The Mad Miss Manton (1938)

recommended

Lack of good storyline.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Producer: Pandro S. Berman. Copyright 21 October 1938 by RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. New York opening at the Radio City Music Hall: 20 October 1938 (ran one week only). U.S. release: 21 October 1938. Australian release: 26 January 1939. 80 minutes. SYNOPSIS: Melsa Manton, a spirited heiress, leads a group of six high society girls in a series of mad pranks which culminate in an attempt to solve a baffling murder.PRINCIPAL MIRACLE: Epstein manages to ingeniously combine a pretty amusing screwball romantic comedy with a suspenseful murder mystery.COMMENT: Definitely one for the connoisseurs, The Mad Miss Manton proved too mad for the general public's taste on first release. But when I finally caught up with it in the 1950s, I was absolutely thrilled. I loved the bizarre situations and characters, split my sides laughing at the continuous wisecracks and was sick with suspense at the scary climax when the mystery finally unraveled in spine-tingling fashion. The breezy pace with which director Leigh Jason slings it all together is yet another cause for enjoyment. Stanwyck whirlwinds through the movie with her usual aggressive aplomb, and finds her match in Fonda's snappy but stylish newspaperman. The character players, with the exception of Sam Levene's too heavy detective, are a marvel. Epstein gives them all wonderful opportunities to shine. Stanley Ridges delivers one of his best performances and James Burke, sobbing through a gruesome rendition of "Home on the Range", is especially funny. You'd think Epstein had fashioned his screenplay for the express purpose of providing employment for as many actors as possible. In fact, the sets are often so crowded with extras, Epstein even plays that over-embellishing for a few laughs. And the parade keeps on coming. Right to the end. You keep wondering who's going to turn up next. John Qualen, for instance, has an effective scene right at the climax. Yes, The Mad Miss Manton is crowded with production values: hordes of extras, glossy sets, atmospheric lighting, fast pacing. Style!

The problem with this movie is that things fall into place just a little too easily. For example, when one of the characters is hungry she opens a refrigerator and a body falls out. Too convenient.But, it is a fast moving sort of comedy-mystery, and as long as you don't expect too much from it, it can be a somewhat enjoyable diversion.This seems like a bit different role for Barbara Stanwyck, and she is rather good at light comedy. Same for Henry Fonda. There are character actors you'll recognize, though none play a particularly memorable role here. Even Hattie McDaniel -- just a year away from her historic role in GWTW -- is pretty tame here.This is another of those films that's worth one watch, but I doubt this will end up on your DVD shelf.

Mad Miss Manton, The (1938) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Disappointing comedy about a rich woman (Barbara Stanwyck) who gets involved with a murder investigation and a reporter (Henry Fonda) covering the case. This was the first teaming of Stanwyck and Fonda but the end results aren't as good as I had hoped even though the film starts off pretty well. The comedy works for most of the time as the two stars really do good work together but it's Sam Levene who steals the show as the wisecracking Lieutenant. What really kills the film is the mystery, which never takes off and around the forty-minute mark it was really getting on my nerves. I wasn't interested in who did the killings and the multiple endings didn't help either.

Barbara Stanwyck was 31 years old playing opposite stone-faced 33 year old Henry Fonda in this comedy love story/murder mystery, and if you want to see how Barbara steals every scene, this is a good one to watch. This movie was selected by TCM as one of the films to highlight for their series "Black Images in Hollywood" due to the presence of Hattie McDaniel just prior to her Oscar-winning performance the next year in "Gone With the Wind." Hattie plays a sassy-talking maid for delicious comic relief. But it's a small role for Hattie and the main focus is on the delightful Barbara. There is an interesting scene at the end of the movie which foretells the use of S.W.A.T. teams today in both the cinema and on the streets. All in all, this is a pleasant movie to while away an afternoon with a friend, and who knows, you may even want to re-visit it again in a few years.