124 reviews
Claudette Colbert is a knockout who knows it. She wants the good life, which her inventor husband can't give her. So she leaves him, intending on marrying someone who can support her and finance his invention. Things don't quite work out.
The opening of "Palm Beach Story" is a bizarre scene that only makes some sense (and I'm emphasizing some) at the very end of the film. It's certainly an original way to start a movie. There are some hilarious scenes in this film - desperate to get to Palm Beach for a quickie divorce, but with no money, Colbert accepts the invitation of the gentlemanly Ale and Quail Club to ride in their private train car as their guest and mascot. Unfortunately, the emphasis in this club is the ale and not the quail - shooting sugar cubes will do - also blowing out train windows, trashing whole train cars - you get the idea. Running from them, Colbert soon meets up with Rudy Vallee, who gives an absolutely delightful performance as a filthy rich man. He serenades her at one point, and it's great, hearkening back to his days as a crooner! Mary Astor is his many times married sister, and when Colbert's husband shows, in the form of Joel McCrea, Astor sees her next mark.
McCrea has a funny slapstick fall down a flight of stairs, but otherwise, doesn't have much to do except be angry and jealous of his wife. Colbert in her glorious clothes, Vallee, and a vivacious Astor upstage him a bit. A very funny film, produced during World War II to give America a much-needed laugh.
The opening of "Palm Beach Story" is a bizarre scene that only makes some sense (and I'm emphasizing some) at the very end of the film. It's certainly an original way to start a movie. There are some hilarious scenes in this film - desperate to get to Palm Beach for a quickie divorce, but with no money, Colbert accepts the invitation of the gentlemanly Ale and Quail Club to ride in their private train car as their guest and mascot. Unfortunately, the emphasis in this club is the ale and not the quail - shooting sugar cubes will do - also blowing out train windows, trashing whole train cars - you get the idea. Running from them, Colbert soon meets up with Rudy Vallee, who gives an absolutely delightful performance as a filthy rich man. He serenades her at one point, and it's great, hearkening back to his days as a crooner! Mary Astor is his many times married sister, and when Colbert's husband shows, in the form of Joel McCrea, Astor sees her next mark.
McCrea has a funny slapstick fall down a flight of stairs, but otherwise, doesn't have much to do except be angry and jealous of his wife. Colbert in her glorious clothes, Vallee, and a vivacious Astor upstage him a bit. A very funny film, produced during World War II to give America a much-needed laugh.
"The Palm Beach Story" is a lopsided comedy (part of it's funny and part of it's not), but the movie is back-ended with all of the funniest bits, so it allows you to forget the slower parts and it sends you out on a high.
After a sensationally bizarre opening credits sequence, the movie settles down into a slightly less zingy version of "The Awful Truth." Claudette Colbert thinks her marriage to Joel McCrea isn't working, even though he doesn't think likewise. She thinks she's not a capable enough wife; he thinks he's a failure as a man and husband. She takes off for Palm Beach to get a divorce despite all of his attempts to stop her. On the train to Florida, she meets a wealthy tycoon who wants to marry her and give her everything she could possibly want, but she realizes that what she really wants is her husband.
This is all told with a lot of wit and flair. The early scenes with Colbert and McCrea drag, and an extended bit of nonsense on the train involving the Ale and Quail Hunting Club is superfluous and not very funny. But once everyone shows up in Palm Beach, the film becomes a delight, and a bonus is added in the person of Mary Astor, who plows on to the screen about half way through the film and decimates everyone in her path with her quick-tongued and hilarious performance as a rich society lady with a lot of time on her hands and her sights set on Colbert's husband.
What I liked about this film was that Colbert and McCrea don't seem to have a lot of chemistry in their early scenes together; he seems so stiff and bland, and you don't really blame her for wanting to get away. But after you've seen both of them with other people, they seem so much more right for each other when they get back together, and there's all this chemistry you didn't initially realize was there. I don't know if that's due to their performances, the writing, the directing, or whether it was just a happy accident, but it works beautifully.
