{"id":41426,"date":"2018-11-05T12:42:53","date_gmt":"2018-11-05T19:42:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=41426"},"modified":"2023-03-10T20:40:14","modified_gmt":"2023-03-11T03:40:14","slug":"devil-and-miss-jones-the-1941","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=41426","title":{"rendered":"Devil and Miss Jones, The (1941)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;I watch the little ants scurrying around and I know each is going to get his just dessert.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Poster-207x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"207\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-41430\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Poster-207x300.jpg 207w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Poster-88x128.jpg 88w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Poster.jpg 691w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 207px) 100vw, 207px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA crusty millionaire (Charles Coburn) goes undercover as a shoe clerk at his own department store, intending to ferret out the leaders behind a nascent labor movement. However, as he gets to know a kind colleague (Jean Arthur) and her agitator-boyfriend (Robert Cummings), and falls in love with a sweet middle-aged co-worker (Spring Byington), he experiences a change of heart and perspective.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Character Arc<\/li>\n<li>Charles Coburn Films<\/li>\n<li>Class Relations<\/li>\n<li>Edmund Gwenn Films<\/li>\n<li>Jean Arthur Films<\/li>\n<li>Millionaires<\/li>\n<li>Mistaken or Hidden Identities<\/li>\n<li>Robert Cummings Films<\/li>\n<li>Romantic Comedy<\/li>\n<li>Sam Wood Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s4140devi.html\">DVD Savant<\/a> is a huge fan of this screwball comedy by director Sam Wood and production designer William Cameron Menzies, who previously collaborated on <a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=75838\"><em>The Pride of the Yankees<\/em> (1942)<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=79835\"><em>For Whom the Bell Tolls<\/em> (1943)<\/a>. Savant notes: <\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The disarming, entertaining <em>The Devil and Miss Jones<\/em> is one of the best social comedies ever, a film that creates a nice feeling for people while saying fairly pertinent things about the need for decent conditions in the workplace&#8230; The movie abounds in terrific character touches, inspired comedy gags, and two or three moments of finely tuned slapstick&#8230; So many things click in <em>The Devil and Miss Jones<\/em> that one cannot over-praise Norman Krasna&#8217;s screenplay, one of the best ever from the classic Hollywood years. [Krasna also wrote Hitchcock&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=18534\"><em>Mr. and Mrs. Smith <\/em>(1941).<\/a>] <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>While I appreciate <em>The Devil and Miss Jones<\/em> on nearly every level outlined above, it&#8217;s less of a personal favorite &#8212; perhaps because I wasn&#8217;t entirely sold on the fantasy element. Clearly, one has to buy into the premise that Coburn simply needs to visit his own employees in order to have a huge change of heart &#8212; wouldn&#8217;t life be wonderful if that were the case? I suppose that was (and remains) the allure for many. <\/p>\n<p>My favorite aspects of the film are its seemingly &#8220;pre-planned&#8221; camera angles and highly crafted look; it&#8217;s visually evocative from beginning to finish (even during scenes that strain credulity &#8212; such as the beach picnic at Coney Island). I&#8217;m also a fan of Byington&#8217;s adorable performance, and Jean Arthur is never not a pleasure to watch in action. (She and Coburn would reteam for <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=33154\"><em>The More the Merrier<\/em> [1943]<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> It&#8217;s interesting to read about director Sam Wood&#8217;s own conversative, anti-Communist political leanings, which became truly extreme by the end of his short life; see <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sam_Wood\">Wikipedia&#8217;s entry<\/a> for more information. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Jean Arthur as Mary Jones<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Arthur.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Arthur.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-41431\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Arthur.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Arthur-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Arthur-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Spring Byington as Elizabeth<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Byington.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Byington.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-41432\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Byington.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Byington-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Byington-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Distinctive framing and cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Direction.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Direction.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-41436\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Direction.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Direction-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Direction-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Direction2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Direction2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-41437\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Direction2.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Direction2-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Direction2-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Cinematography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-41433\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Cinematography.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Cinematography-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Cinematography-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>William Cameron Menzies&#8217; set designs<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Slippers.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Slippers.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-41440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Slippers.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Slippers-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Slippers-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Shoe-Store.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Shoe-Store.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-41441\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Shoe-Store.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Shoe-Store-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Shoe-Store-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>A fun look at historic Coney Island<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Coney-Island.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Coney-Island.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-41435\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Coney-Island.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Coney-Island-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Devil-and-Miss-Jones-Coney-Island-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, though it&#8217;s worth a one-time look. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0033533\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1941\/05\/16\/archives\/the-devil-and-miss-jones-a-lively-comedy-at-the-music-hall-joan.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s4140devi.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I watch the little ants scurrying around and I know each is going to get his just dessert.&#8221; Synopsis: A crusty millionaire (Charles Coburn) goes undercover as a shoe clerk at his own department store, intending to ferret out the leaders behind a nascent labor movement. However, as he gets to know a kind colleague (Jean Arthur) and her agitator-boyfriend (Robert Cummings), and falls in love with a sweet middle-aged co-worker (Spring Byington), he experiences a change of heart and&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=41426\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=41426"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41426\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":90307,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41426\/revisions\/90307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=41426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=41426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=41426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}