Natal em Julho

Coffee company clerk Dick Powell (as Jimmy MacDonald) enters a sloganeering contest with the catchphrase: "If You Can't Sleep at Night, It Isn't the Coffee, It's the Bunk!" Mr. Powell thinks the slogan is as "clear as crystal," but pretty, pragmatic girlfriend Ellen Drew (as Betty Casey) is unmoved. Although his slogan is confusing, Powell is optimistic about winning the $25,000 prize. The next day, Powell is anxious to learn if he's won the contest; and, three of his practical-joking co-workers send him a phony telegram stating, "We take great pleasure in informing you that your slogan has won the twenty-five thousand dollar first prize…"

Powell excitedly picks up his prize, from cantankerous Raymond Walburn (as Maxford), who doesn't know his executives haven't yet picked the winner. Powell plans his wedding to Ms. Drew, and buys gifts for most of the people in his lower-class neighborhood. Drew says he's spending money like it's "Christmas in July." Then, the prank is discovered…

Writer/director Sturges' bright satire is still amusing, after all these years. Like "Maxwell House" coffee, it's "Good to the Last Drop" - perhaps, the story could be revised, for the "Starbucks" era (many of the Sturges lines don't need changing). The supporting players - Mr. Walburn (Maxford), Alexander Carr (Schindel), William Demarest (Bildocker), Ernest Truex (Baxter), and others - are excellent.

******** Christmas in July (10/18/40) Preston Sturges ~ Dick Powell, Ellen Drew, Raymond Walburn

This may be my favorite Preston Sturges film. It's as well written and well crafted as anything he made after it. Sturges had a knack for creating unique characters and throwing them into even more unique situations.

Jimmy MacDonald is absolutely determined to make money the easy way; by winning a contest. A few of his coworkers, aware of his desperation to win an upcoming contest, decide to send him a telegram in order to make him believe he's won the recent contest, along with the enormous cash reward. What begins as a cruel little joke (to find out how Jimmy would react to winning) becomes something much bigger. It wouldn't make sense for me to explain the plot any further; much of the enjoyment in watching the film comes from how it unpredictably unfolds.

"Christmas in July" is rather unusual in comparison to some of Sturges other movies, namely his two most famous films, "The Lady Eve" and "The Palm Beach Story". It contains more pathos and less sexual innuendos, but it never becomes cheap, manipulative melodrama. It's also quite short in comparison to his other movies, but it's all the better for it.

Joyous dose of whimsy from writer-director Preston Sturges, a filmmaker who always managed to wring both sentiment and cynicism from a fairy tale premise. Dick Powell plays a working-class guy under the impression he's just won $25K in a coffee-slogan contest. Based on a play Sturges wrote in 1931 (titled "A Cup of Coffee"), the film is brief at 70mns but sharp as a tack, and a wonderful stroll through Hollywood's Golden Era. Powell is terrific, and Ellen Drew is equally good as his sweetheart. A gem from Paramount, one which received not a single nomination from any awards branch. ***1/2 from ****

A clerk making $22 per week dreams of winning the $25,000 grand prize in a coffee company's slogan contest. Sturges' second directorial effort is not only a sweet and simple comedy but also fast-paced and efficient, wrapping up in just over an hour. As the ambitious but earnest sloganeer, Powell basically plays the role of the straight man, surrounded by loony characters, including Walburn as the flustered owner of Maxford House, not to be confused with Maxwell House, and Sturges regular Demarest as one of the judges of the contest. Despite the short running time and the emphasis on comedy, Sturges manages to make the characters human.

On the surface this effort from the brilliant Preston Sturges looks like a standard sugar coated feel good movie, but strip away the outer skin and you get a delightful collage of comedy, romance, satire, drama, and nudge nudge observations about hunger of wealth and all the spin offs that wealth creates.

I don't deem it unfair to state that the films core plot of frivolity may not be to everyone's taste, but to me personally it ticks all the boxes for a joyride with more at its heart. The pace of the film is more in keeping with screwball comedies of the great era, but that is not to say that the film doesn't shift down a gear for poignant reflection, because it does, but ultimately the film is full of hilarity from many quarters, that is acted out accordingly from a sparky cast, and of course directed by a deity .

A joyous winner that prods you in the ribs and gives a cheeky wink along the way. 9/10