150. The Palm Beach Story (1942)

Directed By Preston Sturges

Synopsis

Woman thinks she doesn't love her husband anymore, but she kind of does. Leaves him in order to help him make money after she divorces him, gets involved with rich guy, realizes she still loves her husband, gets back together with him. THE END.

Review

Prston Sturges' films are coming along like locusts. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but I don't really see his immense genius which reviewers are so nice to point out every single time they talk about him. Yes, he does make some quite entertaining films and such, but there have been better comedies and deeper comedies by less revered directors.

So this is another fun film in the tradition of the screwball comedies of the late 30's early 40's, there is a divorce, in this case looming instead of happening, and a reunion of the lovers at the end. Still there are the Sturges marks in this film, the fine line he treads with the Production Code is one of them and probably the most fun thing about his films.

So in the end this is perfectly enjoyable but nothing to write home about, there are some very fun scenes, some not quite so funny and a preposterous twist at the end which I can only imagine was for intentional comedy. So watch it it is a good Sunday afternoon film.

Final Grade

7/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

This was Sturges' second collaboration with McCrea, following Sullivan's Travels from the previous year, and they would work together again on The Great Moment in 1946. Typical of a Sturges movie, the pacing and dialogue are very fast. Also notable are the zany side characters, mostly played by members of Sturges' informal repertory company, particularly the elderly sausage magnate known as The Wienie King (Robert Dudley) and "The Ale and Quail Club," a group of drunken wealthy sportsmen (including character actors Jack Norton, Jimmy Conlin, and William Demarest, amongst others). Victor Young contributes a lively musical score (including a fastpaced variation of The William Tell Overture for the strange opening scenes).

Pushing the limits of the Production Code: