The Palm Beach Story (1942)

October 11, 2022 9:11 PM

This screwball comedy finds married couple Gerry (Claudette Colbert) and Tom Jeffers (Joel McCrea) in a strained relationship, largely due to financial difficulties. Gerry decides to leave Tom, a struggling architect, and head to Palm Beach in order to marry a wealthy man who could fund Tom's projects. When Tom follows Gerry, they cross paths with the quirky millionaire John D. Hackensacker III (Rudy Vallee) and his chatty, husband-seeking sister, Princess Centimillia (Mary Astor).

Written & directed by Preston Sturges.

97% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

Currently available for digital rental in the US on multiple outlets. JustWatch listing.

posted by DirtyOldTown (5 comments total)

It’s been a while since I’ve watched it, but I remember this being the most madcap movie of Preston Sturges’ filmography. Not a complaint.
posted by wabbittwax at 5:25 AM on October 12, 2022 [1 favorite]

Love this film.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:31 AM on October 12, 2022

"That's one of the tragedies of this life—that the men who are most in need of a beating up are always enormous."
posted by Atom Eyes at 10:30 AM on October 12, 2022 [3 favorites]

My mom had a thing for Rudy Vallee when she was young, apparently, and so the first time I saw this, I was watching to try to understand what she saw. And I totally got it--he's just such a cutie pie in this, so odd and endearing and unconcerned with masculine stereotypes. And then you throw in Mary Astor and it's just...it takes it to a whole other level of comedy.

The twin ending cracks me up, too, because my twin sister and I were not much alike in so many ways, but other people saw us as interchangeable or as one entity, depending on their needs.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 11:03 AM on October 12, 2022

This is the first Sturges movie I saw, and one of the first movies I saw when I decided to try to watch more old B/W films. It set a pretty high bar!
posted by fleacircus at 2:22 AM on October 13, 2022