Joan Crawford, Dana Andrews, and Henry Fonda in Otto Preminger's Production of “Daisy Kenyon”

Daisy Kenyon (1947), based on the best-selling novel by Elizabeth Janeway, is one of many films referred to as “women’s pictures” during Hollywood’s Golden Age. In many ways, it fits that genre perfectly, especially with Joan Crawford—“an old hand at being emotionally confused” according to The New York Times review—playing the title role. However, in director Otto Preminger’s hands, it’s so much more, with the male protagonists, Henry Fonda and Dana Andrews, also grabbing the spotlight.

Andrews plays prominent attorney, Dan O’Mara who is married to Lucile (Ruth Warrick). They have two daughters Rosamund (Peggy Ann Garner) and Marie (Connie Marshall). O’Mara leads a double life: On the one hand, he’s a family man, and on the other, he’s a philandering husband carrying on an affair with Daisy (Crawford), a single career woman. The relationship is a strained one primarily because O’Mara refuses to divorce his wife and marry Daisy. Daisy is torn between her love for Dan and her desire for a relationship that doesn’t need to be kept secret. To complicate matters further, Daisy meets World War II veteran, Peter Lapham (Fonda). Not as exciting a character as Dan, but a safe one.

Who will Daisy choose? 

Otto Preminger (1905 -1986) was an American film director who made more than 35 feature films during a five-decade career. Born in Austro-Hungarian into a Jewish family. Preminger was drawn to acting from an early age and became the apprentice of famed stage director Max Reinhardt. In 1935, he was recruited by Twentieth Century-Fox to apprentice as a director at the studio. After a rocky start, Preminger established himself as an A-list director after Rouben Mamoulian was fired from Laura (1944). The film noir classic made major stars of Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews and is considered one of the best film noirs of all time. While under contract to Fox, Preminger directed Fallen Angel (1945), Centennial Summer (1946), Forever Amber (1947), and Daisy Kenyon (1947). After he left Fox, Preminger became a maverick, constantly clashing with members of the Production Code. He released two films without the approval of the Production Code: The Moon is Blue (1953) and The Man with the Golden Arm (1955). Both films were financial successes and helped bring an end to the Code entirely. Later successes for Preminger include Anatomy of a Murder (1959) and Exodus (1960).

Crawford at the top of the triangle.

Joan Crawford (190? – 1977) was an American actress. A former dancer, Crawford was signed to a movie contract by M-G-M in 1925. She started out in small parts in silent films, sometimes doubling for established star Norma Shearer. Crawford was an amazing self-promoter and by the 1930s, her popularity rivaled Shearer and Greta Garbo. She was famous for playing shop girls who somehow made it big. During the height of the Depression, women flocked to her films. But by the late 1930s, her popularity was beginning to wane. She left M-G-M and was absent from the screen for almost two years. She signed with Warner Bros. and made a successful comeback in Mildred Pierce (1945). The film was a hit with audiences and critics alike and won Crawford her one-and-only Academy Award for Best Actress. She went on the star in Humoresque (1946) with John Garfield, Possessed (1947) with Van Heflin, and Flamingo Road (1949).

Dana Andrews (1909 – 1992) was an American stage, film, and television actor. During the 1940s, Andrews was a major star and leading man starring in Laura (1944), State Fair (1945), A Walk in the Sun (1945), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), Canyon Passage (1946), Boomerang! (1947), and Daisy Kenyon (1947), the latter co-starring Joan Crawford and Henry Fonda. During the 1950s, film roles were harder to come by, but he had success in Elephant Walk (1954) co-starring Elizabeth Taylor and Peter Finch, While the City Sleeps (1956), and Curse of the Demon (1957). In 1958 he replaced Henry Fonda on Broadway in Two for the Seesaw. Andrews worked a lot on television guest-starring on shows like The Twilight Zone, Checkmate, The Barbara Stanwyck Show, Ben Casey, The Love Boat, Ironside, and Falcon Crest. He also starred in the daytime soap opera Bright Promise (1969 - 1971).

Trouble in the O’Mara household

Henry Fonda (1905 –1982) was an American stage and film actor. Fonda came to Hollywood in 1935 and became a star overnight. Early starring roles include Jezebel (1938), Jesse James (1939), Young Mr. Lincoln (1939), and The Grapes of Wrath (1940) for which he received his first Best Actor nomination for playing Tom Joad. Fonda played opposite Barbara Stanwyck in The Lady Eve (1942), My Darling Clementine (1946), and Mister Roberts (1955). In 1981 he finally won the Best Actor Oscar for his role as Norman Thayer Jr. in On Golden Pond.

Daisy Kenyon trivia

• Joan Crawford requested both Henry Fonda and Dana Andrews as her co-stars.
• Fond and Andrews didn’t want to make the film but had to it to fulfill their contracts.
• During an interview during the 1970s, Otto Preminger said he had no recollection of Daisy Kenyon.
• Crawford was borrowed from Warner Bros. for her role as Daisy.
• Andrews had already worked with Preminger on Laura (1944) and Fallen Angel (1945).
• John Garfield appears as an extra sitting at the bar in the Stork Club.
• Columnist Walter Winchel, writer Damon Runyon, and New York Post columnist Leonard Lyons all have cameos as themselves.

Dan O’Mara at the Stock Club with Leonard Lyons and check out
John Garfield drinking far left!

Click HERE to watch the film on the Internet Archive.

Click HERE to join the online discussion on November 25, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an email with a link to join the discussion on Zoom.

Discussion questions

1. When the film was released on DVD, the film company classified it as a film noir. Do you think this film fits that genre? How would you classify it?
2. Did you find the relationships between the three stars believable? 
3. Do you think Daisy made the right choice?
4. Were you surprised by anything?
5. Was the ending satisfying?

