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.
Review of The Mad Miss Manton