Grade: A-
After a sensationally bizarre opening credits sequence, the movie settles down into a slightly less zingy version of "The Awful Truth." Claudette Colbert thinks her marriage to Joel McCrea isn't working, even though he doesn't think likewise. She thinks she's not a capable enough wife; he thinks he's a failure as a man and husband. She takes off for Palm Beach to get a divorce despite all of his attempts to stop her. On the train to Florida, she meets a wealthy tycoon who wants to marry her and give her everything she could possibly want, but she realizes that what she really wants is her husband.
This is all told with a lot of wit and flair. The early scenes with Colbert and McCrea drag, and an extended bit of nonsense on the train involving the Ale and Quail Hunting Club is superfluous and not very funny. But once everyone shows up in Palm Beach, the film becomes a delight, and a bonus is added in the person of Mary Astor, who plows on to the screen about half way through the film and decimates everyone in her path with her quick-tongued and hilarious performance as a rich society lady with a lot of time on her hands and her sights set on Colbert's husband.
What I liked about this film was that Colbert and McCrea don't seem to have a lot of chemistry in their early scenes together; he seems so stiff and bland, and you don't really blame her for wanting to get away. But after you've seen both of them with other people, they seem so much more right for each other when they get back together, and there's all this chemistry you didn't initially realize was there. I don't know if that's due to their performances, the writing, the directing, or whether it was just a happy accident, but it works beautifully.
Grade: A-
- evanston_dad
- Mar 23, 2006
- Permalink
THE PALM BEACH STORY is not to be confused with reality. It's a zany romantic comedy given full speed treatment by director Preston Sturges who brought screwball comedy to an art form.
His script, full of hilarious one-liners that fly by almost too fast to catch, is acted to perfection by CLAUDETTE COLBERT, RUDY VALLEE and MARY ASTOR--with a less enthusiastic turn by JOEL McCREA who gives the only so-so performance, perhaps because none of the wittiest lines come his way. I've always liked this actor but here is performance is almost muted and strangely remote.
Nevertheless, if screwball comedy is your dish, this is one you can relish. From the moment Colbert gets aboard a train carrying her to Palm Beach, the fun starts and gets into high gear, racing toward a conclusion that is not altogether satisfying nor even remotely hinted at until the final few minutes of film. It's a twist that somehow doesn't ring true--the only really false note in an otherwise perfect screwball comedy.
Rudy Vallee is outstanding as a nutty millionaire, a role written expressly for him (and he even gets to sing a little)--and Mary Astor, as his husband hunting sister, is hilariously over the top as a woman who can't stop talking while pursuing her man.
A good way to spend a pleasant 90 minutes.
His script, full of hilarious one-liners that fly by almost too fast to catch, is acted to perfection by CLAUDETTE COLBERT, RUDY VALLEE and MARY ASTOR--with a less enthusiastic turn by JOEL McCREA who gives the only so-so performance, perhaps because none of the wittiest lines come his way. I've always liked this actor but here is performance is almost muted and strangely remote.
Nevertheless, if screwball comedy is your dish, this is one you can relish. From the moment Colbert gets aboard a train carrying her to Palm Beach, the fun starts and gets into high gear, racing toward a conclusion that is not altogether satisfying nor even remotely hinted at until the final few minutes of film. It's a twist that somehow doesn't ring true--the only really false note in an otherwise perfect screwball comedy.
Rudy Vallee is outstanding as a nutty millionaire, a role written expressly for him (and he even gets to sing a little)--and Mary Astor, as his husband hunting sister, is hilariously over the top as a woman who can't stop talking while pursuing her man.
A good way to spend a pleasant 90 minutes.
The Palm Beach Story is one of the best examples of the wonderful nonsense that Hollywood used to turn out in its best comedies. It's only in the movies that circumstances like these happen and it's quite beyond my powers to describe them.
