Jan 25 movie: The Lady Eve. I'm sensing a pattern in the movie list: I love the screwball comedies. Not that this comes as a surprise. I watch them a lot: the good ones over and over, and even the bad ones usually have something to recommend them at least once.
The Lady Eve is one of the good ones. Barbara Stanwyck plays a con artist with a heart of gold, and Henry Fonda plays the scientist she falls for. I read a book once, years ago, that talked about how the screwball comedies of the 30s and early 40s were uniquely focused on the female stars. (Wish I could remember the title!) The Lady Eve was one of the movies profiled in the book and it's true; the movie is all about Stanwyck, and she's fabulous. Fonda is great too, of course. Nice supporting work also by Eric Blore, Charles Coburn and Eugene Pallette.
I love one scene where a bodyguard with suspicions about Stanwyck poses as a waiter so he can keep tabs on her. He keeps trying to serve from the right, causing much consternation to the well-heeled guests, and eventually drops a roast into Henry Fonda's lap. The first time I saw this movie, I didn't know that formal rule about serving from the left. I could tell it was funny, but I had no idea why. It's interesting how sixty years can completely change the context of a joke.
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I believe the book you're thinking of is "The Runaway Bride" by Elizabeth Kendall. And it is an excellent read. (the title is a reference to "It Happened One Night")