Oct. 13, 2002 - 7:00 pm
ok, finally an addition to the diary. i'll try to get back on schedule here... this is another pickup from the National Film Registry list, this film is directed by Preston Sturges who also directed Sullivan's Travels (1942). i guess he's not my favorite director. he has a very over-the-top style. i guess it's too zany for me. i'm not very big on zany.
it's a screwball romantic comedy about a rich reptile fanatic who returns from the jungle on a cruise ship. when a female con artist realizes that she could possibly steal tons of money from him, she starts trying to make him fall in love with her. she accidentally falls for him too and before they leave the ship they have a big misunderstanding. the con artist eventually decides to try and get back at the guy by posing as an English lady and further tormenting him. happy ending though of course.
so i've never enjoyed Henry Fonda all that much and his acting in this as the goofball rich "scientist" was just terrible. and i really wasn't that impressed with Barbara Stanwyck either. she was just tolerable.
i'm convinced that Preston Sturges films are just goofy and i refuse to talk myself into watching any more of them unless it is deemed absolutely necessary. bad casting and direction. doesn't get much more disappointing than that. at least not for something you'll find on the National Film Registry. i'm sure i'll prove that statement wrong though if i watch enough of them.