THE LADY EVE (1942)
“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.”
Comedy in which the lovable but dim-witted heir to a huge ale company (Henry Fonda) meets a sexy swindler (Barbara Stanwyck) and falls for her and her scam. Naturally, the swindler falls for her victim too, and things get complicated and hilarious.
This is most notable as the inspiration for another of my favorite movies, THE HUDSUCKER PROXY. It includes many of the exact same bits, scenes, and lines. Henry Fonda is hilarious, which is fun considering I mostly know him for deeply intense, serious roles. And He’s really hot in this. Stanwyck is so funny and cool. This is a very hip comedy.
