The Palm Beach Story (1942)

Director:

Preston Sturges

Writer:

Preston Sturges (writer)

Release Date:

7 November 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Romance | Comedy

Plot:

An inventor needs cash to develop his big idea. His wife, who loves him, decides to raise it for him by divorcing him and marrying a millionaire.

Plot Keywords:

Money | Divorce | Millionaire | Architect | Inventor

Cast

Claudette Colbert	...	Geraldine 'Gerry' Jeffers
Joel McCrea	...	Tom Jeffers ('Capt. McGlew')
Mary Astor	...	The Princess Centimillia
Rudy Vallee	...	John D. Hackensacker III
Sig Arno	...	Toto
Robert Warwick	...	Mr. Hinch, Ale and Quail Club
Arthur Stuart Hull	...	Mr. Osmond
Torben Meyer	...	Dr. Kluck
Jimmy Conlin	...	Mr. Asweld, Ale and Quail Club
Victor Potel	...	Mr. McKeewie
William Demarest	...	First Member Ale and Quail Club
Jack Norton	...	Second Member Ale and Quail Club
Robert Greig	...	Third Member Ale and Quail Club
Roscoe Ates	...	Fourth Member Ale and Quail Club
Dewey Robinson	...	Fifth Member Ale and Quail Club

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Penn Station, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

In-joke: The character John D. Hackensacker performs the song "Goodnight Sweetheart", associated in the 1930s with Rudy Vallee who plays the part.

Goofs:

Continuity: On the train: the men with the shotguns shoot out the glass of the same window several times.

Quotes:

Gerry Jeffers: You're married to me; that's like saying, you're *blind* to me. For a long time, I've been a part of you, just something to snuggle up to and keep you warm at night, like a blanket, but you can't *see* me any more than you can see the back of your neck.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "American Masters: Preston Sturges: The Rise and Fall of an American Dreamer" (1989)

Soundtrack:

Goodnight Sweetheart

Sturges' Best: Funny, Sophisticated & Well-Studied by Billy Wilder

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.