Customer Reviews

Mad Miss Manton [VHS]

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I beg to differ with Scotsladdy. This is silliness carried to a delicious extreme. Stanwyck as a sleuthing debutante gets to be fearless, witty and gorgeous at the same time as she carries on a Taming of the Shrew-type class-war romance with youthful class warrior Fonda. There are no profound depths here, but many laughs(including quite a few by Hattie McDaniels), and the feminist slant of the plot--maligned Junior Leaguers aim to show up scoffing police--is great fun.

This is a wonderful screwball comedy that stars Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda. They showed that they had a nack for comedy as well as drama which really up to this time, that's all they had done. The film starts out with Melson Manson coming home to her 5th Ave highrise after a costume charity ball to walk her dogs at 3am. While she's tending to one little dog, she see's her high society friend Ronny leaving the Lane Mansion. She goes into the mansion that's been closed up for awhile only to discover a dead body. She calls for the police and when they get there the body is missing and the police figure it's just another one of her tricks. A sociaty dame that had too much time on her hands. She gets a very unkind write up in the paper by the editor Peter (Fonda) and takes an instant dislike to him. He on the other hand takes an instant liking to her. She gathers her group of sociaty girl debutants (A bunch of unknown starletts that never did another thing in movies, except Penny Singleton who went on to be Blondie in the Blondie series) to investigate the murder in the Lane Mansion. As they are going around the crime scene, Peter joins them. They tie him up and leave him there to go on to Ronnie's place so he can explain why he was at the mansion. Well, the group finds another dead body that the police once again thinks is a hoax, so they leave the body on Peter's office couch. This time the police round the girls up in the middle of the night to question them. (this is a funny scene the way the police are questioning them.) Peter helps the girls get out of the questioning only to put them back in the hand of police once more. As they were leaving the station, the police put two of the girls in the rumble seat of a car, where one of the debs discovers the body of Mr Lane. Melsa and Peter keep going back and fourth with the I love you, I hate you routine. The girls continue to investigate the murders. They are so good at investigating that they give one of the suspects an alibi and leave the police at square one again. But did they give the wrong man the alibi and leave a killer on the loose to kill again? I'm lucky enough to have taped it off of AMC when AMC was actually good. Before they changed the format and really cared about movies like this one. Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck are so good together. They made three movies all told. The Lady Eve was another one that is a screwball comedy where Barbara Stanwyck demanded and got Henry for her leading man. She knew how well they worked together. Hattie McDaniel once again plays a maid, but a maid you love. She is strong in her role and is just as much a screen presence as the two stars. She also gets some of the funniest lines in the movie. One note about the women who play the Debutantes. One woman billed herself as Vicki Lester, I guess trying to bring herself luck. You might remember a year before this movie, Vicki Lester was the character from A Star Is Born. The movie keeps moving and I don't recall a dull moment in it. Also you don't know who done it until the end of the film. Good chemistry, a good script, don't let this one pass you up. Oh Yeh, the fashions are great to see too.

I, too, disagree with scotsladdie - this movie is an absolute gem, and I've been hoping for several years to see this one come out on DVD! This is one of my favorite B&W comedies, with an enchantingly headstrong heroine and her equally (and charmingly) stubborn suitor. And, oh, yes - it's a mystery, too. I must say, I greatly prefer it to movies such as Bringing Up Baby (much as I like Cary Grant and K. Hepburn), in which the so-called hero is too muddled to attempt to hold his ground against a female as featherheaded as himself.

You know, I heard somewhere that Mad Miss Manton was the first "screwball comedy" to use regular actors/actresses instead of those that specialized in comic performance. If so, it was an absolute stroke of genius! Should you have an appreciation for quick wit and the eternal battle of the sexes, might I recommend Mad Miss Manton?

What has THE THIN MAN wrought? True, other madcap mysteries had arrived to cinema before Nick & Nora Charles's oh so memorable debut, but it was THE THIN MAN series which propelled this sub-genre into prominence. Anyway, THE MAD MISS MANTON came along in 1938, and was one of the better variations on the theme. It paired Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda for their first of three films, with THE MAD MISS MANTON considered by many as a sort of dress rehearsal for their later screwball classic The Lady Eve - Criterion Collection (the third film they co-starred in is YOU BELONG TO ME).

The plot: Late one night, while walking her dog, Park Avenue heiress Melsa Manton espies a corpse. The police arrive in ten minutes, but in the interim the corpse vanishes. Thing is, Melsa and her flighty high society gal pals had garnered a reputation around the city as prankish merry makers (all for the cause of charity, the girls declare), and now the police believe that this is only the latest antic being pulled by Melsa. A newspaper editor sends out a blistering editorial condemning Miss Manton and accusing her of a murder hoax. In the face of the police's naked disbelief and the newspaper's disregard, Melsa Manton takes it upon herself to unearth the corpse and solve the murder mystery. Never mind that she's promptly threatened with an anonymous note and a knife on her door. Oh, and she also sues the paper for libel.