Joel McCrea and Claudette Colbert come to a dry patch in their marriage and decide to split. Colbert takes a train to Palm Springs and McCrea pursues her by plane. And they both wind up with a brother and sister pair of gazillionaires in the persons of Rudy Vallee and Mary Astor.
I will say that Preston Sturges did kind of reach into left field for his romantic ending, but that's half the fun of The Palm Beach Story.
Only half because the other half is the fun of the journey. Not much happens to Joel, but Claudette is on one wild ride when she's adopted by a gang of drunken millionaire sportsmen known as the Ale and Quail Club.
The proponents of gun control should get the right to The Palm Beach Story and run it at all opportunities. Seeing these louts, plastered out of their minds and shooting off their weapons is pretty funny and the best argument I know for gun control. Preston Sturges used some of his favorite players from his usual stock company for members of Ale and Quail.
Also look for a very funny performance by Robert Dudley as the 'wienie king' whose encounter with Colbert sets everything in motion.
Rudy Vallee gets to sing in this which is also nice. He sings a chorus of Isn't It Romantic and then sings his own hit, Goodnight Sweetheart which has the opposite effect from what he intended.
The Palm Beach Story is the object lesson in how to make screen comedy and make it to last.
Joel McCrea and Claudette Colbert come to a dry patch in their marriage and decide to split. Colbert takes a train to Palm Springs and McCrea pursues her by plane. And they both wind up with a brother and sister pair of gazillionaires in the persons of Rudy Vallee and Mary Astor.
I will say that Preston Sturges did kind of reach into left field for his romantic ending, but that's half the fun of The Palm Beach Story.
Only half because the other half is the fun of the journey. Not much happens to Joel, but Claudette is on one wild ride when she's adopted by a gang of drunken millionaire sportsmen known as the Ale and Quail Club.
The proponents of gun control should get the right to The Palm Beach Story and run it at all opportunities. Seeing these louts, plastered out of their minds and shooting off their weapons is pretty funny and the best argument I know for gun control. Preston Sturges used some of his favorite players from his usual stock company for members of Ale and Quail.
Also look for a very funny performance by Robert Dudley as the 'wienie king' whose encounter with Colbert sets everything in motion.
Rudy Vallee gets to sing in this which is also nice. He sings a chorus of Isn't It Romantic and then sings his own hit, Goodnight Sweetheart which has the opposite effect from what he intended.
The Palm Beach Story is the object lesson in how to make screen comedy and make it to last.
- bkoganbing
- Jun 4, 2007
- Permalink
One element of this film that shouldn't be ignored is that it, like "Sullivan's Travels" and "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek," is a conscious lampooning of earlier movies from the 1930s. It takes a standard, conventional plot from those movies and turns it on its ear. The same plot can be seen for example in the Paramount movie from 1931, "Up Pops the Devil," with Carole Lombard and Norman Foster (who coincidentally was Claudette Colbert's first husband). In that movie, a wife who still loves her husband wants to divorce him for his own good; she thinks she's just a noose around his neck, and once rid of her, he'll become a success. It's set in the same upper crust of society as "The Palm Beach Story," with a millionaire suitor for the wife and a nymphomaniac girl for the husband. Here, everything is played straight, with as much pathos and melodrama being milked out of the situation as can be. In "The Palm Beach Story" though, the same basic plot and characters are used, but it's the comedic potential and wackiness of the situation that's emphasized, to marvelous effect.
The subplot with the twins, glanced at in the beginning and end of the picture, is another conscious lampooning of conventional movies, here a lampooning of the structure of movies themselves, of their conventional beginnings and endings. It's not meant to be taken seriously; as McCrea's character casually says at the end, it's all stuff "for another movie."