Henry Fonda is “Young Mr. Lincoln”

Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) is an American biographical film directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda. It was produced by 20th Century-Fox studio head Darryl F. Zanuck and Kenneth Macgowan. The film was photographed by long-time Ford cinematographer Bert Glennon. The supporting cast includes Alice Brady (My Man Godfrey), Marjorie Weaver, Donald Meek (Stagecoach), Ward Bond, and Milburn Stone (Gunsmoke). The screenplay was written by Lamar Totti; he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original screenplay.

Henry Fonda as Abraham Lincoln

The film takes place in 1832 and is a fictionalization of the early career of Abraham Lincoln during his days in New Salem, Illinois. During Independence Day festivities, a man named Skrub White (Fed Kohler Jr.) has a scuffle with two brothers, Matt and Adam Clay (Richard Cromwell and Eddie Quillan). When White pulls a gun on the brothers, he is stabbed and killed. Neither brother will accuse the other and both are put on trial for murder. Lincoln defends the brothers matching wits with the experienced prosecutor John Felder (Meek).

The case against the brothers rests with the eye-witness testimony of John Palmer Cass. Will Lincoln be able to challenge his testimony? Will the brothers be hanged for murder?

Young Mr. Lincoln trivia:

• Henry Fonda was reluctant to play Lincoln, equating playing the Great Emancipator to playing Jesus Christ.
• Fonda wore special boots to make him appear taller.
• Makeup for Fonda was based on photographs of Lincoln at about age 45.
• This was Alice Brady’s last film; she died of cancer several months after the film wrapped.
• Lincoln used an almanac to dispute eyewitness testimony in a real case.

To watch the movie on YouTube click the link below.

Why watch this film?

• This was the first collaboration between John Ford and Henry Fonda, a collaboration that produced six films including The Grapes of Wrath (1940).
• The myth surrounding Abraham Lincoln is partly due to this fictionalization of his life.
• Henry Fonda gives one of his greatest characterizations on film.
• The production including the cinematography is first-rate.

Questions for discussion:

1. What did you think of Henry Fonda as Lincoln? Was he believable in the role?
2. Were you bothered by the fact that some liberty was taken with the actual facts of Lincoln’s life?
3. The film featured a strong supporting cast including Ward Bond, a Ford Stock Company regular. Did any of the supporting cast stand out to you?
4. Did anything surprise you (not including the loose history) about the film?

To join on on Zoom for a discussion of this film on August 2, 2021, 6:30 p.m. Central Time, click here.

Once you RSVP, you’ll receive an invitation and links to the discussion on Zoom.

Honest Abe or Henry Fonda?

Henry Fonda and Dana Andrews in "The Ox-Bow Incident"

The Ox-Box Incident (1943) is an American western film directed by Wiliam A. Wellman, starring Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews, and an extraordinary supporting cast that includes Anthony Quinn, Harry Morgan, Mary Beth Hughes, and Jane Darwell. The film is based on the novel by Walter Van Tilburg Clark published in 1940.

Cowboys Art Croft (Harry Morgan) and Gil Carter (Henry Fonda) ride into Bridger's Wells, Nevada in 1885. Immediately the two are suspected of being cattle rustlers. While at Darby’s Saloon a man comes in and announces that rancher Larry Kinkaid has been murdered.

Almost immediately, a posse if formed lead by Major Tetley (Frank Conroy) and his son Gerald (William Eythe). Art and Gil, originally resistant to joining the posse do so in order to deflect suspicion from themselves.

The posse comes across Donald Martin (Dana Andrews); a Mexican, Juan Martínez (Anthony Quinn); and an old man, Alva Hardwicke (Francis Ford). Martin is accused of killing Kinkaid and stealing his cattle by the posse. Martin claims that he purchased the cattle from Kinkaid but no one believes him. What will the posse do? Will Martin, Martinez, and Hardwicke receive justice at the hands of the posse?

Victor Killian, Henry Fonda, and Harry Morgan

William A. Wellman (1896 – 1975) was an American film director. He started his directorial career in silent films. Wellman directed Wings (1927) which was the first film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 1st Academy Awards ceremony. Wellman directed two classic films released in 1937: Nothing Sacred and A Star is Born. Other important films directed by Wellman include Beau Geste (1939), Roxie Hart (1942), The Story of G.I. Joe (1945), Yellow Sky (1948), Battleground (1949), and The High and the Mighty (1954).

Henry Fonda (1905 –1982) was an American stage and film actor. Fonda came to Hollywood in 1935 and became a star overnight. Early starring roles include Jezebel (1938), Jesse James (1939), Young Mr. Lincoln (1939), and The Grapes of Wrath (1940) for which he received his first Best Actor nomination for playing Tom Joad. Fonda played opposite Barbara Stanwyck in The Lady Eve (1942), My Darling Clementine (1946), and Mister Roberts (1955). In 1981 he finally won the Best Actor Oscar for his role as Norman Thayer Jr. in On Golden Pond.

Dana Andrews (center)

Dana Andrews (1909 – 1992) was an American stage and film actor. During the 1940s, Andrews was a major star and leading man starring in Laura (1944), State Fair (1945), A Walk in the Sun (1945), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), Canyon Passage (1946), Boomerang! (1947), and Daisy Kenyon (1947) co-starring Joan Crawford and Henry Fonda. During the 1950s, film roles were harder to come by, but he had success in Elephant Walk (1954) co-starring Elizabeth Taylor and Peter Finch, While the City Sleeps (1956), and Curse of the Demon (1957). In 1958 he replaced Henry Fonda on Broadway in Two for the Seesaw.


