25 years back when I saw "The Mad Miss Manton" at a rep theater I thought the production pallid and I found Henry Fonda callow. I knew "The Lady Eve" and this contrived potboiler surely did not approach its exquisite chemistry between the stars. While anything with Barbara Stanwyck should have had value, the sight of her and her débutante pals scouring the city (including the sewer) for clues in their floor-length minks seemed merely ludicrous. (I'm now wondering if the filmmakers intended it that way.)
The strong words posted by more recent viewers make me wish to see the movie again. One of the IMDb's greatest values lies in offering new perspectives. While I still don't think it would rival "The Penguin Pool Murder" (1932), "The Ex-Mrs. Bradford" (1936), or "Meet Nero Wolfe" (1936) as one of the top comedy-mysteries from that era, a lot in me has changed in 25 years.
However, until that time, let me fantasize. Of all the light-hearted 1930's whodunits, this could be the ripest for a remake. Consider Paris Hilton playing a morally delinquent T-fund babe who decides to prove her worth after getting chewed out by an editor for her social uselessness. Let's call him Denzel Washington. Smell the friction sizzle!
Watch her posse of multi-cultural brats from Bel Aire and the hills of Beverly shift into smart mob mode to solve a slaying down at their favorite detox center. Listen to police investigator Margaret Cho fuss an electric-blue streak as they play free-lance CSI-ers with her evidence. Could Kathy Baker play a caustic housekeeper in the Hattie McDaniel-cum-Thelma Ritter mode? After "The Jane Austen Book Club" (2007) I believe she could!
The strong words posted by more recent viewers make me wish to see the movie again. One of the IMDb's greatest values lies in offering new perspectives. While I still don't think it would rival "The Penguin Pool Murder" (1932), "The Ex-Mrs. Bradford" (1936), or "Meet Nero Wolfe" (1936) as one of the top comedy-mysteries from that era, a lot in me has changed in 25 years.
However, until that time, let me fantasize. Of all the light-hearted 1930's whodunits, this could be the ripest for a remake. Consider Paris Hilton playing a morally delinquent T-fund babe who decides to prove her worth after getting chewed out by an editor for her social uselessness. Let's call him Denzel Washington. Smell the friction sizzle!
Watch her posse of multi-cultural brats from Bel Aire and the hills of Beverly shift into smart mob mode to solve a slaying down at their favorite detox center. Listen to police investigator Margaret Cho fuss an electric-blue streak as they play free-lance CSI-ers with her evidence. Could Kathy Baker play a caustic housekeeper in the Hattie McDaniel-cum-Thelma Ritter mode? After "The Jane Austen Book Club" (2007) I believe she could!