No words can be found to adequately praise Claudette Colbert's performance. Joel McCrea is good too, as the prototypical wooden 1930s leading man. Rudy Vallee is absolutely hilarious as a "momma's boy" version of John D. Rockefeller, as is Mary Astor as his rich nymphomaniac sister. Her eunuch, Toto, played by Sig Arno, seems straight out of an Ernst Lubitch picture, perhaps a Sturges nod to the master. Quite a few scenes of the film, in their settings and atmosphere, pay homage to Lubitsch. Sturges does the "Lubitsch touch" proud, especially in those two scenes when Colbert sits on McCrea's lap so that he can undo the back of her dress, with the two of them both times melting into a kiss, and the scene ending with a fade out, leaving little doubt as to what will happen next. The second scene is particularly romantic, done as Rudy Vallee sings "Good Night Sweet Heart," itself a standard of the 1930s. Vallee also sings a line of "Isn't It Romantic," a song introduced in the luminous 1932 film "Love Me Tonight," directed by Rouben Mamoulian. The music in the film itself hearkens back to those great romantic comedies of the 1930s.
It's nice to see Sturges's stock company of actors popping up here as well. I noticed William Demarest say his name was "Bill Docker," the same name his character had in Preston Sturges's "Christmas in July."
In short, "The Palm Beach Story" is a wonderful film, whose richness can really be appreciated when seen in context, in the context of those old 1930s Paramount films, both the melodramatic ones like "Up Pops the Devil," that it lampoons, and the comedic, romantic ones like "Love Me Tonight" and "One Hour with You," that it pays homage to.
The subplot with the twins, glanced at in the beginning and end of the picture, is another conscious lampooning of conventional movies, here a lampooning of the structure of movies themselves, of their conventional beginnings and endings. It's not meant to be taken seriously; as McCrea's character casually says at the end, it's all stuff "for another movie."
No words can be found to adequately praise Claudette Colbert's performance. Joel McCrea is good too, as the prototypical wooden 1930s leading man. Rudy Vallee is absolutely hilarious as a "momma's boy" version of John D. Rockefeller, as is Mary Astor as his rich nymphomaniac sister. Her eunuch, Toto, played by Sig Arno, seems straight out of an Ernst Lubitch picture, perhaps a Sturges nod to the master. Quite a few scenes of the film, in their settings and atmosphere, pay homage to Lubitsch. Sturges does the "Lubitsch touch" proud, especially in those two scenes when Colbert sits on McCrea's lap so that he can undo the back of her dress, with the two of them both times melting into a kiss, and the scene ending with a fade out, leaving little doubt as to what will happen next. The second scene is particularly romantic, done as Rudy Vallee sings "Good Night Sweet Heart," itself a standard of the 1930s. Vallee also sings a line of "Isn't It Romantic," a song introduced in the luminous 1932 film "Love Me Tonight," directed by Rouben Mamoulian. The music in the film itself hearkens back to those great romantic comedies of the 1930s.
It's nice to see Sturges's stock company of actors popping up here as well. I noticed William Demarest say his name was "Bill Docker," the same name his character had in Preston Sturges's "Christmas in July."
In short, "The Palm Beach Story" is a wonderful film, whose richness can really be appreciated when seen in context, in the context of those old 1930s Paramount films, both the melodramatic ones like "Up Pops the Devil," that it lampoons, and the comedic, romantic ones like "Love Me Tonight" and "One Hour with You," that it pays homage to.
Even more dementedly frantic than The Lady Eve, this film is Preston Sturges's most delirious screwball/slapstick romance, with one of the most amazing bits of comic combustion in the Ale and Quail Club train sequence. It's not as neatly structured as The Lady Eve, but it's filled with hilarious gags, lines, and performances. Claudette Colbert and Joel McCrea are remarkably composed and relaxed, but Rudy Vallee, Mary Astor, and all the other performers outdo themselves in energetic tomfoolery. When Vallee complains, plaintively, that the problem with the world is that the men most in need of a beating are usually enormous, or when Astor slyly suggests that she grows on people, like moss, you know you're hearing Preston Sturges's wit at its peak.
- lqualls-dchin
- Dec 20, 2000
- Permalink
- s-g-kassel
- Mar 13, 2006
- Permalink
An inventor (Joel McCrea) needs cash to develop his big idea. His wife (Claudette Colbert), who loves him, decides to raise it for him by divorcing him and marrying a millionaire.
