is still a heavy stigma on homosexual couples today although homosexuals have made great strides in fighting for their rights. Today homosexual couples no longer have to hide their love. The work to allow gay marriage is being oppressed by the religious powers that be but young people are making it known that this oppression will soon change.
The Lady Eve is a movie that appeals to young people. It shows that despite whatever differences there are between two people in love, love always prevails. The sociological critic would say that this movie's text speaks to young people and it represents their plight to break the archaic stereotypes of relationships. The Lady Eve's text tells young people that it's alright to love whoever they want no matter their race, gender, or socioeconomic status. That is why I believe the sociological critic approves of The Lady Eve's text.

The Lady Eve - Criterion Collection - Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda

"Harry, Tell Me My Fortune ..."

How I love Barbara Stanwyck, with her scrappy smarts, heart-thudding pathos, and special glamour built almost entirely on charisma. In *Stella Dallas* and other weepie dramas, Stanwyck did method acting before method acting was invented. In *The Lady Eve,* Stanwyck proved herself an equally adroit comedic actress with her perfect timing and crackerjack wit. You can barely blame Henry Fonda for tripping all over himself and staring--just staring--slack-jawed at Barbara throughout the entire movie. Great performances gel with Preston Sturges's one-in-a-million comic script, and it doesn't get any better than this.

Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda - The Lady Eve - Criterion Collection

Great film, good DVD.

I love The Lady Eve, mostly because I am a fan of Barbara Stanwyck, but also because this is a great movie with lots of humor, good timing, great characters and good lines. The DVD has tons of extras, including production photos, the movie trailer, radio theater adaption, a great introduction by writer-director Peter Bogdanovich and a somewhat lame audio commentary by a film scholar Marian Keane who seems to find symbols in everything.