Top 50 Actresses, #12 - Jean Arthur: "The Devil and Miss Jones" (1941)

Movie Stats:
Released 1941 (USA)
American, in English
Director - Sam Wood
Stars - Jean Arthur, Charles Coburn, Spring Byington, Robert Cummings

Plot Summary:
When the employees of a department store he owns begin agitating for unionization, wealthy John P. Merrick (Coburn) goes undercover in the shoe department in order to pinpoint the organizers. Soon, however, he becomes enmeshed in their lives. Arthur co-stars as shoe department employee Mary Jones; Byington as store employee/Mary’s friend Elizabeth Ellis; and Cummings as former store employee/Mary’s boyfriend Joe O’Brien.

Warnings:
Very minor violence.

Bad Stuff:
Once again, I’m not terribly pleased to see a film that includes the message to women: “it’s okay that he lies to you as long as he’s rich (and/or handsome).”

The “reaction scene,” where Mary, Elizabeth, and Joe discover J.P.’s true identity, is so ridiculously over-the-top that it nearly ruined the whole movie for me. It’s probably meant to be funny but it didn’t have me laughing.

At only an hour and a half, it still feels too long.

Good Stuff:
I was very relieved that it went with a father-daughter type relationship between J.P. & Mary, instead pairing J.P. with the much more age appropriate Elizabeth.

I enjoyed its sweetness. Ultimately, this film is about overcoming one’s own biases.

I really liked the score and the costuming.

About the Performance:
Arthur is an actress that I feel rather lukewarm about. I’ve seen a handful of her performances. She hasn’t wowed in any of them. I felt the same way about this one. She’s not bad, but at the end I didn’t have that, “I love her!” feeling I have about the actors I like best. One thing I will say about her is that she definitely isn’t one-note. In this, she’s sweet and bubbly. In Mr. Smith, she’s cynical and brash. In Shane, she’s tough as nails. So I do admire that she had range.

Other performances of Arthur’s I’ve reviewed: Shane; Mr. Smith Goes to Washington; You Can’t Take It with You.

The Verdict:
To be honest, I thought it was pretty simplistic and naive. It’s total fantasy in that no wealthy man would actually do what J.P. does and even if he did, I don’t think he would have the total change of heart that J.P. has. Also, it definitely romanticizes the “common man” and his plight. However, it was nice to watch something light, fun, and good-hearted. It’s a sweet little film. The performances are all satisfactory. I particularly enjoyed Coburn, Byington & S.Z. Sakall (as J.P.’s butler, George). I liked the gentle fun it pokes at the ultra wealthy & its exploration of class issues, even if that exploration was simplistic.

I give it 3.75 stars.