The Ox-Bow Incident Trivia 

• Henry Fonda considered this, along with The Grapes of Wrath as his two best films. 
• Completed in 1942, the film wasn’t released until 1943. 
• Clint Eastwood told the American Film Institute (AFI) that this was his favorite film. 
• Henry Fonda’s role was originally offered to Gary Cooper. 
• The film was a box office failure, but it was still nominated for Best Picture. 
• The opening scene in the saloon is almost identical to the one in Yellow Sky, also directed by William A. Wellman.
• Francis Ford who plays the old man Hardwicke was director John Ford’s older brother.

To watch to the movie on YouTube, click the link below. Be sure to use this link because there are other versions on this channel that are not of the same quality.



After you’ve watched the movie, join us for a discussion on Zoom September 1, 2020, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Zoom invitation and the link are below.

Stephen Reginald is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Discussion of "The Ox-Bow Incident"
Time: Sep 1, 2020, 06:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us04web.zoom.us/j/78506166194?pwd=MGtuUDZVckRDcTl1VFpJN21aSmVOdz09

Meeting ID: 785 0616 6194
Passcode: 9wQ0G8


Questions for discussion:
1. Do you think the posse would have been organized without the Major’s leadership?
2. Why do you think Art and Gil join the posse? Is it out of fear or excitement?
3. What about the other men and “Ma?”
4. What did you think of Donald Martin’s (Dana Andrews) character? The old man Hardwicke (Ford), and Martinez (Anthony Quinn).
5. Arthur Davies (Harry Davenport) seemed to be sympathetic to Martin and his companions. What do you think his motivation was?
6. The way Henry Fonda is photographed reading Martin’s letter is quite unusual. Did you think it was effective? Would you have filmed it that way?

John Ford’s “My Darling Clementine” and myth of the American West

My Darling Clementine (1946) is an American western film directed by John Ford, starring Henry Fonda, Linda Darnell, and Victor Mature. Many critics consider it one of the best westerns ever made.

The movie takes place in 1882, with the Earp brothers Wyatt (Fonda), Morgan (Ward Bond), Virgil (Tim Holt), and James (Don Garner) on a cattle drive to California. On the way, they meet Old Man Clanton (Walter Brennan). Clanton wants to buy the Wyatt cattle, but they refuse to sell. When they learn of the nearby town of Tombstone, the three older brothers ride in, leaving their younger brother James to watch over the herd. When Wyatt, Morgan, and Virgil return to camp, they discover that their cattle have been rustled and James has been murdered.

This is the setup for the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

Some Clementine Trivia
My Darling Clementine was Fonda’s first film role upon returning from service in World War II. Mature had one of his best roles as Doc Holiday, even winning praise from director Ford, which was no easy task. Darnell who was emerging as 20th Century-Fox’s top bombshell is the fiery Chihuahua. Jeanne Crain was originally considered for the role of Clementine Carter, but studio head Darryl F. Zanuck had bigger plans for her. He thought the supporting role was too small for Crain who was being groomed for major stardom. Brennan disliked Ford so much that he never work with him again. Jane Darwell who plays dance hall owner Kate Nelson won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar in Ford’s The Grapes of Wrath (1940) which starred Fonda as Tom Joad.

Linda Darnell and Henry Fonda in an iconic scene from the film

John Ford (1894 – 1946) was an American film director. Best known for his classic westerns. Ironically he won four Best Director Oscars for non-western films, a record that has yet to be equaled. Ford directed more than 140 films going back to the silent era. Orson Welles and Ingmar Bergman are among the many who consider Ford the greatest director of all time.

Henry Fonda (1905 - 1982) was an American stage and film actor. Fonda became a star in his first film role as Dan Harrow in The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935) co-starring established star Janet Gaynor. In 1938, he co-starred in Jezebel with Bette Davis. In 1939 he starred as Frank James along with Tyrone Power in Jesse James (the second biggest hit of the year), Young Mr. Lincoln, and Drums Along the Mohawk, the latter two directed by John Ford. Fonda worked steadily on the stage and on film until a year before his death. He won his one and only Oscar for On Golden Pond (1981).

Linda Darnell (1923 – 1965) was an American film actress. She signed a contract with 20th Century-Fox at age 15 and became a star almost overnight. She was immediately cast opposite Tyrone Power in Day-Time Wife (1939). She made two films with Power in 1940: Brigham Young and The Mark of Zorro. In 1941, she was again paired with Power in Blood and Sand, which also starred an up and coming Rita Hayworth. Darnell’s most famous role was that of Amber St. Clair in Forever Amber (1947), which turned out the be the biggest hit of the year. The role of Amber was the most sought after female role since the casting of Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939). Other important films she starred in include Unfaithfully Yours (1948), A Letter to Three Wives (1949), and No Way Out (1950). She died tragically at age 41 in a fire while visiting friends in Glenview, Illinois.

Victor Mature (1913 – 1999) was an American stage, film, and television who became a major movie star during the 1940s under contract to 20th Century-Fox. Before his film career took off, Mature starred in Lady in the Dark (1941) on Broadway opposite Gertrude Lawrence. Some of Mature’s notable films include I Wake Up Screaming (1941) with Betty Grable, The Shanghai Gesture (1941) with Gene Tierney. In 1942, he starred opposite Rita Hayworth in the musical My Gal Sal. Other notable films include Kiss of Death (1947), Samson and Delilah (1949), and The Robe (1952), the first film released in the Cinemascope widescreen process.


To watch this film on YouTube, click on the link below. Be sure to use this link because there are several prints of this film on the channel, but this one is the best by far.