One of the more interesting things about this film is the trouble it had getting made thanks to the censorship office. Although there is no explicit sexuality or foul language, it does have some questionable themes. There is talk of prostitution, and apparently the censors did not like the way marriage and divorce were handled so lightly. Even after the necessary cuts, this remains a strong central part of the plot and humor.
Interestingly, the Bill Hader interview on the Criterion disc adds a lot. You might not think of Hader as a film historian or critic, and maybe he is not. But he really understands Sturges and how Sturges wrote his scripts. He connects the dots between Sturges and the Coen brothers, as well as explaining how each character, no matter how minor, is important to the story.
One of the more interesting things about this film is the trouble it had getting made thanks to the censorship office. Although there is no explicit sexuality or foul language, it does have some questionable themes. There is talk of prostitution, and apparently the censors did not like the way marriage and divorce were handled so lightly. Even after the necessary cuts, this remains a strong central part of the plot and humor.
Interestingly, the Bill Hader interview on the Criterion disc adds a lot. You might not think of Hader as a film historian or critic, and maybe he is not. But he really understands Sturges and how Sturges wrote his scripts. He connects the dots between Sturges and the Coen brothers, as well as explaining how each character, no matter how minor, is important to the story.
- mark.waltz
- Dec 26, 2020
- Permalink
I hate to speak ill of any movie made before my time that's regarded as a classic and is an AFI award winner(# 77 on it's 100 funniest movies list),but this film just did not resonate with me at all.I found the plot utterly ridiculous.The two leads were incompatible.I hate to use the word "stupid",but it's the only word I can muster for the film's ending.This was my first viewing of any film starring most of the cast here,and while I'm sure they were great in other films,there was just no magic here,at least not for me.I can think of a few films that are more deserving of a placement in the above mentioned AFI list than this.
- SmileysWorld
- Sep 30, 2011
- Permalink
When commenting on a film as brilliantly constructed and deeply entertaining as The Palm Beach Story, it's hard to know just where to start.
Do you tip your hat to the uniformly wonderful performers?
Do you pay tribute to the bizarre and hilarious conversations held by the Weenie King (Robert Dudley), an incidental character who manages to be a lot more than a mere plot contrivance?
Do you mention the fact that the film was clearly an influence upon the (slightly superior) screwball classic Some Like It Hot?
Nope. You just say, Preston Sturges was a genius and this is his best film.
Gerry Jeffers (Claudette Colbert) has decided that she needs to divorce her husband Tom (Sturges regular Joel McCrea). Why? We're not quite sure. Perhaps she's looking for thrills, perhaps she simply wants a partner who can pay the rent and perhaps she's truly come to believe that she no longer loves him. No matter. Her mind is made up and there's nothing Tom can do about it. Try as he might, Gerry slips through his fingers and ends up on a train to Palm Beach, the divorce capital of the world.
Echoes of Some Like first appear on the train ride when Gerry finds herself unable to sleep do to the racket being caused by The Ale and Quail Club. It's bad enough when they start shooting out windows, and what comes next... let's just say that it's a lot funnier than it would be if it happened in real life.
Still, Gerry makes it to Palm Beach, in the company of nutty millionaire John D. Hackensacker (Rudy Vallee). Things only get really out of hand once Tom arrives and becomes pegged as a bachelor, Captain McGlew. And spoil more of the plot for you I will not.
Sturges was capable of operating in many modes: responsible and patriotic (Sullivan's Travels) and outrageously madcap (The Miracle of Morgan's Creek) are two that come to mind. But Palm Beach shares its elegance, wit and reserve with The Lady Eve, in which con artist Barbara Stanwyck sets her sights on absent-minded professor Henry Fonda. (Even the mistaken identity plot is similar upon examination).
