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.

THE MAD MISS MANTON (1938) is a funny murder mystery. In a plot involving dead bodies lying around here and there and a murderer on the loose, the lighthearted screwball approach comes as a surprise. But it's a pleasant surprise, as the bright script makes this a rather enjoyable watch. (The convoluted "whodunit" aspect is a little weak.)Barbara Stanwyck is a New York socialite who's lost the trust of the police force (led hilariously by Sam Levene) after the evidence of the murder she reports disappears. Henry Fonda is a newspaper editor who smears Stanwyck for her murder "hoax" and party lifestyle. So Stanwyck assembles her ditzy gal pals and leads them on an investigation of the murder she knows was committed. Soon Fonda and the cops get involved, but Stanwyck prefers to solve the mystery on her own, despite the dangers.The murder mystery story doesn't impress as anything too special, but the script is often much funnier than expected. Sam Levene's broad performance as the police lieutenant has some great one-liners. Hattie McDaniel is a hoot as Stanwyck's maid ("I's a pacifist!") and even Henry Fonda has his moments ("She's probably still in kindergarten."). The debutante gang has some goofy characters ("That's communism!") and the story takes some pretty silly turns. Halfway through the movie, I found I was enjoying it more than I'd expected at the start.At only 80 minutes, this is a breezy mystery/comedy with some big names (Stanwyck and Fonda) and a bunch of fun characters. It's not really a top-drawer production, but the movie is enjoyable and worthy of a look.6.5/10

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.

Here's another from the great period of experimentation in the detective film. In this case, the detectives are 8 extremely wealthy 20 year old, very pretty women, always dressed to the nines. There isn't much effort to discriminate them as you normally might. One eats all the time, another is more infatuated with men than the others.And the leader, Barbara Stanwyck, is in nearly every scene so we can fall in love with her like our surrogate does: Henry Fonda (before anyone took him seriously as an actor) is a newspaper reporter, a standard device of the time to fold the audience in.The murders are more complicated in terms of who did them than usual , but the appeal of the thing was supposed to be clearly in the appeal of these eight woman. At first, they are motivated to solve the murder because our reporter called them useless members of society (and this with all their charity work!) Its well after the code, so the sex is rather understated. But it is there clearly enough in many lines and plot threads, We are supposed to see this not as a girl scout troop but a harem.Unfortunately, the thing is leaden. Nothing works, except when Hattie McDaniel is on the screen. She's fantastic. As Stanwyck's maid, she tells Fonda that she is instructed to throw water on him if he enters the apartment. He does and she does. Its the only thing in the movie where the timing works.Film students in the future when studying the beat a film has to have to work, will study this. Its easier to see and understand the lack of the thing.By this time, James Gleason's flustered loud cop was standard enough to copy though Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.