Mad Miss Manton, The (Blu-ray Review)
Director
Leigh JasonRelease Date(s)
1938 (October 28, 2025)Studio(s)
RKO Radio Pictures (Warner Archive Collection)- Film/Program Grade: C+
- Video Grade: A
- Audio Grade: A-
- Extras Grade: C
Review
The Mad Miss Manton, a mystery screwball comedy similar in style to The Thin Man, mixes murder with hijinks among the wealthy. A rich debutante and her girlfriends, known for their pranks, find themselves embroiled in finding out the identity of a killer.
Walking her dogs late one evening, Melsa Manton (Barbara Stanwyck) notices a man running out of a supposedly deserted house. She goes in, discovers a dead man, runs out to a phone booth and calls the police. But by the time the police arrive, the body has disappeared. Police lieutenant Brent (Sam Levene) warns Miss Manton to stop playing jokes. Newspaper reporter Peter Ames (Henry Fonda) gets wind of the apparent prank and writes an article ridiculing Manton. She threatens to sue him for libel for one million dollars, but she needs to support the lawsuit with evidence and the police won’t take her seriously and pursue the case. So she recruits her friends to help her identify the killer and locate the victim. Their efforts lead to the discovery of more bodies.
In the meantime, Ames tries to convince Manton to withdraw her lawsuit and finds himself falling in love with her. Fearing she’s endangering her life, he begs her to leave the investigation to the police. She won’t.
Stanwyck does her best with a trite script by Philip G. Epstein and Hal Yates but can’t rescue an uninspired story. She manages to look frightened, incensed, or flirty depending on the scene, but fails to infuse enough life in the film to make it shine. Fonda is merely adequate as the reporter trying to keep up with Manton’s breezy attitude.
Sam Levene has some good lines as the cop, but his character is on hand more to spew wisecracks that don’t land and to come off as infinitely less competent than a flighty young woman. Hattie McDaniel has a supporting role as Miss Manton’s maid, Hilda. Her comic asides elicit more laughs than dialogue from the principals. Stanley Ridges is quite good as one of the suspects, and James Burke has some nice bits as a dim-witted policeman.
The Mad Miss Manton has most of the earmarks of screwball comedy but lacks the wit, with many comic set pieces that fall flat and dialogue that lacks snappy, clever repartee. The film is cluttered with characters and suspects, making it difficult to keep track of who’s who. At one point, Manton takes on the traits of Batman as she escapes through a window and investigates a dark subway station undergoing repairs. When Ames falls for Manton, it’s out of left field and poorly motivated. The chemistry between Stanwyck and Fonda is strained and never clicks as it should. Fonda comes off more as an ensemble player than the co-lead.
Director Leigh Jason manages to have the dialogue delivered fast, but the story nonetheless sags from its own shortcomings. Everyone works hard to eke out every possible gag but their efforts bear little fruit. Stanwyck and Fonda would prove their ability to shine in screwball comedy three years later in the Preston Sturges-directed The Lady Eve.
The Mad Miss Manton was shot by director of photography Nicholas Musuraca on 35mm black & white film with spherical lenses, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 1.37:1. The Blu-ray is sourced from a 4K scan of the original nitrate camera negative and, in keeping with Warner Archive’s reputation for restoring older films, it looks great. Clarity is excellent, even in night scenes set on studio backlot streets. Shadows and pools of light give some scenes a noir look. Details are sharp, particularly in the ritzy clothes worn by Barbara Stanwyck and her movie girlfriends, apartment decor, desk items in the newspaper office, and police uniforms. There are no visual imperfections such as embedded dirt specks, reel change cues, or scratches to impair enjoyment.
The soundtrack is English 2.0 mono DTS-HD Master Audio. English SDH subtitles are an option. Dialogue is clear, but paced so quickly that it’s hard to catch every word. Roy Webb’s score provides a lilt to the madcap goings-on with light, breezy melodies. Sound is typical of monaural tracks, lacking full dynamic range.
Bonus materials on the Blu-ray release from the Warner Archive Collection include the following:
- The Penguin Parade (7:32)
- Porky the Gob (7:55)
- Original Theatrical Trailer (2:25)
The Penguin Parade – In this 1938 Technicolor Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Tex Avery, the setting is a nightclub for penguins and walruses called The Club Iceberg. The stage show includes a Bing Crosby-like penguin who sings a jazzy version of When My Dreamboat Comes Home. The band’s three singers do a scat version as well. This is followed by a full swing band instrumental of the song which works the band into a “hot frenzy” that melts some of the instruments. Voice talent is provided by Mel Blanc, Cliff Nazarro, and Tex Avery.
Porky the Gob – A battleship run mostly by dogs sets sail. When the crew threatens to get to the mess hall before the captain, the captain orders them to stop. The people in the ship are informed of a radio message about a reward for capturing a pirate submarine. The crew sets off in planes, leaving Porky Pig behind. When the ship is attacked by the submarine, it’s up to Porky to defend the ship. This black & white 1938 Looney Tunes short was directed by Ben Hathaway and features caricatures of Lou Costello and Jimmy Fiedler.
The Mad Miss Manton received respectable reviews when first released, though critics weren’t overly enthusiastic. The film was a box office disappointment, and it’s easy to see why. It could have been an interesting attempt to blend zany comedy with a murder mystery, but it never succeeds at either largely due to a lackluster script. Despite good performances, the film lumbers along with dialogue that aspires but fails to achieve laughs.
- Dennis Seuling