Between the two, Eve may end on a slightly more graceful note, but Beach seems to be made with a bit more... well, experience. Sturges seems at his most relaxed throughout the film and it does a world of good. (The story is bogged down only by brief moments of racism early on). And leaving, it's hard not to feel sunny and refreshed.
For those in need of a vacation, I recommend a stay at Palm Beach. And the rest of you should come along as well.
Do you tip your hat to the uniformly wonderful performers?
Do you pay tribute to the bizarre and hilarious conversations held by the Weenie King (Robert Dudley), an incidental character who manages to be a lot more than a mere plot contrivance?
Do you mention the fact that the film was clearly an influence upon the (slightly superior) screwball classic Some Like It Hot?
Nope. You just say, Preston Sturges was a genius and this is his best film.
Gerry Jeffers (Claudette Colbert) has decided that she needs to divorce her husband Tom (Sturges regular Joel McCrea). Why? We're not quite sure. Perhaps she's looking for thrills, perhaps she simply wants a partner who can pay the rent and perhaps she's truly come to believe that she no longer loves him. No matter. Her mind is made up and there's nothing Tom can do about it. Try as he might, Gerry slips through his fingers and ends up on a train to Palm Beach, the divorce capital of the world.
Echoes of Some Like first appear on the train ride when Gerry finds herself unable to sleep do to the racket being caused by The Ale and Quail Club. It's bad enough when they start shooting out windows, and what comes next... let's just say that it's a lot funnier than it would be if it happened in real life.
Still, Gerry makes it to Palm Beach, in the company of nutty millionaire John D. Hackensacker (Rudy Vallee). Things only get really out of hand once Tom arrives and becomes pegged as a bachelor, Captain McGlew. And spoil more of the plot for you I will not.
Sturges was capable of operating in many modes: responsible and patriotic (Sullivan's Travels) and outrageously madcap (The Miracle of Morgan's Creek) are two that come to mind. But Palm Beach shares its elegance, wit and reserve with The Lady Eve, in which con artist Barbara Stanwyck sets her sights on absent-minded professor Henry Fonda. (Even the mistaken identity plot is similar upon examination).
Between the two, Eve may end on a slightly more graceful note, but Beach seems to be made with a bit more... well, experience. Sturges seems at his most relaxed throughout the film and it does a world of good. (The story is bogged down only by brief moments of racism early on). And leaving, it's hard not to feel sunny and refreshed.
For those in need of a vacation, I recommend a stay at Palm Beach. And the rest of you should come along as well.
Hilarious movie about an unhappily married couple played by Joel McCrea (unbearably handsome) and Claudette Colbert (unbearably beautiful). She goes to Palm Beach to get a quick divorce. While enroute she meets a shy, sweet millionaire played by Rudy Valle who immediately falls in love with her. But McCrea shows up in Palm Beach wanting her back...
Lightning paced, very sweet, romantic and absolutely hysterical comedy. The script is packed full of great lines and (with the exception of McCrea) the cast give them their all. Colbert is delightful as the wife. McCrea, unfortunately, gives a stone-faced performance as her husband--still, he is very good-looking and doesn't really hurt the movie. Also, as one previous poster noted, you get a quick look at his "best parts" near the beginning! Vallee is pretty good too. Mary Astor is absolutely hysterical as Vallee's VERY talkative sister. And then there's the Wienie King and the Ale and Quail Club! A definite must-see!
Best line: "The men most in need of a beating up are always enormous."
Lightning paced, very sweet, romantic and absolutely hysterical comedy. The script is packed full of great lines and (with the exception of McCrea) the cast give them their all. Colbert is delightful as the wife. McCrea, unfortunately, gives a stone-faced performance as her husband--still, he is very good-looking and doesn't really hurt the movie. Also, as one previous poster noted, you get a quick look at his "best parts" near the beginning! Vallee is pretty good too. Mary Astor is absolutely hysterical as Vallee's VERY talkative sister. And then there's the Wienie King and the Ale and Quail Club! A definite must-see!