After you’ve watched the film, join us for a discussion on Zoom, July 21, 2020. Click on the link below to join the discussion.

Stephen Reginald is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Discussion of "My Darling Clementine"
Time: Jul 21, 2020, 06:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us04web.zoom.us/j/75170417977?pwd=eUF5VFdKRmEzK1JWbisxNy9yV3pkZz09

Meeting ID: 751 7041 7977
Passcode: Z5pkxp


Discussion questions:
1. This film is considered one of the great American westerns. How does it rate in your estimation?
2. Henry Fonda was Ford’s first and only choice to play Wyatt Earp. What did you think of Fonda’s performance? Can you see another actor in the role?
3. John Ford was at first unhappy about the casting of Victor Mature (he had wanted James Stewart), but after interviewing the actor, he was convinced he was right for the part. What do you think?
4. Many critics think that Linda Darnell was miscast as Chihuahua. Do you agree with the critics and why or why not?

10 Things You May Not Know About Henry Fonda

Henry Fonda (1905 – 1982) was one of the most popular and enduring stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age. He starred in dozens of movies, but he loved the theater. On Broadway he starred in Mr. Roberts, Two for the Seasaw, Clarence Darrow, and First Monday in October. Fonda is also the father of Jane and Peter Fonda.

1. Fonda can trace his European ancestral roots to Genoa, Italy and the Netherlands.

2. He was a Boy Scout and reached the rank of Eagle Scout.

3. Dodie Brando (Marlon Brando’s mother) suggested that he try out for a play at the Omaha Community Playhouse, thus launching his acting career.

Henry Fonda and Janet Gaynor in The Farmer Takes a Wife

4. He went to Hollywood in 1935 to star opposite Janet Gaynor in The Farmer Takes a Wife, in the role he originated on Broadway.

5. James Stewart followed his friend Fonda to Hollywood where they shared a home next door to Greta Garbo.

Fonda as Abraham Lincoln in Young Mr. Lincoln

6. In 1939 he starred in three highly successful films: Young Mr. Lincoln, his first picture with the legendary John Ford, Jesse James, costarring Tyrone Power, and Drums Along the Mohawk, costarring Claudette Colbert, also directed by Ford.

7. Ford insisted that Fonda play Tom Joad in the screen adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath (1940) over the objections of Twentieth Century-Fox studio head Darryl Zanuck (he wanted Tyrone Power to play Tom).

Fonda impressed critics with his prat falls in The Lady Eve

8. He surprised the critics with his comedic performance (including his amazing physical comedy that included a half-dozen or so pratfalls) in The Lady Eve (1941), directed by Preston Sturges and costarring Barbara Stanwyck.

9. Fonda enlisted in the United States Navy during WW II; he served for 3 years and was awarded the Navy Presidential Unit Citation and the Bronze Star.

10. He received only two Academy Award Best Actor nominations, during his long film career, for The Grapes of Wrath and On Golden Pond (1981); he won for the latter, making him the oldest recipient of the award.

Screening of “The Mad Miss Manton” at Daystar Center April 1

“Stanwyck on State Street” Film Series: The Mad Miss Manton (1938)
Where: The Venue 1550 at the Daystar Center, 1550 S. State Street, Chicago, IL
When: April 1, 2017
Time: 6:45 p.m.
Hosted by Stephen Reginald

Heiress Melsa Manton (Stanwyck) and her Park Avenue society friends are constantly pulling pranks. This puts them at odds with the law and makes them the subject of negative stories in the press. When Melsa discovers a murder victim in a vacant building, she has a hard time convincing the police she’s telling the truth.

With the help of her Park Avenue pranksters, Melsa plays detective, putting her at odds with newspaper editor Peter Ames (Henry Fonda). Peter thinks Melsa and her ilk are foolish, spoiled, rich kids with too much time on their hands. Peter’s negative articles about Melsa and her friends drive Melsa crazy. She’s desperate to be taken seriously in spite of her less-than-serious reputation. Will Melsa be able to convince Peter that she’s not a dizzy heiress and help her solve the murder? The Mad Miss Manton was the first of three pictures that starred Stanwyck and Fonda and it’s a fun screwball romp in the tradition of My Man Godfrey and The Thin Man.

The Mad Miss Manton is part of the “Stanwyck on State Street” Film Series.

Have some Joe and Enjoy the Show!

You can bring food and beverages into the auditorium; we even have small tables set up next to some of the seats. General Admission: $5 Students and Senior Citizens: $3.

Join the Chicago Film club; join the discussion

Twice a month we screen classic films and have a brief discussion afterward. For more information, including how to join (it’s free), click here. The Venue 1550 is easily accessible by the CTA. Please visit Transit Chicago for more information on transportation options.

Stephen Reginald is a freelance writer and editor. He has worked at various positions within the publishing industry for over 25 years. Most recently he was executive editor for McGraw-Hill’s The Learning Group Division. A long-time amateur student of film, Reginald hosts “Chicago Film Club,” a monthly movie event held in the South Loop, for the past two years. Reginald has also taught several adult education film classes at Facets Film School, Chicago.

Preston Sturges series: Screening of “The Lady Eve” May 24 at the Daystar Center

Preston Sturges series: The Lady Eve
Where: The Venue 1550 at the Daystar Center, 1550 S. State Street, Chicago, IL
When: May 24, 2016
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Hosted by Stephen Reginald

Father and daughter con artists (Charles Coburn and Barbara Stanwyck) travel on transatlantic cruise ships swindling rich passengers in card games. When the two spot a big fish Charles Poncefort Pike (Henry Fonda), heir to Pike Ale—“The ale that won for Yale”—they decide to take him for all he’s worth. But when the daughter falls in love with their mark, things get complicated and hilarious. Preston Sturges directed his first big-budget hit with with amazing results. A critical and financial success, the New York Times declared The Lady Eve the best picture of 1941, above Citizen Kane! Once you see this film you’ll understand why they came to that amazing conclusion.

