The Devil and Miss Jones

Norman Krasna, was one of the best screen writers in the movies of the period. Sam Wood shows his ability to direct this excellent cast in one of the most satisfying comedies about the distinctions between the moneyed classes and the working stiffs they employed.

If you haven't seen the film, please stop reading now.

J.P. Merrick, is a millionaire who has investments all over New York. It is to his amazement he sees himself burned in effigy in front of the department store he has forgotten he owns. Merrick, like all people in business don't want to appear to be exploiting the workers, but this is too much! He must put an end to it.

In disguising himself as a salesman, he goes directly where the problem seems to be coming from, the shoe department. There he meets Mary Jones, who immediately feels Tom Higgins, his assumed name, is a man that is going through a rough time in his life. Mary feels pity when she realizes he doesn't know a thing about salesmanship.

In spite of everything going bad for him as a shoe salesman, Tom sticks to his new persona. He only meets kindness from all the people he is trying to fire. Merrick, by the end of the first full day at the store feels the strain of being on his feet all the time; we watch him soaking his feet in hot water, aided by his butler, George. In the process of gaining knowledge about the trouble makers, Merrick becomes human. He gets to realize how wrong he has been about a life he has lived so alienated from.

"The Devil and Miss Jones" is a movie that will delight anyone wishing to have fun. Of course, this is a film that depends totally in the two principals, Jean Arthur, who plays Mary Jones, and Charles Coburn, who as J.P Merrick/Tom Higgins shows why they were about the best actors working in the cinema in the 30s and 40s in Hollywood. Not only did they bring such class to whatever they played, but they are totally convincing. Ms. Arthur was a natural and so was Mr. Coburn.

The rest of the cast is extraordinary. A young Robert Cummings is perfect in his role as the union man. Spring Byinton, an actress that appeared in many films, is a charming Elizabeth, the woman that steals Merrick/Higgins heart. In her first scene with Mr. Coburn, she sits in the park bench to have lunch and he has nothing to eat. She gives him one of her tuna popovers and clarifies for him she paid 12 cents for the can! What times! In minor roles, S. Z. Sakall is George, the loyal butler. Mr. Sakall is a joy to watch, no matter what picture, or what character he is playing. Also, Edmund Gwenn, who probably stayed behind to played Santa Claus for the store, makes an incredible Hooper, the man in charge of the shoe department.

Thanks to Sam Wood's inspired direction this is a film that will not cease to please.

It's so full of good, common sense, compassion, wit and joy, that I can barely believe it. How depressing that this masterpiece should never be shown on TV (to my knowledge). It is not the first time that Norman Krasna has drawn my attention. This man is a genius. He writes with a total, unflagging self-assurance and perfection. This movie just cannot be improved upon. There are really no faults in it. The humor is funny without being demeaning, there is not the slightest mistake in taste or judgment. What makes it even more astonishing is that it was made during war time, when patriotism tends to cause people to become sentimental. This movie doesn't spare its country one whit. It does not include some "bad apples" among the workers. On the contrary, it implies that those who are usually referred to as bad apples are in fact the good ones! This movie is very much in the spirit of Frank Capra, and his rooting for the little man, but it outdoes Capra at his own game. There is more Capra in this movie than in all Capra movies put together. Krasna doesn't just root for the underdog, he fights his battles and he WINS! (1990 diary entry).

Ever since I saw Jean Arthur in "The More The Merrier", I fell in love with her. What beauty, what talent, what a VOICE!

This is one of her better films. More reminiscent of a Capra film. It's the working class vs the wealthy uncaring class. This goes beyond that though. It tells the tale of a rich man(Coburn) who hears of a revolt at one of his businesses. He wants it stopped and he wants heads to roll!!

When he thinks the investigation is not going to his liking, he decides to go undercover himself. Now this is where the REAL story starts. Now he is on THEIR ground and he sees for himself what these working class "pigs" are really like. They are just people. People with little money and big hearts, who just want a better life.

Everyone is wonderful in this film. Jean Arthur and Charles Coburn work terrific together as always(no wonder they did three movies together). I was surprised to see Robert Cummings in a major role back in 1941. I didn't know he was a star before Television.

The only real disappointment I had with this film was Edmund Gwenn. I could not believe it. The man that IS Santa Claus played a mean rude little man. EGAD!!

Seriously though, This is a MUST SEE for those who love good hearted comedies. Just makes you feel so good. An 8 out of 10.

I saw "The Devil and Miss Jones" two nights ago. What a joy Jean Arthur was to watch. Truly, the teaming of Charles Coburn and Jean Arthur needs to be celebrated. It has been ignored for too long! They play off each other as Powell and Loy, Laurel and Hardy, and Tracy and Hepburn did. Jean Arthur was never lovelier (as a brunette!). Robert Cummings never had a showier role nor one in which he displayed bite and a strong, leading-man presence. The script accurately conveys the times in which it was written. The scenes of how it was for people in large cities to work and entertain themselves during the Depression is priceless in its accuracy, a time capsule showing future Americans the Great Depression and its legacy. The playing of Arthur, Coburn, Cummings, and Spring Byington as well as the editing give "The Devil and Miss Jones" a playful, lyrical, yet sassy tone. A true rarity for a film with this type of plot to pull off yet it did, brilliantly. This film deserves greater critical and public reevaluation.

This film is under the radar for one reason only: character actors Charles Coburn and Spring Byington step from behind the shadow of the leads and take a bite out of the script themselves, and man, what a bite. Not to say that Jean Arthur and Robert Cummings don't do their part, because they do, but the emphasis here is on the old folks for a change, and its a refreshing change. There's also a scene on Coney Island, back when it was the shizzle, and its a wonderful scene for warmly placing you there in the midst of a steaming humanity all trying to cool off. There's a Caprasque story impetus about the problems of the rich versus the poor, along with some liberal solutions to those problems, but what's really nice is about watching folks who are past redemption finding it at the most unexpected time of life. Hope for everyone here. Too bad its only a movie.