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The Age of Commercialism

Just perfect...

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

. . . 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?

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!

Mad Miss Manton, The (1938) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Disappointing comedy about a rich woman (Barbara Stanwyck) who gets involved with a murder investigation and a reporter (Henry Fonda) covering the case. This was the first teaming of Stanwyck and Fonda but the end results aren't as good as I had hoped even though the film starts off pretty well. The comedy works for most of the time as the two stars really do good work together but it's Sam Levene who steals the show as the wisecracking Lieutenant. What really kills the film is the mystery, which never takes off and around the forty-minute mark it was really getting on my nerves. I wasn't interested in who did the killings and the multiple endings didn't help either.

In the first of their three co-starring vehicles, Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda shine in character clashing along with many illustrious supporting players in this Golden Era madcap Murder Mystery Comedy."The Mad Miss Manton" (RKO, 1938) follows the saga of wealthy débutante Melsa Manton (Barbara Stanwyck) and Hilda (Hattie McDaniel), her efficient housekeeper.Add to the program seven débutantes abiding in the lap of luxury, and supporting their comrade in society: Helen Frayne (Frances Mercer) Pat James (Whitney Bourne) Myra Frost (Linda Perry) Kit Beverly (Vickie Lester) Jane (Eleanor Hansen) Dora Fenton (Catherine O'Quinn) Lee Wilson (Ann Evers).Peter Ames (Henry Fonda), an ambitious newspaper reporter, Lieutenant Brent (Sam Levene) and Officer Sullivan (James Burke), who are all summoned to investigate the murder of a wealthy business leader, whose body unaccountably disappears, while another mysteriously surfaces.When Peter and Lieutenant Brent charge Miss Manton and her ilk of lovely Park Avenue débutantes with attempting to pull a prank, Melsa decides to take matters into her own very capable hands, with help from her associates, who, if you read between the lines, may be considered to exhibit characteristics of the Seven Capital Vices.Although these are not quite developed during its 108-minute screen story, traces of Avarice, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Pride, Sloth and Wrath are detectable among the fashionable set of peers.One often expresses her anger toward the behavior of the establishment. One constantly searches for snacks. One devotes her attention to the gentlemen in her sight. Another sort of lies around without much to do, as others bathe in wealth and pride of their collective station in life, and so forth and so on.Suspects for the film's central crime display effective performances in well-cast roles, most bringing familiarity to the screen: Bat Regan (Paul Guilfoyle) Sheila Lane (Leona Maricle) Ronnie Beldon (William Corson) Edward Norris (Stanley Ridges) Frances Glesk (Penny Singleton) Mr. Fred Thomas (Miles Mander) and Gloria Hamilton (Kay Sutton).Rounding out "The Mad Miss Manton" cast includes some familiar faces, each bringing a special quality to an all-too-brief scene along the way: John Qualen as the Subway Watchman Robert Middlemass as the District Attorney Grady Sutton as the D.A.'s Secretary Olin Howland as Mr. X Charles Halton as Popsy, Melsa's Lawyer Vinton Haworth as Peter's Secretary Irving Bacon as Mr. Spengler, the Process Server Bess Flowers as a Charity Ball Guest and Gerald Pierce as the Newsboy.