This was Preston Sturges’s third film as both writer and director and his first big-budget production, with A-list movie stars. After the critical and financial successes of The Great McGinty and Christmas in July, both released in 1940, Paramount gave Sturges free rein to craft The Lady Eve. For his leads, Sturges got Stanwyck and Fonda. From all accounts, both stars enjoyed working with each other and with Sturges. Sturges wrote The Lady Eve with Stanwyck in mind after he saw her performance in Remember the Night the year before. Sturges was so impressed with her characterization in that film that he knew she would be ideal as Eve.

Fonda, who had four films in release in 1940, including The Grapes of Wrath, was happy to star in a comedy. As Charles Pike, Fonda showed his lighter side, being especially deft at physical comedy. Fonda’s numerous pratfalls are one of the film’s major delights. Bosley Crowther in theNew York Times said, “No one could possibly have suspected the dry and somewhat ponderous comic talent which is exhibited by Henry Fonda as the rich young man.” As Eve, Stanwyck is one part of a trio of card sharks mixing it up with rich swells, like Pike, traveling by ocean liner. Along with her father, “Colonel” Harrington (Charles Coburn) and their “butler” Gerald (Melvin Cooper), Eve sees Pike as an easy mark.

A publicity shot during the filming of The Lady Eve

The Lady Eve is filled with a host of great character actors, most of which became part of the “Sturges Stock Company.” This stock company included William Demarest, Eric Blore, and Robert Grieg. The latter two appeared in Sturges’s Sullivan’s Travels, also released in 1941.

When the movie was opened, Crowther, declared Sturges, “the most refreshing new force to hit the American motion pictures in the past five years.” He went on to say that a “more charming or distinguished gem of nonsense has not occurred since It Happened One Night.”

The Lady Eve is not only one of the best screwball comedies, but one of the best American films ever made.

Henry Fonda said Barbara Stanwyck was his favorite leading lady.

Backstory: Preston Sturges wrote the screenplay for Remember the Night with Carole Lombard in mind. He was disappointed that Paramount didn't secure her services, but when he saw Stanwyck in the lead, he was impressed. Stanwyck told Sturges that no one writes comedies for her. Sturges said he would write one for her; that screenplay was The Lady Eve.

Have some Joe and Enjoy the Show!
Before the movie, grab a cup of coffee from Overflow Coffee Bar, located within the Daystar Center. You can bring food and beverages into the auditorium; we even have small tables set up next to some of the seats. General Admission: $5 Students and Senior Citizens: $3.

Join the Chicago Film club; join the discussion
Twice a month we screen classic films and have a brief discussion afterward. For more information, including how to join (it’s free), click here. The Venue 1550 is easily accessible by the CTA. Please visit Transit Chicago for more information on transportation options.

Stephen Reginald is a freelance writer and editor. He has worked at various positions within the publishing industry for over 25 years. Most recently he was executive editor for McGraw-Hill’s The Learning Group Division. A long-time amateur student of film, Reginald hosts “Chicago Film Club,” a monthly movie event held in the South Loop, for the past two years. Reginald has also taught several adult education film classes at Facets Film School, Chicago.


Daystar Center located at 1550 S. State St. works through a grassroots network of collaborations and partnerships with individuals and other nonprofit organizations. Through this web, they’re able to provide educational, cultural, and civic activities that enrich and empower their clients, guests, and community members. To learn more about classes and events offered at the Daystar Center, please visit their Web site.

Preston Sturges and "The Lady Eve"

This post is part of The Criterion Blogathon hosted by Aaron at Criterion Blues, Kristina at Speakeasy and Ruth at Silver Screenings. It is one of many by some of the best movie bloggers around. I’m so glad to be a small part of this event. To check out all of the other great posts, click here.

Preston Sturges was a playwright, writer of screenplays, inventor, movie director, and a restaurateur. The Lady Eve cemented Preston Sturges’s place as one of American cinema’s major talents.

Sturges wrote the play Strictly Dishonorable in 1929. It was a major hit on Broadway for 16 months. This success caught the attention of Hollywood and Sturges began writing for Paramount. He eventually went from Paramount to Universal, MGM, and then back to Paramount where he had an amazing eight-year run as one of the very first writer/directors in Hollywood.

 The Lady Eve (1941) centers around Father and daughter con artists, along with their “butler” (Charles Coburn, Barbara Stanwyck, and Melvin Cooper respectively) and their caper on a transatlantic cruise ship swindling rich passengers in card games. When the two spot a big fish, Charles Poncefort Pike (Henry Fonda), heir to Pike Ale—“The ale that won for Yale”—they decide to take him for all he’s worth. But when the daughter (Eve/Stanwyck) falls in love with their mark, things get complicated and hilarious.

