Noël au Connecticut

It finally hit me watching my VHS of Christmas in Connecticut what other film this one reminded me of. If it weren't for the fact that the other was done 20 years later, I'd say it was a remake.

Just as Rock Hudson was a phony fishing expert for Abercrombie&Fitch who had to get some on the job training at a fishing tournament, Barbara Stanwyck plays an forties version of Martha Stewart.

Stanwyck's a cooking columnist who's built up this whole image of living on a small Connecticut farm with husband and baby cooking all these marvelous delicacies. Trouble is she's unmarried, childless, writes her column from her apartment in New York and doesn't know how to boil water. But her writing is a hit with the public.

Trouble comes when she's hijacked into cooking a home Christmas dinner for a war hero sailor played by Dennis Morgan who gets to sing a couple of songs as well. Got to keep up the image at any cost. And her publisher Sidney Greenstreet likes the idea so well that he invites himself to the dinner.

So with borrowed farm, baby, and Reginald Gardiner who'd like to make it real with Stanwyck she tries to brazen it through.

Christmas in Connecticut's now a Yuletide classic and deservedly so. The leads are warm and human and they get great support from the assembled players. S.Z. Sakall as the Hungarian restaurant owner/friend of Stanwyck from whom she gets her cooking information and Una O'Connor as the housekeeper have a nice chemistry between them. Reginald Gardiner and Stanwyck have no chemistry at all, obvious to all but Reggie and he's funny in his stuffed shirt way.

Most people remember this film as one of Sidney Greenstreet's few ventures into comedy. If he's not an outright villain, a cynical observer of life or a tyrannical tycoon, Greenstreet is few other things on screen. Christmas in Connecticut gave him a rare opportunity to burlesque his own image and he made the most of it.

In a biography of Barbara Stanwyck, she mentions she enjoyed making Christmas in Connecticut as a welcome change from some villainous parts like Double Indemnity she'd been doing recently. One of the things that made doing the film so enjoyable was that between takes, director Peter Godfrey and Greenstreet would do some impromptu entertaining of cast and crew with English Music Hall numbers. Made for a relaxed and warm set and the cast responded accordingly.

Now if only someone had been filming those numbers.

Barbara Stanwyck could convey merriment, realization, longing and enchantment with a throaty chuckle, a knowing look, a downward glance and a dazzling smile. Boy, does she nail it all in this film. Christmas in Connecticut is one of the most romantic, fun holiday movies with even a cow that nudges the fireworks between Stanwyck, she a food writer with no actual culinary skills and an imaginary farm, and Dennis Morgan as the sailor sent to celebrate a swell ( but trumped up) holiday gathering at her home.

Dennis Morgan singing his gorgeous tenor voice in a spectacular living room overlooking a snowy landscape wishing Stanwyck was his, while Stanwyck decorates the tree, wishing he was hers, is a dreamy, fabulous scene. So is the hoedown on Christmas night as the two glory in promenading and meaningful looks and then escape to a sled, just to sit mind you, while the horse has other ideas and takes them for a ride on a starry night.

The supporting cast is a right-on combo. S. Z. Sakall plays the kindly restaurant owner who supplies Stanwyck with the succulent recipes, who is wise in picking up the vibes between Stanwyck and Morgan and supporting the match - the alternative is Reginald Gardiner, the loyal but boring boyfriend with the farm, who hopes to turn Stanwyck's made-up premise of farm and marriage into the real thing. The ins and outs of the plot are skillful and clever and there are even two babies in the mix adding to the belly laughs. It's a great holiday film that says goodbye to the war years.

This Christmas gift arrived courtesy of TCM. We had never seen the film, even though we have seen most of the films of Barbara Stanwyck. This comedy made us laugh so much, that at times, we had to restrain ourselves, in order to hear the dialog.

This is a movie that should be seen by people suffering from stressful situations, especially around Christmas. It would certainly lift one's spirits by just letting go. The movie would make a perfect gift in the form of a DVD, or a VHS tape.

"Christmas in Connecticut" was directed with great panache by Peter Godfrey, based on a story by Aileen Hamilton.

The best thing in the movie is the felicitous pairing of two of the most popular stars of that era: Barbara Stanwyck and Dennis Morgan. Barbara Stanwyck always played strong willed women, obviously, this was a change of pace for her. In this film, as well as "Lady Eve", Ms. Stanwyck displays a knack for comedy. She and Mr. Morgan, who played in a lot of musical comedies, make a winning combination.

There are no weak performances in the film. Sydney Greenstreet, an actor notorious for playing 'heavies', is a delight to watch as the rich, and fat, Alexander Yardley, the man who owned a media empire and who knew a good thing when he saw it. Reginald Gardiner, an accomplished English actor, adds luster to the stellar cast behind the two principals.

S. Z. Sakall, is another source of continuous mirth; he plays the Hungarian chef Felix,who has a hard time with his own version of the English language. Also, Una O'Connor makes a perfect Norah, the housekeeper in the Sloan perfect Connecticut farm.

In reading other comments in this forum, it's sad to learn that the glorious black and white cinematography is not appreciated by some people. After all, color was not widely used in the 40s, and most of the classic movies have to be seen in its original format because, what would be accomplished in 'coloring' them?

This film should be a requirement for anyone looking to spend almost two hours of uninterrupted fun at Christmas time because total merriment is assured. Watch it with an open mind and heart an maybe you'd like to see "Christmas in Connecticut" every year.

This romantic comedy stars Barbara Stanwyck as Elizabeth Lane, a woman who writes a lifestyles column for a popular magazine. Her publisher commands that she host and prepare a dinner for Jefferson Jones (Dennis Morgan), a sailor who was lost at sea for eighteen days. Because Miss Lane's own lifestyle is a literary fabrication, she resorts to an elaborate ruse. Her deception has consequences that complicate matters, leading to both romance and comedy.

There is a strong supporting cast, including "Cuddles" Sakall and Sidney Greenstreet, who is fun to watch in a comedic role.

Stanwyck and Morgan display a convincing chemistry that is the focus of the film.

Anyone who has watched the recent remake of 'Christmas in Connecticut' will fully appreciate just how wonderful the slim story was in the hands of Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan and Sydney Greenstreet. No masterpiece, but so much better than the weak remake. The whole film revolves around the mistaken belief by editor Greenstreet that Stanwyck (his favorite Martha Stewart-type of writer) is a homemaker with a house, husband and baby in the country. This, of course, means that the inventive woman has to enlist the aid of others to play out her scheme when Greenstreet invites himself and a ship-wrecked sailor (Dennis Morgan) for the holiday week-end.

The slight comedy develops a few complications along the way--and it all looks very holidayish with the lovely country home in Connecticut--which, thanks to Warner Bros. art decoration, looks like something from a magazine cover. Stanwyck's forte is really heavy drama but here she displays a light enough touch to make her scenes with Morgan and Greenstreet delightful to watch. She gets great support from Una O'Connor, S.Z. Sakall and Reginald Gardiner under Peter Godfrey's light-hearted direction.

It's as unpretentious a confection as a child's homemade Christmas card and just as charming--light and fluffy entertainment that makes no great demands on your viewing pleasure. Worth viewing, especially around the holidays.