Edgar Allan Pooh . . . who blurts "That's Communism!" every time someone suggests a group outing or collaborative effort. If THE MAD MISS MANTON remarks "Let's all meet back at my place at eight," this bimbo objects, "That's Communism!" When Manhattan Detective Lt. Mike Brent orders this ditsy Missy's gaggle of girls into his paddy wagon so that he can "harass them, pound them, beat them, and humiliate them," she squeals out "That's Communism!" As police snipers surround decoy "bait" characters played by Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda in order to shoot the Real Killer in the back, the lame-brain blonde quibbles, "That's Communism!" As the crowd solemnly rises as One for Kate Smith's stirring rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner before the Rangers hockey contest at Madison Square Garden during the subsequently cut Hockey Game Alibi Scene concluding with that hallowed phrase "O'er the Land of the Free, and the Home of the Brave," this cockamamie socialite bellows "That's Communism!" Can RKO Radio Pictures be preparing her for the Rump Administration 79 years in advance?

preppy-3 Society deb Melsa Manton (Barbara Stanwyck) discovers a body late one night in a abandoned house. She goes to get the police but when they return the body is missing. The police don't believe her so Manton and her bunch of ditzy friends try and solve the murder mystery themselves. Reporter Peter Ames (Henry Fonda) immediately falls in love with Melsa (after hating her on sight) and helps them.Pretty unknown movie...and it's easy to see why! Stanwyck, a wonderful actress, is woefully miscast as Manton. Fonda hated doing this movie and it shows. He's stone-faced throughout. The movie has plenty of potential but the comedy is either stupid or unfunny. Also I found Melsa's bunch of friends incredibly annoying--they all act like idiots and they're constantly screaming at everything. The romance between Manton and Ames comes out of nowhere and isn't believable for one second. Pauline Kael once wrote that this was written by people who had too much time on their hands. How true! Halfway through I just turned it off in disgust--I was bored and sick of having my intelligence insulted. If you want to see a good movie with Stanwyck and Fonda see "The Lady Eve". This one is hopeless.

bkoganbing Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck made three films together and The Mad Miss Manton was the first. I think that RKO must have offered this one to Carole Lombard or Jean Arthur and they had the sense to turn it down. Stanwyck and Fonda would do far better in Paramount's The Lady Eve.According to the films of Henry Fonda, Fonda really disliked this one, but in 1938 he was still not in a position to pick and choose his material. Not to say that he doesn't have his funny moments, especially in a hospital where he plays up his injuries to be far more serious than they were in order to elicit Stanwyck's sympathy. And he does get hit with a pitcher of water by Hattie McDaniel.But try as I might, I could not see much humor in a bunch of ditzy debutantes obstructing a murder investigation for their own amusement. Stanwyck and her cronies are guilty of obstruction of justice and tampering with evidence and Sam Levene as the investigating police officer ought to have run them all in.I'd pass this one by as an example of bad screwball comedy.

Eventuallyequalsalways 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.