This was Preston Sturges’s third film as both writer and director and his first big-budget production with A-list movie stars. After the critical and financial successes of The Great McGinty and Christmas in July, both released in 1940, Paramount gave Sturges free rein to craft The Lady Eve. For his leads, Sturges got Stanwyck and Fonda. From all accounts, both stars enjoyed working with each other and with Sturges. Sturges wrote The Lady Eve with Stanwyck in mind after he saw her performance in Remember the Night the year before. Sturges was so impressed with her characterization in that film that he knew she would be ideal as Eve. Fonda, who had four films in release in 1940, including The Grapes of Wrath, was happy to star in a comedy. As Charles Pike, Fonda showed his talent for physical comedy. Fonda’s numerous pratfalls are one of the film’s major delights. Bosley Crowther in the New York Times said, “No one could possibly have suspected the dry and somewhat ponderous comic talent which is exhibited by Henry Fonda as the rich young man.” As Eve, Stanwyck is one part of a trio of card sharks mixing it up with rich swells, like Pike, traveling by ocean liner. Along with her father, “Colonel” Harrington (Coburn) and their “butler” Gerald (Cooper), Eve sees Pike as an easy mark, that is, until she falls in love with him.

Eve’s and Charles’s love is put to the test when Eve is revealed to be a card shark by the ship’s purser. Upon discovering this, Charles dumps Eve in a most humiliating and devastating fashion. Once Eve recovers, she is determined to get back at Charles by “disguising” herself as The Lady Eve Sedgewick, pretending to be the niece of another con artist “Sir Alfred McGlennan Keith” (Eric Blore). The Lady Eve manages to charm Charles on land in the same way Eve charmed him at sea. She eventually gets Charles to propose and he and The Lady Eve get married in an elaborate society wedding. On their honeymoon, Eve concocts a backstory about her past marriages and romances, turning the tables on Charles, humiliating and hurting him the way he hurt her. Charles leaves her, but it’s revealed that Eve is still in love with Charles in spite of everything (We suspect that Charles is still in love with Eve, but he’s too stubborn and proud to admit it). Will The Lady Eve be revealed as just plain Eve? Will Charles and Eve discover each other and find true love and happiness?

Amidst all the hilarity, there are some serious themes running through the narrative: Can one really find true love? Is love redemptive or is it all a bunch of hooey? These themes would be repeated in more serious productions from Alfred Hitchcock. What was unique about Sturges’s approach is how he was able to point to the character flaws of both the upper and lower classes without malice or a mean spirit.

The Lady Eve is filled with a host of great character actors, most of which became part of the “Sturges Stock Company.” This stock company included William Demarest, Eric Blore, and Robert Grieg. The latter two appearing in Sturges’s Sullivan’s Travels, also released in 1941.

When the movie was released, Crowther, declared Sturges, “the most refreshing new force to hit the American motion pictures in the past five years.” He went on to say that a “more charming or distinguished gem of nonsense has not occurred since It Happened One Night.”

The Lady Eve is not only one of the best screwball comedies ever made, but one of the best American films ever made, this according to director and film historian, Peter Bogdanovitch. In case you think Bogdanovitch’s critique is a bit over the top, consider this: The Lady Eve was voted the best movie of 1941 by The New York Times over Citizen Kane!

Alfred Hitchcock's "The Wrong Man" screens at Daystar Center September 15, 2015

When: Tuesday, September 15, 2015 6:30 p.m.
Where: The Venue 1550 at the Daystar Center, 1550 S. State Street

In 1956, Director Alfred Hitchcock put suspense aside and crafted The Wrong Man based on real-life events. Henry Fonda plays musician Manny Balestrero who is wrongly accused of a series of armed robberies. Filmed in semi-documentary style, Hitchcock directs a very competent cast headed by Fonda and Vera Miles as his grief-stricken wife, Rose. One of the most unusual films in the director’s canon, it’s also one of his most impressive.

Have some Joe and Enjoy the Show!
Before the movie, grab a cup of coffee from Overflow Coffee Bar, located within the Daystar Center. You can bring food and beverages into the auditorium; we even have small tables set up next to some of the seats. General Admission: $5 Students and Senior Citizens: $3.

Join the Chicago Film club; join the discussion
Once a month we screen a classic film and have a brief discussion afterward. For more information, including how to join (it’s free), click here. To purchase your ticket in advance, click here. The Venue 1550 is easily accessible by the CTA. Please visit Transit Chicago for more information on transportation options.


Daystar Center located at 1550 S. State St. works through a grassroots network of collaborations and partnerships with individuals and other nonprofit organizations. Through this web, they’re able to provide educational, cultural, and civic activities that enrich and empower their clients, guests, and community members. To learn more about classes and events offered at the Daystar Center, please visit their Web site.

Book Review: And the Winner Really Is by Ken Grout

Available at Amazon

And the Winner Really Is: The Definitive Ranking of the Greatest Actors and Actresses in Oscar History by Ken Grout. Mixing statistics, motion picture history, and some common sense, Grout has come up with an interesting formula to determine who is the real Oscar champ.

Grout’s book considers all Academy Award winning actors and actresses as well as those nominees who never actually won the award (you see, using Grout’s system, you earn points for each nomination). That’s why Irene Dunne (nominated five times, but never a winner) ranks higher on the list than Clark Gable (nominated 3 times with one win).

To deal with ties, Grout came up with some steps. Here are four that helped crown the champions: Number of Career Wins, Number of Career Nominations, Career Performances in Best Picture Winners, and Career Performances in Best Picture Nominees.

Fan favorites like Cary Grant (two nominations and no wins—honorary Oscars don’t count) and Maureen O’Hara (no nominations, one honorary Oscar) don’t make the list at all. The book also includes the top “Never-Won’s.” According to Grout’s research, “There are twenty-four individuals in Oscar history who have been nominated for at least four competitive acting Oscars,” but haven’t won. Who do you think tops this list? Hint: It’s a man. In fact number two is also a man and a good friend and professional rival of number one.

Sisters Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland have three Best Actress Oscars between them.

