The Lady Eve Trivia Quiz

Answer: Henry Fonda

Fonda's mix of naivete and smugness as Charles is some of the best work of his career. He would play a similar character two years later in "The Magnificent Dope". The other actors all starred in Sturges films - McCrea in "Sullivan's Travels", Bracken in "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek" and "Hail the Conquering Hero", and Donlevy in "The Great McGinty". All are wonderful movies and worth seeing.

Answer: Barbara Stanwyck

This may be Barbara Stanwyck's greatest role, a mix of swagger, vulnerability and wit. Along with "Ball of Fire" and "Christmas in Connecticut", "The Lady Eve" stands as the highpoint of her comedic career. Later on, she would not be featured in such lighthearted roles. Claudette Colbert was in "The Palm Beach Story", and Betty Hutton was in "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek". Regrettably, Jean Arthur never worked with Preston Sturges, it would have been a great match up!

Answer: Beer brewery

Charles's father owns Pikes Pale, a Connecticut beer brewing business. Throughout the film, Charles takes no pain to hide the fact that he hates beer, getting queasy at one point at the very thought of it. Hot dog manufacturing figures prominently in another Preston Sturges film, "The Palm Beach Story". Remember the Weenie King?

Answer: Colonel

Charles Coburn was a classic character actor with a face recognized by millions, but he was never a household name. His career in films lasted until the early 1960s. In "The Lady Eve", of course, he uses the rank of Colonel merely to impress his "marks". Coburn played a general in "Edison, the Man", a captain in "The Captain Is A Lady", and a major in "Everybody Does It".

As far as I know, he never played a sergeant.

Answer: Snakes

Charles' Columbrinus Marditzia was discovered during his year "up the Amazon". Emma the snake shows up several times throughout the movie, including the opening and closing credits.

Answer: Ambrose

Charles describes Mugsy (played by William Demarest) as "sort of a bodyguard, governess, and a very bad valet". William Demarest, a regular player in Sturges films, always wound up with oddball names - remember Officer Kockenlocker from "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek"? Twenty years later, he would be the more normally named, but no less cranky, Uncle Charlie on "My Three Sons".

Answer: The Ale That Won For Yale!

Though we never find out the connection between Pike's Pale Ale and Yale University, one assumes that both organizations were fans of each other. "It's Terrific!" was RKO's lame tagline for "Citizen Kane".

Answer: "Tell 'em to go to...Harvard."

Everyone on board wants to impress the rich young Pike by drinking his family's beer in his presence. Unfortunately, their efforts are to no avail, he hates the stuff!

Answer: Give some old harpy the three-in-one.

Jean's job among the trio of con artists is to meet and romance rich men. The night after meeting Charles, she opines on how much fun it would be to see the Colonel put the moves on a rich dowager. The Colonel seems amenable to the idea, "You find 'em, I'll push 'em", he says.

Answer: Eugenia

Jean first reveals her real name while she is dragging Charles back to her stateroom to replace her broken shoe. This is after she intentionally tripped him in the ship's dining room in order to meet him. Very little is said about the character's past, no mention of her mother, any siblings or where the name Eugenia came from. No matter. Stanwyck's breezy repartee makes those questions superfluous. Stanny was Barbara Stanwyck's nickname around the set.