The Mad Miss Manton is a 1938 comedy-mystery film directed by Leigh Jason and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda. The story revolves around a group of wealthy young socialites in New York City, led by the eccentric and impulsive Melsa Manton (played by Stanwyck). Melsa's latest attention-seeking stunt is discovering a dead body in a nearby alleyway, but when the police arrive, the body is nowhere to be found. The police and the press dismiss Melsa's story as a hoax and she becomes a laughingstock.
Determined to prove her innocence, Melsa enlists the help of her friends to start their own investigation. They discover that the body was in fact real and that a group of criminals, led by a wealthy businessman named Jimmie Hobbson (played by Fonda), are behind a series of robberies and murders in the city. Melsa and her friends use wit and cunning to outsmart the criminals and bring them to justice.
The Mad Miss Manton was a critical and commercial success upon its release, praised for its witty dialogue and charismatic performances by Stanwyck and Fonda. It is now considered a classic of the screwball comedy genre.