--- title: "The Lady Eve: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-lady-eve/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-lady-eve" critics_score: 87 critics_reviews: 15 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Lady Eve (1941): what the critics said Critics' score 87 from 15 reviews: 15 positive, 0 mixed, 0 negative. The consensus is warmly positive, with all 15 reviews praising The Lady Eve. Most critics centre their enthusiasm on Preston Sturges’s sharp dialogue and the ease with which the film combines slapstick, sexual comedy and romance. Barbara Stanwyck draws particular praise for her intelligence, confidence and vulnerability, while her pairing with Henry Fonda is a recurring source of delight. The reviews also value the satire of class and courtship, finding bite beneath the comic mishaps. The differences are chiefly in emphasis rather than substantive reservations. Enthusiasm varies, but none of these reviews amounts to a dissent. Collider gives particular attention to Fonda’s against-type casting, vulnerability and comic timing, where many others foreground Stanwyck. Sight and Sound concentrates on Sturges’s enduring comic invention and the film’s thematic connections. Across the reviews, neither the broad physical comedy nor the wayward plotting becomes a recurring complaint. ## Radio Times — Tony Sloman Rating 5/5. Hails it as a wonderfully witty masterpiece and unequalled sparkling combination of romance and screwball comedy. Praises the perfect casting of Fonda and Stanwyck in near career-best roles. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-nc8bwo/the-lady-eve/) ## IndieWire — Max O'Connell Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 25 February 2015. The critic presents the film as a classic screwball comedy highlighting Sturges's sharp wit and the sparkling chemistry between Stanwyck and Fonda. It singles out the battle-of-the-sexes dynamics and Stanwyck's masterful performance for particular praise. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/criticwire-classic-of-the-week-preston-sturges-the-lady-eve-131357/) ## Los Angeles Times — Mark Chalon Smith Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 13 July 1990. The 1941 classic showcases Sturges at his peak with nervy energy, impudent humor, and expert construction like a practiced card trick. Stanwyck shines as the spirited con woman whose performance, alongside Fonda’s, gives the film its luster and bracing verve. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-07-13-ca-287-story.html) ## The AV Club — Scott Tobias Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 19 April 2002. The review calls the film a masterpiece of romantic comedy that uses the Garden of Eden myth to explore equality in relationships through pratfalls and sharp dialogue. It singles out Stanwyck's versatile performance, blending intelligence, wit, and vulnerability, as a standout element. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/the-lady-eve-1798197284) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 14 February 2019. The critic praises this glorious 1941 screwball comedy (revived in UK cinemas) for its childlike fantasy innocence and tremendous dialogue, with Stanwyck delivering a bravura double performance as the card-sharp who upstages everyone. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/feb/14/the-lady-eve-review-preston-sturges-barbara-stanwyck-henry-fonda) ## The New York Times Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 2 March 1941. Sturges is hailed as a comic master whose new film is among the most delightful and amusing in years, full of civilized adult humor and mischievous gibes. It offers a sly, satiric take on gullible males and treacherous females, with sharp character work and sparkling dialogue. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1941/03/02/archives/creative-man-preston-sturges-claims-his-niche-as-a-comedy-master.html) ## Time Out — TM Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 28 January 2016. Calls it a beguilingly ribald sex comedy that is very nearly perfection and quintessential Sturges. Praises the superb pairing of Fonda and Stanwyck and the mix of slapstick, wit and moving romance. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-lady-eve) ## Variety — Variety Staff Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1940. The film is top-tier laugh entertainment thanks to its slick situations, spontaneous dialogue, and slapstick elements. Stanwyck, Fonda, and Coburn deliver strong performances in this well-paced screwball comedy. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1940/film/reviews/the-lady-eve-1117792406/) ## Empire — Kim Newman Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The review calls it a wonderful picture whose left-field plot kinks are part of the fun, praising Sturges's ability to send up both wealthy snobs and con artists while highlighting Barbara Stanwyck's devastating, charming performance as Jean/Eve. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/lady-eve-review/) ## Slant Magazine — Budd Wilkins Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 23 July 2020. The critic praises the film's urbane take on the battle of the sexes, with Stanwyck's Jean/Eve in control and Fonda's character hapless yet endearing. It highlights the verbal pyrotechnics, postmodern elements like the mirror scene, and the psychological acuity in the con and romance plot. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/the-lady-eve-blu-ray-review-preston-sturges/) ## The Independent — Kevin Jackson Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 22 July 1993. The critic argues it is Preston Sturges's real triumph and one of the best film comedies ever, comparing its plot to Vertigo as farce and praising the erotic charge of the courtship scenes, the wit of even minor characters, and the improvisatory storytelling style. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-films-that-should-come-back-from-the-dead-independent-riters-campaign-for-the-return-of-four-classics-kevin-jackson-on-the-lady-eve-1486578.html) ## Evening Standard — Charlotte O'Sullivan Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 30 April 2020. The piece hails the 1941 screwball comedy as a swoon-worthy indictment of the class system that mixes zip, sparkle and cruel truths about gender and social climbing, singling out Barbara Stanwyck's sublime, sexually confident performance as Jean/Eve and the match with Henry Fonda's character. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/forgotten-favourites-the-lady-eve-a4428041.html) ## Sight and Sound — Brad Stevens Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 1 September 2005. Praises the Preston Sturges Paramount films for their enduring comic invention and modern resonance. Singles out The Lady Eve for its unexpected thematic parallel to Vertigo as a comic variation on similar material. [Read the review](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/2540) ## Eye for Film — Caro Ness Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 16 June 2005. The critic calls it a masterpiece and one of Preston Sturges' cleverest and best-beloved romantic comedies, balancing broad slapstick with sophisticated sexiness. She singles out the perfect script, sharp dialogue, and stellar cast led by Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda for particular praise. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-lady-eve-film-review-by-caro-ness) ## Collider — Thomas Butt Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 10 February 2024. The critic praises Henry Fonda's against-type performance as a naive, bumbling heir in this Preston Sturges screwball comedy, noting how it subverts his usual everyman image while highlighting his vulnerability and comedic timing. The review singles out the sparkling chemistry and witty banter between Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck as the film's greatest strength. [Read the review](https://collider.com/henry-fonda-lady-eve/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-lady-eve.md