Grout charts the dominance of Bette Davis from the late 1940s to the late 1960s. He also adds some fun stats like who are the greatest families in Academy Award history. Spoiler alert: It’s the Fondas: Jane, Henry, and Peter. What Oscar winner is also a champion at the box office?

If you love the Oscars and the movies, you’ll have a ton of fun with And the Winner Really Is. It’s already found a place in my group of movie reference books. I know I’ll be referring to it for years to come.

And the Winner Really Is is available for purchase from Lemonyyellow Books and Amazon.

“The Lady Eve” 5th film in Screwball Comedy series screened March 11, 2014

When: Tuesday, March 11, 2014 6:30 p.m.
Where: The Venue 1550 at the Daystar Center, 1550 S. State Street

The Lady Eve (1941) Father and daughter con artists (Charles Coburn and Barbara Stanwyck) travel on transatlantic cruise ships swindling rich passengers in card games. When the two spot a big fish Charles Poncefort Pike (Henry Fonda), heir to Pike Ale—“The ale that won for Yale”—they decide to take him for all he’s worth. But when the daughter falls in love with their mark, things get complicated and hilarious. Preston Sturges directed his first big-budget hit with with amazing results. A critical and financial success, the New York Times declared The Lady Eve the best picture of 1941, above Citizen Kane! Once you see this film you’ll understand why they came to that amazing conclusion.

This was Preston Sturges’s third film as both writer and director and his first big-budget production, with A-list movie stars. After the critical and financial successes of The Great McGinty and Christmas in July, both released in 1940, Paramount gave Sturges free rein to craft The Lady Eve. For his leads, Sturges got Stanwyck and Fonda. From all accounts, both stars enjoyed working with each other and with Sturges. Sturges wrote The Lady Eve with Stanwyck in mind after he saw her performance in Remember the Night the year before. Sturges was so impressed with her characterization in that film that he knew she would be ideal as Eve.

Fonda, who had four films in release in 1940, including The Grapes of Wrath, was happy to star in a comedy. As Charles Pike, Fonda showed his lighter side, being especially deft at physical comedy. Fonda’s numerous pratfalls are one of the film’s major delights. Bosley Crowther in theNew York Times said, “No one could possibly have suspected the dry and somewhat ponderous comic talent which is exhibited by Henry Fonda as the rich young man.” As Eve, Stanwyck is one part of a trio of card sharks mixing it up with rich swells, like Pike, traveling by ocean liner. Along with her father, “Colonel” Harrington (Charles Coburn) and their “butler” Gerald (Melvin Cooper), Eve sees Pike as an easy mark.

A publicity shot during the filming of The Lady Eve

The Lady Eve is filled with a host of great character actors, most of which became part of the “Sturges Stock Company.” This stock company included William Demarest, Eric Blore, and Robert Grieg. The latter two appeared in Sturges’s Sullivan’s Travels, also released in 1941.

When the movie was opened, Crowther, declared Sturges, “the most refreshing new force to hit the American motion pictures in the past five years.” He went on to say that a “more charming or distinguished gem of nonsense has not occurred since It Happened One Night.”

The Lady Eve is not only one of the best screwball comedies, but one of the best American films ever made.

Henry Fonda said Barbara Stanwyck was his favorite leading lady.

Backstory: Preston Sturges wrote the screenplay for Remember the Night with Carole Lombard in mind. He was disappointed that Paramount didn't secure her services, but when he saw Stanwyck in the lead, he was impressed. Stanwyck told Sturges that no one writes comedies for her. Sturges said he would write one for her; that screenplay was The Lady Eve.

Join the Chicago Film club, join the discussion
The Chicago Film Club is for classic movie fans. Once a month we screen a classic film and have a brief discussion afterward. For more information, including how to join (it’s free), click here. Tickets are $5 general admission; $3 for students and seniors. To purchase your ticket in advance, click here. The Venue 1550 is easily accessible by the CTA. Please visit Transit Chicago for more information on transportation options.

Screwball Comedy and the Feminine Mystique—New Film Club series begins in September

Henry Fond and Barbara Stanwyck in The Lady Eve

The 2013-14 Film Club is back at The Venue 1550 at the Daystar Center, 1550 S. State St., Chicago. Hosted by Stephen Reginald, the film club will feature seven classic screwball comedies, including The Awful Truth and The Lady Eve. Movies will be screened at 6:30 p.m. on the second Tuesdays* of the month, starting September 10, 2013. Reginald will introduce each film giving background information before screenings, with discussion afterward. Reginald is a freelance writer/editor and popular instructor at Facets Film School in Chicago. He was also the original host of Meet Me at the Movies.

Screwball Comedy and the Feminine Mystique will feature seven screwball comedies, featuring these icons of the genre: Irene Dunne, Katherine Hepburn, Barbara Stanwyck, Claudette Colbert, and Carole Lombard.

Production Code births the Screwball Comedy
With the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code in 1934, movie studios were restricted in their depiction of certain “unacceptable” activities on screen. Prior to the code, the studios produced a string of provocative films that, for the time, were quite sexually explicit.

Life Magazine dubbed Carole Lombard (left) “The Screwball Girl,”
while Clark Gable rarely made comedies
like It Happened One Night.

Once the self-censorship began, the major studios had to come up with clever ways to entertain audiences without going outside the boundaries of the code. Out of these new constraints came the screwball comedy. The use of snappy dialogue filled with double entendres substituted for more straightforward “sex talk,” with the female lead becoming the dominant sex talker, if you will. Professor and film historian, Maria DiBattista calls these women “fast-talking dames.”

