The Mad Miss Manton
The Mad Miss Manton
NR | 21 October 1938 (USA)
The Mad Miss Manton Trailers

When the murdered body discovered by beautiful, vivacious socialite Melsa Manton disappears, police and press label her a prankster until she proves them wrong.

Reviews
Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
Mehdi Hoffman There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.
Tymon Sutton The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.
Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.
mark.waltz It's up to the great Barbara Stanwyck to turn fluff into something special. Granted, with her speaking the lines, it sounds better than it could have been, a rather ordinary and far fetched story that RKO was already making starring the yet not A listers Lucille Ball and Ann Sothern. With Stanwyck cast, the film becomes an A picture where all eyes are on the great lady of the screen in front of them. Cast as a dippy socialite hiding a brain underneath the fur, Stanwyck is walking her foofy dogs one night and stumbles across a dead body. Well known to local law enforcement for being part of a group of dippy Park Avenue socialites getting into trouble, and now, she wants them to help her solve the crime, leading to more murder and trouble with not only the law but determined reporter Henry Fonda as well. Future "Blondie", Penny Singleton, features into the plot line, and shows a bit of what kept her fresh playing one part for 12 years. Surrounded by a group of starlets who seem to be working hard to keep up with her, it's obvious that Stanwyck was their den mother, not only as the character, but as their mentor and teacher as well. Fonda, apparently unhappy with this part, doesn't let that show, and the chemistry with Stanwyck later confirmed in two other movies, is obvious. I recognize the set from two other RKO movies of the same year, "Carefree" and "Bringing Up Baby", but this is unique and special because of the spark that she brings in. Soon to win an Oscar, Hattie McDaniel is very funny as her maid, delivering each line with gusto.Moments of suspense and some great screwball one liners give this an important place in the comedy hall of fame. This flies by in 80 minutes and is an exercise in true artistry. Barbara Stanwyck once said that whatever she had, it obviously worked, even if she couldn't identify it, but to use a word that she taught TV costar Linda Evans years later, what she had was presence.
dougdoepke Mildly amusing screwball comedy. Amateur sleuths showing up the cops was common fare in the anti-cop 1930's. Here, in a novel twist, the sleuth isn't a man; instead it's a pack of giddy socialite girls, of all things, led by the kookie Miss Manton (Stanwyck). They swarm around looking for clues, simply overwhelming everyone else. At least it's a lot of eye candy for the guys. Stanwyck does a pretty good job of acting pixilated, not what you'd expect from her usual no-nonsense tough cookie, while Fonda tries to keep up, but is definitely in a secondary role. Truth is, however, that each is acting outside their strongest suit.But my money's on Sam Levene as the head cop. He's got the screwball style down pat and is often hilarious. Catch his reaction shots and general exasperation with the amateurs who stay one step ahead of him. The whodunit part is nothing special and really just an excuse for the parade of antics. As a comedy, the movie doesn't make the front rank of screwballs so popular at the time, but is generally pleasing with a different take on who gets to chase down the guilty party.
vincentlynch-moonoi The problem with this movie is that things fall into place just a little too easily. For example, when one of the characters is hungry she opens a refrigerator and a body falls out. Too convenient.But, it is a fast moving sort of comedy-mystery, and as long as you don't expect too much from it, it can be a somewhat enjoyable diversion.This seems like a bit different role for Barbara Stanwyck, and she is rather good at light comedy. Same for Henry Fonda. There are character actors you'll recognize, though none play a particularly memorable role here. Even Hattie McDaniel -- just a year away from her historic role in GWTW -- is pretty tame here.This is another of those films that's worth one watch, but I doubt this will end up on your DVD shelf.
edwagreen Some people say that this Stanwyck-Fonda vehicle was a perfect warm up for their "The Lady Eve" film in 1941. To me, both were equally bad to the core.This film is so uninteresting that you couldn't care less who committed the murder. Miss Manton finds a dead body in a deserted house and the police department does not believe her. Believe me, who cares?The film is somewhat redeemed thanks to the performance of Sam Levene as the head of the force. His one liners are memorable as is those of Hattie McDaniel, as Hilda, Miss Manton's maid. Those facial expressions of McDaniel are memorable. She too provides some comic relief in an otherwise droll production. Did anyone notice that in the screen credits, Hilda is listed as Hattie McDaniels?Fonda appears entirely too stoic in the part of the newspaper reporter who finds himself involved in the case and increasingly romantic with Manton. He appears quite stiff and with the exception of the hospital scene, he isn't funny at all.