Christmas in July (1940)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Preston Sturges

Writer:

Preston Sturges (written by)

Release Date:

18 October 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

If you can't sleep at night, it isn't the coffee - it's the bunk!

Plot:

An office clerk loves entering contests in the hopes of someday winning a fortune and marrying the girl he loves...

Plot Keywords:

Contest | Telegram | Coffee | Office | Clerk

Cast

Dick Powell	...	Jimmy MacDonald
Ellen Drew	...	Betty Casey
Raymond Walburn	...	Dr. Maxford
Alexander Carr	...	Mr. Shindel
William Demarest	...	Mr. Bildocker
Ernest Truex	...	Mr. J.B. Baxter
Franklin Pangborn	...	Don Hartman (radio announcer)
Harry Hayden	...	Mr. E.L. Waterbury (office manager)
Rod Cameron	...	Dick (co-worker)
Adrian Morris	...	Tom Darcy (co-worker) (as Michael Morris)
Harry Rosenthal	...	Harry (co-worker)
Georgia Caine	...	Mrs. Ellen MacDonald
Ferike Boros	...	Mrs. Schwartz
Torben Meyer	...	Mr. Schmidt
Julius Tannen	...	Mr. Zimmerman

Runtime:

USA:67 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved (PCA #6414) | UK:U

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The set to this movie was open because Sturges loved visitors to observe what he was shooting.

Quotes:

Mr. J.B. Baxter: I hope I'm not intruding.
Jimmy MacDonald: Oh, no, sir. I - I was just coming down to see you. We... stopped in to take a look at the office and...
Mr. J.B. Baxter: So I noted. I hope you like it.
Betty Casey: Oh, it's beautiful.
Mr. J.B. Baxter: It isn't every young man who gets his own office *and* a private secretary at your age. With many of 'em I might be afraid it would go to their head. But I think you have your feet pretty solidly on the ground.
Jimmy MacDonald: Mr. Baxter, the...
Mr. J.B. Baxter: Oh, I mean it sincerely! Mr. Jenkins and I discussed our little meeting at *great* length after you left and I want you to know that we were genuinely impressed. Genuinely so!
Jimmy MacDonald: Well that's certainly nice to hear.
Mr. J.B. Baxter: The more we thought about your ideas, the more aware we became of their... pungency! Of their gravity!
Jimmy MacDonald: Well, that's...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Radio Days (1987)

Smarter than you may at first think.

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 everyones 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.