The Lady Eve [1941] [Criterion] (BLU)
Preston Sturges
Synopsis
Barbara Stanwyck sizzles, Henry Fonda bumbles, and Preston Sturges runs riot in one of the all-time great screwballs, a pitch-perfect blend of comic zing and swoonworthy romance. Aboard a cruise liner sailing up the coast of South America, Stanwyck's conniving card sharp sets her sights on Fonda's nerdy snake researcher, who happens to be the heir to a brewery fortune. But when the con artist falls for her mark, her grift becomes a game of hearts—and she is determined to win it all. One in a string of matchless comedic marvels that Sturges wrote, directed, and produced as part of a dazzling 1940s run, this gender-flipped battle-of-wits farce is perhaps his most emotionally satisfying work, tempering its sparkling wit with a streak of tender poignancy supplied by the sensational Stanwyck at her peak.
Special Features:
- 4K restoration with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- Audio commentary from 2001 featuring film professor Marian Keane
- Introduction from 2001 by filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich
- Interview from 2020 with writer-director Preston Sturges's biographer and son Tom Sturges and friends
- New video essay by film critic David Cairns
- Costume designs by Edith Head
- Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of the film from 1942 featuring Barbara Stanwyck and Ray Milland
- Audio recording of "Up the Amazon," a song from an unproduced stage musical based on the film
- An essay by critic Geoffrey O'Brien and a 1946 profile of Preston Sturges from LIFE magazine
Product Details
- Language: English
- Subtitles: English
- Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
- Number of Discs: 1
- Rating: Not Rated
- Label: Criterion
- Release Date: 07/14/2020
- Run Time: 93 minutes
- Catalogue #: 103
- Region: A