I love this movie, even more upon rewatch. The comedy here is sometimes broad (Pike's frequent falls) but is more often highly nuanced, almost mumbled, in understated line readings that came alive for me on second viewing. I love the intricate motifs of cards and snakes, and the film moves along briskly and never overstays its welcome. Stanwyck is reliably outstanding, and the two big seduction scenes are unbelievably sexy. It's less manic and more romantic than my other favorite screwball comedies, and it ranks up there as a favorite.
Great screwball comedy with great actors, director and script
Review by Alexander von LimbergBlockedParent2024-02-17T18:57:08Z— updated 2024-02-18T20:35:42Z
Stanwyck and Fonda are great. Didn't even know that Fonda once made such lighthearted movies. 80 years later, this movie is still enjoyable. It's romantic and funny. At times silly (even the ending: he is dumb isn't he?). Certainly not an intellectual pic. However, 40s fashion, style, manners, vocab and Mid-Atlantic accents contribute to my satisfaction with this innocuous entertainment. It's simply nice to watch a bygone era. I understand that's a fictional world built in a studio, but it's still fascinating.
Aspects of this movie are sexist: A gold-digger whose womanly hormones interfere with her own plan. Her body-count being enough reason for a divorce etc. Usually, this anti-feminist stance would annoy me a lot. That said, Stanwyck's character certainly doesn't behave, in particular flirt, like she feels constrained by what was considered to be appropriate in the 40s. In fact, she is in the driver seat of this story. It's one reason why this movie never feels terribly outdated. 80 years later, I would fall for her too. Not because she would trick me like poor Pike but because she's gorgeous and independent.
Perhaps a bit worse than the kind of similar but more serious and tragic All about Eve but still a very enjoyable movie.