The Palm Beach Story (1942)

Fresh and Exciting

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

I am really at a loss to understand how this movie gets the reputation it has earned. Just because Preston Sturges' name is involved doesn't make it profoundly funny or profoundly insightful. Claudette Colbert was a charming cutie and all that. But born in 1903 and at nearly 40 years old when this picture was made, the motivations and emotional responses she is asked to exhibit in Palm Beach Story are way too immature for who she actually is. IMO, that can be said of nearly everyone involved in this coarsely unfunny movie. Mary Astor, another lovely and wonderful actress, is also made to act the complete noisy air-head. When the film was made there no doubt were other criteria to judge her character by. These days however, again IMO, Astor's constant screeching and especially her relationship with Toto, her annoyingly unattractive hanger on, who understands nothing, is actually offensive. Cringe-worthy to be honest. (Toto's character and how he is treated reminds me of the part played by Asta or one of those other terrier dogs that were popular in screwball comedies.) Only Rudy Vallee, who later in his career perfected the Teflon-coated stooge role, seemed to me to almost transcend the material. Everyone is entitled to enjoy whatever movie or star or whatever they like. As for me,I'm darned if I know what the attraction is in Palm Beach Story.

This movie has madness and a few zany scenes. But I think the accolades of many for Preston Sturges having a great comedy here are overblown. "The Palm Beach Story" is funny, but only in parts. And, some of those are strained. The goings-on of the Ale and Quail Club soon wear out. And Claudette Colbert's hiding from the gang on the train isn't worth any howls. The premise for the story is OK, and far out. Unfortunately, Colbert's Gerry Jeffers is too "logical" and explanatory with hubby Tom, played by Joel McCrea. And, McCrea is just too dour for most of the comedy. That always serious, almost stern look of his was OK for Westerns, but it wasn't great for most of his comedy efforts. The one exception being, "Adventure in Manhattan" of 1936. Colbert and McCrea don't have much chemistry in this film. Someone like Fred MacMurray would be able to play the straight face, serious look for real comedic effect.I think the best comedy of this film comes from Rudy Vallee as J.D. Hackensacker III, and from Mary Astor as his sister, Princess Centimillia. Vallee's character is funny in himself – fast-talking and always writing costs of items in his little black book. And Astor's princess has some of the funniest lines in the movie.The movie is okay and enjoyable. But it's not full of laughable scenes and lines. It's not up there with the best comedies of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Here are a couple examples of the witty dialog.J.D., "Chivalry is not only dead, it's decomposed."Gerry, "No, I don't want to listen to anything that begins with 'Look, darling,' so that you can get off another noble saying."J.D., "That's one of the tragedies of this life – that the men who are most in need of a beating are always enormous."

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.

This being only the second screwball comedy I had ever viewed, I have to say for the most part that I enjoyed it. The acting, while a bit dated, made for an enjoyable experience. The plot was sadly similar to the previous film that i watched: My Man Godfrey; however, with obvious unexpected twists and turns along the way. Even though the plot was similar to the previous film, the story was itself very unique. Everything from the unexpected second appearance of the "weenie king," when he helps tom Jeffreys, to the clearly non-traditional ending made this film worth watching. While it did drag a bit certain parts, with the short run time of only 88 minutes, the slower parts of the film seem to fly by. The music in the film added a much needed extra touch that helped to really captivate me at key or even dull moments, for instance, the ballroom or balcony scenes. The ensemble of the ale and quail club members was for me the most enjoyable part of the film, however, the, for lack of a better term, indentured servant serving the drinks and throwing the crackers for trap shooting made me a bit uncomfortable. Obviously there were many things in the 1940's that are very different today, but to see the way that African Americans were typecast and portrayed was a bit disturbing to me personally. That aside, another item that struck a chord with me about the film was the fact that Gerry makes it through most of the film simply by the grace of her good looks. The message that the film is sending with her behavior sets forth the notion that if a woman id pretty enough, life can be easy for her, which seriously degrades and takes away from women's equal rights, at least in my opinion. In summation, while this film had several parts that were a bit uncouth for my taste, it is hard to ignore a true and classic tale of love, passion, and overcoming the odds.