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The Lady Eve main poster

The Lady Eve

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7.2/10 • 363

1941-02-251h 37m

ComedyRomance

When you deal a fast shuffle, love is in the cards.

It's no accident when wealthy Charles falls for Jean. Jean is a con artist with her sights set on Charles' fortune. Matters complicate when Jean starts falling for her mark. When Charles suspects Jean is a gold digger, he dumps her. Jean, fixated on revenge and still pining for the millionaire, devises a plan to get back in Charles' life. With love and payback on her mind, she re-introduces herself to Charles, this time as an aristocrat named Lady Eve Sidwich.

Directors
Preston Sturges
Editors
Stuart Gilmore

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Barbara Stanwyck

    Barbara Stanwyck

    Jean Harrington

  2. Henry Fonda

    Henry Fonda

    Charles Pike

  3. Charles Coburn

    Charles Coburn

    'Colonel' Harrington

  4. Eugene Pallette

    Eugene Pallette

    Horace Pike

  5. William Demarest

    William Demarest

    Muggsy

  6. Eric Blore

    Eric Blore

    Sir Alfred McGlennan Keith

  7. Melville Cooper

    Melville Cooper

    Gerald

  8. Martha O'Driscoll

    Martha O'Driscoll

    Martha

  9. Janet Beecher

    Janet Beecher

    Janet Pike

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Jul 11, 2025

7/10

Barbara Stanwyck is on great form in this slightly far-fetched caper, but it’s really a strong supporting cast which includes co-star Henry Fonda and Charles Coburn that add together to make this an enjoyable romp through the courting process tempered with some double-identities and a deck with five aces. She is travelling with her father (Coburn) and both are sought by the authorities for being accomplished confidence tricksters. Their mark on this particular voyage is the ridiculously wealthy “Pike” (Fonda) whom she strings along merrily whilst they fleece him at cards. Then something entirely unexpected happens. She falls for the man. His innocence and naivety strike a chord and she even begins to rebel against her father! Luckily, for “Pike”, he is tipped off just in time and manage to escape her venal clutches - or so he thinks. “Jean” (Stanwyck) is determined on an unique sort of revenge which sees her adopt the identity of a visiting British aristocrat (“Lady Eve”) and visit her uncle who just happens to be in the same social circle as you know who. Surely he will recognise her? He can’t be that gullible? Though it’s not so obvious at the start, there develops an entertaining chemistry between Stanwyck and the rarely upright and constantly flustered Fonda who seems to be able to trip over just about anything and everything! Of course, there isn’t really a great deal of jeopardy as the plot thickens, but with Coburn holding a steady course and both Eugene Palette and Eric Blore - this time not the butler - having a decent amount of the latter play, this is an enjoyably eccentric look at greed tinged with love. Or is that the other way around?

Media

  • The Lady Eve poster
  • The Lady Eve poster
  • The Lady Eve poster
  • The Lady Eve poster
  • The Lady Eve poster
  • The Lady Eve poster
  • The Lady Eve poster
  • The Lady Eve poster
  • The Lady Eve poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
daughtershipsnakegamblingpassengerfraudromcomdeceptioncon artistmoneyrevengewealthhaircardsharpscrewball comedygold digger