Rumor has it that Henry Fonda didn't care at all for his part, but he turns in a professional performance anyway. This film is more a vehicle for Barbara Stanwyck, an actress who really could do it all. Except that Stanwyck is such a ferocious and intelligent actress that even her version of the screwball dizzy dame can't help but demonstrate smarts and a sense of solidity. Fonda, on the other hand, loses some man cred by getting beaten and tied up by eight lovely society debs. THE MAD MISS MANTON is breezy and farcical and sets a very brisk pace. Things are hopping in this film. Even the mystery is staged so that it doesn't feel like a throwaway plot device. And perhaps the reason Fonda so detested his newspaper editor role is because of his character's churlish behavior with the fair sex. He tells Stanwyck's character: "You are a nasty creature, aren't you? But in time I'll beat it out of you." And later on: "Go away! You bother me!" His comments tend to come off as more mean than the police lieutenant's terse "Shaddup!" Still, it's Henry Fonda whom Stanwyck ends up with, so go figure. But I really prefer their chemistry in THE LADY EVE.

For fans of GONE WITH THE WIND, Hattie McDaniels appears as Melsa Manton's uppity servant and she delivers several good one-liners. Sam Levene has his moments as the often irritated, pill-popping (for his ailing stomach), much put-upon police lieutenant. THE MAD MISS MANTON is also a mini-study in how to stage group shots as, for a huge chunk of the picture, Miss Manton is surrounded by her bevy of belles, all of them stunners and dressed up to the nines and in the latest trends of the late '30s. I guess you can try to differentiate among the seven debs, but none of them really stand out. I did like one politically-minded girl's (I forget which one) running exchange. She seems to think that every suggested group activity is tantamount to a communist act. There's one scene in which the girls come upon the killer holding a gun to Melsa's head:

- one girl states: "If you kill her, you'll have to kill all of us."
- You know who: "Oh, you're always talking communism!"

Half way through the movie the audio and video didn't match....the words were coming out before the actors were saying them on the screen...it was a little hard to watch.

This has long been a favorite classic comedy of mine and for years all I had was a taped version from the TV. It is a good thing that is finally available, but I think it deserves better treatment than DVD-R.

Other reviewers have thoroughly covered the storyline. I just want to add that I think Henry Fonda is at his best here in a role that shows him as strong, yet vulnerable. Barbara Stanwyck is flighty, yet smart and they have great chemistry together. If you haven't seen them together in "The Lady Eve," you have a delightful treat in store. Both of these movies of theirs are classic examples of true entertainment.

Be advised that the manufacturer recommends that this DVD-R type media be played in DVD players only, so if you have a DVD player/recorder you may have trouble with it.

Yay! This cute, romantic, tremendously funny film is finally out on DVD! "The Mad Miss Manton" pairs up Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda in a wild mystery that deserves to be better known.

Stanwyck is Melsa Manton, playgirl extraordinaire, who stumbles across a dead body while walking her designer dogs. The police don't believe her, her friends don't believe her, and the editor of the newspaper (a very handsome Fonda) writes a scathing column about her. What's a ditzy dame to do? Find the murderer, of course, and we get to watch Stanwyck and her pack of society friends run up streets and down streets looking for the killer, all while Fonda and Stanwyck trade barbs, insults and flirty looks. Their chemistry is hot as always, and combined with striking fashions and the gorgeous black and white photography, this is one good-looking film.

"The Mad Miss Manton" isn't perfect--it runs a bit long and meanders towards the end. But I'm rounding it up to 5 stars because the mystery is good, the one-liners top shelf ("You've just done a stretch," Fonda tells an armed intruder, "and if they catch you with that water pistol you're going to get an awful spanking.") and the stars pure Old Hollywood (including a very saucy Hattie McDaniel). The hospital scene where Stanwyck thinks Fonda is dying had got to be one of the funniest scenes in screwball comedy history (I love Fonda wailing that he wants "to smell the good earth!" while the police sing "Home on the Range"). If you like classic films (particularly "The Lady Eve", "My Man Godfrey" and the like) feel free to buy this unseen. You will love it.

GRADE: A
(A+ for Barbara's evening gowns and Fonda in a tuxedo. Those were the days!)