This fast-talking by the female protagonist is used not only to get laughs, which it most certainly does, but also to transform the male into a new man of her own creation. This reverse Pygmalion scenario, as noted by DiBattista and others, is at the heart of the screwball comedy and places women in the primary role. This genre produced many familiar female screen icons, including Irene Dunne, Katherine Hepburn, Carole Lombard, and Barbara Stanwyck. This series will examine the screwball comedy, in the context of the female protagonist and her very important place in the canon of American cinema.


Tuesdays* at 6:30 p.m (CST)

September 10 It Happened One Night (1934) When her father threatens to annul her marriage to oily fortune hunter King Westley, heiress Ellie Andrews hops on a cross-country bus to New York. On the trip to meet her new husband, she is befriended by a gruff newspaper reporter named Peter Warne. He agrees to help her on her journey in exchange for exclusive rights to her story. When Ellie and Peter find themselves falling in love, things get complicated, but don’t worry because there are plenty of laughs along the way. Director Frank Capra won the first of his three Oscars for his direction. Stars Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert won Oscars for Best Actor and Actress respectively. It also won awards for Best Picture and Best Writing, making it the first film to sweep all the major Oscar categories, a record it would hold for decades.

October 8 My Man Godfrey (1936) Considered the definitive screwball comedy by many, the plot centers on the actions of the wealthy and eccentric Bullock family. When one of the Bullock daughters (Carole Lombard) hires a “forgotten man” to be their new butler, things get interesting. The film features brilliant performances from Lombard and William Powell as Godfrey. It also features an excellent supporting cast that includes Alice Brady, Eugene Pallette, Gail Patrick, Mischa Auer, and Jean Dixon. My Man Godfrey was the first film to receive Academy Award nominations in all four acting categories. Also nominated for Academy Awards were director Gregory La Cava (Stage Door, Fifth Avenue Girl) and screenwriters Eric Hatch and Morrie Ryskind.

November 19 Theodora Goes Wild* (1936) Irene Dunne plays Theodora Lynn, a small-town girl who has written a racy best-selling novel under the pen name Caroline Adams. Raised by her two maiden aunts, of Lynnfield, Connecticut, Theodora tries to keep Adams’s true identity a secret. On a trip to New York to meet with her publisher, she meets an artist named Michael Grant (Melvyn Douglas) who threatens to expose her real identity. When Theodora discovers that Michael has a few secrets of his own, she turns the tables on him and goes “wild.” Released a few months after My Man Godfrey, Theodora Goes Wild was a huge box office hit. It also revealed that Dunne had a unique gift for comedy. So good was Dunne that she received her second Academy Award nomination for Best Actress—competing against fellow Hoosier, Carole Lombard who was nominated in the same category for My Man Godfrey.

*Theodora Goes Wild will be screened on the third Tuesday in November.

December 10 Christmas in Connecticut* (1945) A big hit when released, this holiday classic is sometimes overlooked in the lists of great Christmas movies. Made when Barbara Stanwyck was at her peak, the story is clever and genuinely funny. Stanwyck is Elizabeth Lane, a writer for Smart Housekeeping magazine, who delights her readers with recipes and homemaking hints. Her character is sort of a 1940s version of Martha Stewart, except, unlike Martha, she has no domestic skills whatsoever. When compelled by her magazine publisher to entertain a war hero, Stanwyck goes into high gear to present herself as the perfect domestic goddess the reading public and her publisher think she is. This holiday charmer fits right in with our screwball comedy series.

*Christmas in Connecticut will be screened on Saturday December 7 at 6:30 p.m.

January 14 The Awful Truth (1937) The first screen pairing of Irene Dunne and Cary Grant is an (Love Affair, Going My Way,) won the Academy Award for his direction.
absolute gem. This Academy Award winning comedy has everything: great acting, dialogue, and a wonderful cast of supporting players. Lucy (Dunne) and Jerry (Grant) Warriner are facing divorce, but do they really want to break up? Lucy finds herself involved with a rich oil tycoon and Jerry starts courting a young woman from a well-heeled aristocratic family. Both try to foil the others’ new romances, while refusing to face the awful truth that they’re still in love with each other. Nominated for five Academy Awards, including a third Best Actress nod for Dunne. Director Leo McCarey

February 11 Bringing Up Baby (1938) Katharine Hepburn is Susan Vance, a rich heiress who becomes infatuated with a mild-mannered paleontologist named David Huxley (Cary Grant). What follows is a roller coaster ride of madcap adventures all initiated by Susan with the weak-willed David along for the ride as her not-so-willing accomplice. And then there’s a dog named George and that leopard named Baby! Director Howard Hawks’s pacing is frenetic. The action and dialogue is nonstop. Don’t be surprised if you’re exhausted after watching this film…but you’ll be smiling, we guarantee it.

March 11 The Lady Eve (1941) Father and daughter con artists (Charles Coburn and Barbara Stanwyck) travel on transatlantic cruise ships swindling rich passengers in card games. When the two spot big fish Charles Poncefort Pike (Henry Fonda), heir to Pike Ale—“The ale that won for Yale”—they decide to take him for all he’s worth. But when the daughter falls in love with their mark, things get complicated and hilarious. Preston Sturges directed his first big-budget hit with amazing results. A critical and financial success, The New York Times declared The Lady Eve the best picture of 1941, above Citizen Kane! Once you see this film you’ll understand why they came to that amazing conclusion.

If you love classic cinema, you should join the Chicago Film Club. It’s free to join. Come share your love of the movies; it’s fun!



Daystar Center located at 1550 S. State St. works through a grassroots network of collaborations and partnerships with individuals and other nonprofit organizations. Through this web, they’re able to provide educational, cultural, and civic activities that enrich and empower their clients, guests, and community members. To learn more about classes and events offered at the Daystar Center, please visit their Web site.