Best line: "The men most in need of a beating up are always enormous."
Fun fun!! the versatile Claudette Colbert is Gerry, married to an architect Tom (Joel Mcrea), who can't get his designs across. so... Gerry hatches a ridiculous plot to leave him, and get hitched to someone who CAN help him. right from the start, we know its going to be silly and fun, with the william tell overture. Supporting cast is filled with incredible hollywood names (how did they ever get all of them together?) Mary Astor, Rudy Vallee, William Demarest, Franklin Pangborn. and some funny scenes, like the old,deaf guy that wants to rent Gerry's apartment while she's still in it, or the group of drunks on the train. all classic Sturges... loud, over the top scenes. it all moves right along, with a snappy script and story. Vallee is the rich guy who may or may not come to Gerry's rescue. and that surprise ending... where did that come from? but it's fun. a lot of fun. definitely worth catching this one! Written and directed by Preston Sturges. one of only fourteen films he directed. all clever and fun.
- classicsoncall
- Nov 29, 2016
- Permalink
- FilmSnobby
- Sep 10, 2005
- Permalink
- JohnHowardReid
- Aug 2, 2017
- Permalink
- jboothmillard
- Jul 3, 2014
- Permalink
A refurnished Preston Sturgis' 'Palm Beach Story' is out on DVD. An occasion to celebrate. This screwball comedy touches on a problem that affects young working families: how to make ends meet. The joke is given away at the beginning for the attentive eye. Of course this is Hollywood, so the the Jeffers (Claudette Colbert and Joel McCrea) down on their luck live on Park Avenue. Colbert decides to leave McCrea whom she loves deeply, to find her way with her looks to bankroll his dreams but ... A fairy godfather 'the weenie king', played with a straight faced by the excellent Robert Y. Dudley steps in. Debts paid with Dudley's $700 (several thousands in today's dollars), McCrea takes it the wrong way. So Colbert takes off to find her fortune and new life. But the fairy godfather steps in again by paying McCrea's way to win back his bride. And so it goes: there's the hilarious Quail and Ale Club of raucous inebriated millions come to her rescue with gun shots, hounds and barber shop singing. And on the train she steps on Rudy Valle's 19-century style pince nez eyeglasses, and she steps into the world of super wealth. And so it goes. Valle is a charm and a great second banana. And then there's Mary Astor as his oft married sister who sets her eyes on Mcrea. But the bond of love cannot break Colbert from McCrea.And then the film's kicker comes in. But you've got to see this delicious comedy to find out the happy ending and everyone lives happily ever after!
- rmax304823
- Apr 18, 2010
- Permalink
I love old movies. They're like time machines. Glimpses into the past; into the world that my parents inhabited.
But in this case it is a fantasy world. In l942, the country, having endured over a decade of economic depression, had just stepped across the threshold into the uncertain and wrenching horror of World War II. An easy sell in those hard times was a variation on the old Cinderella/Prince Charming story. So ignoring the current political realities and exploiting the great disparities of his day, Mr. Sturges created a fluffy hour and a half diversion based on the premise that some men, as he spares no cliché to point out, are born more equal than others.
The story line, unstructured and at times befuddling, is a typical Hollywood hash job. Having been monetarily blessed by her fairy godfather (Robert Dudley as the Weenie King) Mrs. Gerry Jeffers (Claudette Colbert) leaves New York, her hapless husband Tom (Joel McCrea), and all her troubles behind. Aboard a train, (the pumpkin), bound for the fantasyland of Palm Beach, where the stinking rich live the high life (then as now) in a bubble completely divorced from the grueling exigencies of the average Joe's day to day life she meets her Really Rich Guy, John D. Hackensacker III (Rudy Vallee) who buys her everything. Will her looser husband who really loves her win her back? Or will the licentious Princess Centimillia (Mary Astor) get her hooks into him first?
The transcendent scene for me was when Rudy Vallee sings "Goodnight Sweetheart" while Colbert struggles with the zipper on an evening dress that Madonna would die for.
