The Palm Beach Story (1942)

Featured Audience Ratings

• First L

  
  Written and directed by Preston Sturges ("Sullivan's Travels", "The Lady Eve"), The Palm Beach Story once again shows his knack for wittiness and light-hearted cynicism when it comes to conniving females. This time it's Claudette Colbert who uses her… More
  Written and directed by Preston Sturges ("Sullivan's Travels", "The Lady Eve"), The Palm Beach Story once again shows his knack for wittiness and light-hearted cynicism when it comes to conniving females. This time it's Claudette Colbert who uses her feminine wiles to manipulate wealthy men into doing her bidding. Her husband (Joel McCrea) doesn't want to let her go, but she's decided to leave him for the noble cause of letting him live within his means. This means she'll be free to pursue wealthy old men and live the kind of lifestyle she feels she's meant to live, but this of course is only a lucky coincidence for them both. Even with her self-sacrifice, her husband would rather keep ahold of her, and follows her down to Palm Springs where she's latched onto a wealthy poindexter by the name of J.D. Hackensacker the Third (Rudy Vallee). Of course his sister, The Princess Centimillia (Mary Astor) thinks the husband is a dreamboat, but she'll chase after any guy, apparently. Colbert convinces her wealthy beau that her husband is actually her brother, and this leads to double dating and double courtships. The Palm Beach Story stands out from other farcical comedies of it's day because it's rapid fire dialogue and quick pace are still just as clever today as they were when the film was made. Colbert and McCrea are fine as the leads, but it's Vallee and Astor who steal the show. The hedonistic playground of the wealthy is rich fodder for comedies of deceit, and this one takes quite a bit of the cake.

• Jim H

  
  A woman separates from her husband so she can gold dig for his benefit. I'm confused by the unanimous approval this film garnered. There are a lot of madcap absurdities from beginning to end, including the most gullible millionaire in film history and some crazy gun-toting club… More
  A woman separates from her husband so she can gold dig for his benefit. I'm confused by the unanimous approval this film garnered. There are a lot of madcap absurdities from beginning to end, including the most gullible millionaire in film history and some crazy gun-toting club who shoot up a train. More importantly, Claudette Colbert's character's objective is to seduce men into giving her money, which, although believable, makes her character difficult to identify with even if she plans to use the money for a "good cause." And the deus ex machina at the end is too ridiculous to believe. Overall, after a finished watching this film, I was convinced that it was proof that not all old films are gold, and even after I finished reading critics' uncritical support of it, I can't say I've been swayed.

• Spencer S

  
  Madcap, screwball, shenanigans and hooligan antics abound in this, another Sturges comedy. Starring Claudette Colbert, in another of her zany roles, and the much underappreciated Joel McCrea, there are some immensely funny moments nestled in between the sheets of this 40's film.… More
  Madcap, screwball, shenanigans and hooligan antics abound in this, another Sturges comedy. Starring Claudette Colbert, in another of her zany roles, and the much underappreciated Joel McCrea, there are some immensely funny moments nestled in between the sheets of this 40's film. Besides Colbert's great comedic chops, her character easily falls into desperate situations aboard a train full of gunmen, then takes advantage of a wealthy millionaire to finance her unsuccessful husband's ventures. Great scenes include a featuring of William Demarest (My Three Sons) shooting out a train window with live ammunition, the performance of Sig Arno as the foreign born and unintelligible Toto, and Rudy Vallee serenading his beloved from below while she reconciles with her beau. With some great romantic lighting to set an amorous mood, and the charm of such innocent namecalling as "you cluck" you can't help but enjoy it. The only qualm I hold is that it wasn't a comedy classic such as It Happened One Night or Capra's Platinum Blonde. Still, it holds water.

• AJ V

  
  I remember loving this movie, but from reading the synopsis on here, it didn't remind me of the plot any, so I can't remember at the moment. I want to see this movie again.

• Stella D

  
  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

• Stephen M

  
  <I>"That's one of the tragedies of this life: that the men who are most in need of a beating up are always enormous!"</I> Having come to the conclusion that her struggling entrepreneur husband (Joel McCrea) would be better off without her, Claudette Colbert… More
  <I>"That's one of the tragedies of this life: that the men who are most in need of a beating up are always enormous!"</I> Having come to the conclusion that her struggling entrepreneur husband (Joel McCrea) would be better off without her, Claudette Colbert heads for Palm Beach 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 <I>The Great McGinty</I> 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.

• Mason W

  
  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......

• Antony S

  
  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… More
  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 feminine 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).

• Sunil J

  
  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.

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