Claudette Colbert, Franklin Pangborn, Joel McCrea

Among the earliest writers to set his sights on the director's chair, Preston Sturges brought a frank, unsentimental view of the war between the sexes to his mid-'40s features that exemplify his style...( read more  read more... ), as demonstrated in this prescient 1942 gem. Architect Tom Jeffers (Joel McCrea) and his wife, Gerry (Claudette Colbert), further refine the archetypal Sturges couple--the male embodying strength, idealism, and a certain naivete, the female ultimately stronger, smarter, and (as revealed early on in an astonishing speech by Colbert) clearer-eyed and more pragmatic about the subtext of sex. This giddy shaggy-dog story follows the couple's split, and Gerry's subsequent flight to Palm Beach. This head-snapping frolic is paced by double-entendres and lampooning looks at the very rich, with standout performances by the predatory Princess Centimillia (the delicious Mary Astor), who's more than ready to comfort Tom, and the wealthy, dim-witted John D. Hackensacker III (Rudy Vallee, staking out a new career, post-crooner, as comic foil), Gerry's new suitor. Even the predictable reunion of the star-crossed lovers is achieved with an antic surrealism. Sturges's strength in building strong character ensembles is matched by his affection for coupling screwball dialogue with physical slapstick, seldom to better effect than in the drunken target practice of the Ale and Quail Club, who make Colbert's train ride to Florida a different kind of shoot-'em-up. --Sam Sutherland

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Directed by: Preston Sturges

Release Date: November 7, 1942

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DVD Release Date: February 1, 2005

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  • June 10, 2009
    hilarious if a little heartless. colbert makes a charming gold digger. good stuff on the foibles of the idle rich though the ending is terribly contrived. still, it's sturges and stellar screwball. he burned like a comet in 40's hollywood
  • April 7, 2009
    "That's one of the tragedies of this life: that the men who are most in need of a beating up are always enormous!"

    Having come to the conclusion that her struggling entrepreneur husband (Joel McCrea) would be better off without her, Claudette Colbert heads for Palm Beach ...( read more)in search of a quick divorce and a rich new husband to bankroll his predecessor's pipe dream. One of the problems I have with The Great McGinty is that I'm more concerned for Mrs McGinty than her husband at the end of that picture; similarly here, my sympathies for Mary Astor and, especially, poor Rudy Vallee exceed my happiness for Colbert and McCrea. Ever the craftsman, Sturges does make provision for Astor and Vallee's respective future happinesses, but his solution is too preposterously contrived to completely satisfy. Colbert and McCrea play their parts beautifully, but for much of the movie their characters are rather unattractive: he's surly and jealous and she's a gold-digger. Astor and Vallee provide most of the laughs.
  • December 16, 2007
    This is my all time favorite Claudette Colbert film. The director, Preston Sturges did a perfect job of filming this story of a lady that is playing a role of a wealthy lady.....this is such a comedy gem that will get you to laugh for sure. As well as one of my favorite comedies....( read more).....
  • October 25, 2006
    Preston Sturges reunites with Joel McCrea one year after his masterwork Sullivan's Travels, presenting us with another savvy, offbeat road movie. The Palm Beach Story finds Joel's character pursuing his wife after she bolts to find a millionaire to marry. Her natural charm and fe...( read more)minine whiles help to get across the country on an amusingly absurd train journey, finding a drunk hunting club and a smitten millionaire who she stays with even after breaking two pairs of his glasses! She is wined, dined and treated lavishly, but when Joel makes his reappearance, she is forced to decide between riches or true love. Effortlessly charming, The Palm Beach Story is both comical and heart-warming. Sturges succeeds in creating a richly-textured film of the battle between the sexes for such an early age. Also observe his technical flair, in particular the speedy mini-movie at the start of the picture and the brilliant 'triple-shot' at the end. Unfortunately, as with ST, the film does suffer from 'amusing' black performances of the age ("yes, massa!", etc).
  • September 15, 2009
    It's has quite a few very charming moments but it's annoyingly dated in it's logic. The characters are pretty likeable but their reason for deceptions are more than a bit shady.
  • November 14, 2009
    palm beach awesome.........
  • October 22, 2009
    Fantastic movie!!!!! Loved every minute of the movie!!! Claudette Colbert is amazing in this. Joel McCrea is wonderful too!!! An adorable movie that I would love to watch again!!!
  • June 19, 2009
    Robert Dudley owns every scene he's in. Many solid LOL exchanges between the main players.
  • June 10, 2009
    Preston Sturges was among the very first writer/directors in Hollywood and during the war years he made plenty of masterpieces. His ear for dialogue was remarkable and the comedic performances he managed to get out of his actors is priceless. The Women in his films always tended ...( read more)to be stronger and the absurdity of the stories caught the attention of the viewer until the end. You gotta love Colbert in this movie - she's so hysterical and smart!
  • November 7, 2008
    preston sturges brought one of the last go-rounds of the screwball genre to the screen with this fast-paced 1942 release. colbert plays toni, a woman who feels that in order to help her husband, she has to leave him and find a rich man to marry. it sounds weird but it works becau...( read more)se it's sturges and colbert. with joel mccrea, mary astor and rudy vallee to boot.

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The Palm Beach Story Trivia


  • In what movie would you find the following line, refering to chivalry: "It's not only dead, it's decomposed."  Answer »
  • ***Name The Actor/Actress That Was In These Movies*** ***The Palm Beach Story - Union Pacific - Sullivan's Travels***  Answer »

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