The Mad Miss Manton (1938)

While walking her dogs at three in the morning, a rich Manhattan debutante (Barbara Stanwyck) discovers a dead body in an abandoned building. But when the police arrive, the body has disappeared! So she gathers up her gal pals and together they plot to solve the crime. Directed by Leigh Jason (OUT OF THE BLUE), this attempt at screwball comedy fizzles after a promising beginning. The first of three films they did together, Stanwyck and Henry Fonda (as a newspaper editor) would fare much better in the screwball department three years later in THE LADY EVE. The problem lies with the script which is often incoherent with the actors working overtime to convince us they're having a fun time. Only Hattie McDaniel as Stanwyck's maid (what else?) seems to have a sense of comic timing (the only time I laughed out loud was when McDaniel threw water in Fonda's face) and steals what's worth stealing which isn't much. It's not a terrible film but such a disappointment with the talent involved. Still, the film was a modest hit! With Sam Levene, Penny Singleton and John Qualen.