10 Romantic Lead Characters Who Were Actually Major Douches

7. Jean - The Lady Eve

lady eve Everything about Barbara Stanwyck's character in this film is a lie. EVERYTHING. She spends the entire movie playing Henry Fonda like an upright bass, and it's hard to tell if a single honest word comes out of her mouth. At the beginning of the movie, she's on a boat trying to seduce Fonda, who's an innocent snake enthusiast due to inherit a fortune from his family's brewery. She totally takes advantage of his naivete (and the fact that he'd just spent a year in the Amazon without any ladies) to win his affections. When that runs its course, she shows up yet again, this time pretending to be a distinguished English socialite (with a truly outrageous accent). To the shock of pretty much everyone, Fonda either can't or doesn't want to see through her disguise, and they get a chance at love. Despite the fact that she spent the entire film trying to con him and their entire relationship is built on deception. That's healthy. I give it a year.
 
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Audrey Fox is an ex-film student, which means that she prefers to spend her days in the dark, watching movies and pondering the director's use of diegetic sound. She currently works as an entertainment writer, joyfully rambling about all things film and television related. Add her on Twitter at @audonamission and check out her film blog at 1001moviesandbeyond.com.