What to expect
Barbara Stanwyck controls the film’s disguises, pauses, and reversals with extraordinary precision. Preston Sturges makes romance a contest over who gets to interpret whom, while physical comedy repeatedly punctures male confidence.
How to ease in
The two identities are not a mystery for the audience. Enjoy the imbalance: Jean knows exactly what Charles sees, while he keeps mistaking his own certainty for experience.
Heads-up
A quick, non-exhaustive note Includes gambling, deception, sexual innuendo, class prejudice, and dated attitudes towards romance and consent.
Open the note ↓ Close the note ↑
I love that Charles studies snakes but cannot recognise the danger of his own assumptions. Jean barely has to change; she only gives his imagination a more elegant trap.
— Momo
Credits & versions
- Cast
- Barbara Stanwyck · Henry Fonda · Charles Coburn
- Screenplay
- Preston Sturges
- Production
- Paul Jones
Credits
Version map
Sources for the facts
Where to go next
Want a gentler, shorter, or stranger next film? Ask Momo for something like this →
Momo is on shift. Visit Momo Cinema →