Sexual innuendo aside, I found this movie to be neither humorous nor entertaining. Rather it was boorish, predictable, and contrived. The most egregious injury was to those people represented by characters such as Fred Toones, the Club Car bartender, portrayed stereotypically, so as to reinforce and perpetuate the Jim Crow racism of the day. An insult then, an embarrassment now.
In fact the whole movie is a celebration of a system of exploitation. The Robber Baron descendant Hackensacker is unbothered by the source of his plenitude. It just is. Sturges, who knew only too well where the bodies were buried in Palm Beach, didn't want to spoil the fun by showing us how such wealth is made and supported. This is after all a fairy tale. A whitewash.
Call me a wet blanket but it just amazes me that this kind of tripe could be made during a time of world upheaval, suffering and sacrifice. I think it says something very unflattering about that 1942 Hollywood in general, Sturges in particular, and the audiences who bought into this load.
A good movie should not only be literate and technically competent, but compelling and inspiring. Or at least funny. Measures to which this old flick hardly attains. I think I'm being generous in giving it two stars. Nevertheless, its redemption, as with many old things, has come with the years, and its value now lies in the perspective on contemporary life that a viewer can distill from its representations of that 1942 zeitgeist.
And for the hopelessly nostalgic like myself, a trip back to a time past.
But in this case it is a fantasy world. In l942, the country, having endured over a decade of economic depression, had just stepped across the threshold into the uncertain and wrenching horror of World War II. An easy sell in those hard times was a variation on the old Cinderella/Prince Charming story. So ignoring the current political realities and exploiting the great disparities of his day, Mr. Sturges created a fluffy hour and a half diversion based on the premise that some men, as he spares no cliché to point out, are born more equal than others.
The story line, unstructured and at times befuddling, is a typical Hollywood hash job. Having been monetarily blessed by her fairy godfather (Robert Dudley as the Weenie King) Mrs. Gerry Jeffers (Claudette Colbert) leaves New York, her hapless husband Tom (Joel McCrea), and all her troubles behind. Aboard a train, (the pumpkin), bound for the fantasyland of Palm Beach, where the stinking rich live the high life (then as now) in a bubble completely divorced from the grueling exigencies of the average Joe's day to day life she meets her Really Rich Guy, John D. Hackensacker III (Rudy Vallee) who buys her everything. Will her looser husband who really loves her win her back? Or will the licentious Princess Centimillia (Mary Astor) get her hooks into him first?
The transcendent scene for me was when Rudy Vallee sings "Goodnight Sweetheart" while Colbert struggles with the zipper on an evening dress that Madonna would die for.
Sexual innuendo aside, I found this movie to be neither humorous nor entertaining. Rather it was boorish, predictable, and contrived. The most egregious injury was to those people represented by characters such as Fred Toones, the Club Car bartender, portrayed stereotypically, so as to reinforce and perpetuate the Jim Crow racism of the day. An insult then, an embarrassment now.
In fact the whole movie is a celebration of a system of exploitation. The Robber Baron descendant Hackensacker is unbothered by the source of his plenitude. It just is. Sturges, who knew only too well where the bodies were buried in Palm Beach, didn't want to spoil the fun by showing us how such wealth is made and supported. This is after all a fairy tale. A whitewash.
Call me a wet blanket but it just amazes me that this kind of tripe could be made during a time of world upheaval, suffering and sacrifice. I think it says something very unflattering about that 1942 Hollywood in general, Sturges in particular, and the audiences who bought into this load.
A good movie should not only be literate and technically competent, but compelling and inspiring. Or at least funny. Measures to which this old flick hardly attains. I think I'm being generous in giving it two stars. Nevertheless, its redemption, as with many old things, has come with the years, and its value now lies in the perspective on contemporary life that a viewer can distill from its representations of that 1942 zeitgeist.
And for the hopelessly nostalgic like myself, a trip back to a time past.
- capt_wizzbang
- May 6, 2005
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