Change Your Image
rulebritannia-1
Reviews
The Mad Miss Manton (1938)
An excellent look at things to come
In 1941, Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck starred in 'The Lady Eve' (one of the finest comedies of all time) but before this Fonda and Stanwyck made a relatively unknown comedy called 'The Mad Miss Manton' and may I say that this is an excellent lead-up to 'The Lady Eve'.
The dialogue (written by the supremely witty Philip G. Epstein) sparkles and goes so fast that it takes a second viewing to get all the jokes. And in an age of political correctness the dialogue is even funnier. Dora's quip about communism (Helen:"If the upstairs has to be searched, we'll search it together"-Dora:"Why that's communism!") is just so unexpected. Unlike the Lady Eve, where Fonda is primarily the straight guy, in 'Mad Miss Manton' he holds his own and is especially good in the hospital scene, where he plays Stanwyck for the sucker. Apparently, Fonda hated making this film and being ambushed by gaggle of girls would certainly put a dent in your pride.
On the whole, an excellent but unfortunately unknown film. If you are planning to see "The Lady Eve' do try and see this film because it is truly a gem in the Screwball genre.
Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
Jolly, Jingoistic Jimmy Cagney!
Now, I'm not the patriotic type and when I read about 'Yankee Doodle Dandy', I initially detested the idea of it. But one day I decided to just watch it and then decide whether it was good bad or indifferent.
Well, I watched it and found it captivating. Sure, the songs were overtly patriotic but I didn't care. I was caught up in the jazziness of it all that I couldn't help but love it - the design, the cinematography and of course, the flag-waver himself, James Cagney.
Cagney brings such sincerity to his role, especially during the more serious parts of the film. He stops from ever becoming over-the-top or silly and did I mention that he's a good dancer. Just flies across the stage on his toes. In later life, Cagney said that he always wanted to do more musicals and I wish he had.
I'm giving this film 9 out of 10 because, although it is extremely patriotic, somehow when you look at the other aspects of the film, you realize that it's not a propaganda piece, but just the story of a man.