The Lady Eve (1941, Movie) – 8/10

Lady Eve, The (1941) A card-sharp gang picks their next target, Charles Pike, the son of a wealthy brewer but one of them falls in love with him and vice versa. 8/10 Here’s the odd thing about great films: they don’t appear to do anything different from the rubbish films. Well, aside from great lines such as “I need him like the axe needs the turkey.” Therefore, this appears to be an entirely standard-for-the-era fast-talking romantic comedy but it has a deftness of touch that renders the surprisingly bitter storyline wonderfully palatable. The insta-happy ending comes as a bit of a shock but carries the message that we don’t always know when we’ve got something good. Our duo in the movie got a second chance but off the silver screen we rarely do. Maybe you’ll get a different message. Well, perhaps that’s something else that separates great films from the rubbish. There’s more to them: more thought, more skill, more depth. Appearances can be deceptive.