BEST OF THE SCREW BALL COMEDY MYSTERY THRILLERS ~ A GEM~
Mad cap MILLIONAIRE MELSA MANTON (Barbara Stanwyck) finds a body in an empty mansion and calls the police~ never mind she is dressed as BOP PEEP on the way home from a Party so they do NOT TAKE HER SERIOUSLY but then the body disppears~ and SAM LEVINE as the COP in charge always fun~ ADD Peter Ames (Henry Fonda) the EDITOR of the paper who writes a BAD article on MELSA WHO IN TURNS SUES HIM FOR A MILLION DOLLARS~ so now the Editor follows Manton and her group of girlfriend who stumble on clues to a murder~ this one is funny as it is a good mystery.

The clues are silly including a body in a freezer who the girls end up dumping the LOBBY of Peter Ames Newspaper office since the police will not take them seriously~ clever and moves along nicely as a romantic comedy with a nicely done little murder mystery tossed in~ Barbara Stanwyck is very good as MAD cap rich girl who is a bit smarter than any one can credit. I GIVE THIS ONE A FULL 10 OUT OF 10 FOR MYSTERY, COMEDY AND GREAT CAST~ clever dialogue has us laughing at humor tossed in.~ I highly recommend this who loves a classic romanctic comedy with a mystery added. GREAT cast.

When one thinks of Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda together on the screen, we instantly recall Preston Sturges' "The Lady Eve", but often forgotten is the first pairing of Stanwyck and Fonda in the fun RKO screwball-mystery, THE MAD MISS MANTON (1938).

True to the title, Stanwyck is madcap heroine Melsa Manton, a free-spirited Park Avenue socialite who unwittingly stumbles across a dead body that promptly disappears once she alerts the police. Lieutenant Brent (Sam Levene) won't tolerate the "fantasies" of Melsa and her pleas fall on deaf ears - until the missing body is discovered in Brent's rumble seat! Drawn into Melsa's manic whirlwind is newspaper journalist Peter Ames (Henry Fonda), initially an unwelcome thorn in Melsa's side, but who soon becomes a valuable partner when the bodies start piling up!

Although she hardly convinces as a bubblehead socialite, Stanwyck's performance stands amongst the finest screwball heroines; Henry Fonda likewise is adorable. A year prior to her breakout "Gone with the Wind" success, Hattie McDaniel (billed as "McDaniels" in the credits) is Melsa's wisecracking maid; watch out for other enjoyable personalities of the period like Penny Singleton, Olin Howland and Stanley Ridges.

This long-awaited DVD debut from the Warner Archive series will be welcomed by fans. Print quality is reasonable but unspectacular.

Here's the basic idea: a flutter-brained socialite stumbles across a dead body, but it vanishes before the cops can arrive.

So of course, the socialite does what you'd expect -- she gathers all her equally flutter-brained friends, and tries to solve the murder herself (with the interference of a journalist). "The Mad Miss Manton" is a fun, quirky little screwball comedy/mystery with some excellent performances, although the central romance is not quite believable.

On her way home from a costume party, Melsa Manton (Barbara Stanwyck) stumbles across the corpse of a rich banker... but by the time the cops have arrived, the corpse is gone. Unsurprisingly, the cops don't believe her, and soon the Morning Clarion is denouncing Melsa and all her socialite buddies. Outraged by this, Melsa decides to sue the paper's editor Peter Ames (Henry Fonda) for libel.

And she gathers all her various friends to help her find the missing corpse and uncover the murderer's identity -- but as they sleuth around, they soon discover that Ames is also doing some detective work as well. The problem is, the closer that Melsa gets to the murderer, the more dangerous it becomes for her.

"The Mad Miss Manton" is about the frothiest, screwballiest murder mystery you could even imagine. A large portion of the story involves a bunch of rather flaky rich girls stumbling around various luxurious houses, searching for evidence and occasionally tying up Peter Ames. Ah, fun stuff.

Yeah, there is plenty of criminal meat and a few choice suspects, as well as a rather well-written tangle of clues and misplaced bodies. But most of the entertainment comes from the clever dialogue ("If the upstairs has to be searched, we'll search it together." "Why, that's communism!") and finely-honed sense of comedy (Fonda's "death" scene in the hospital).

I've never really been able to accept Barbara Stanwyck as a bubblebrain, to be honest. But she does a brilliant and very funny job as the flaky, funny Melsa, and she has excellent chemistry with Fonda. The one problem is that their relationship is hinted to be serious enough to make them talk about marriage, but there's virtually no trust in their relationship -- he's always trying to trick her.

"The Mad Miss Manton" is a big mass of fluffy cotton candy -- but between Fonda, Standwyck and the amusing dialogue, it's a fun way to spend a rainy day.