Christmas in Connecticut (1945)

A food writer who has lied about being the perfect housewife must try to cover her deception when her boss and a returning war hero invite themselves to her home for a traditional family Christmas.

Director:

Peter Godfrey

Writers:

Lionel Houser (screenplay), Adele Comandini (screenplay) (as Adele Commandini)

Stars:

Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Barbara Stanwyck	...	Elizabeth Lane
Dennis Morgan	...	Jefferson Jones
Sydney Greenstreet	...	Alexander Yardley
Reginald Gardiner	...	John Sloan
S.Z. Sakall	...	Felix Bassenak
Robert Shayne	...	Dudley Beecham
Una O'Connor	...	Norah
Frank Jenks	...	Sinkewicz
Joyce Compton	...	Mary Lee
Dick Elliott	...	Judge Crowthers

Storyline

Journalist Elizabeth Lane is one of the country's most famous food writers. In her columns, she describes herself as a hard working farm woman, taking care of her children and being an excellent cook. But this is all lies. In reality she is an unmarried New Yorker who can't even boil an egg. The recipes come from her good friend Felix. The owner of the magazine she works for has decided that a heroic sailor will spend his Christmas on *her* farm. Miss Lane knows that her career is over if the truth comes out, but what can she do?

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Plot Keywords:

square dance | screwball comedy | christmas movie | state name in title | shipwrecked | 

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Taglines:

Dear Fans, Barbara Stanwyck and Dennis Morgan are spending a very merry "Christmas in Connecticut." The romancin's rosy and the fun's furious and everybody's going to be there! You're invited! Warner Bros. (The happy hosts) (original poster - written in script)

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sidney Greenstreet, usually cast as a "heavy" in Warner Brothers movies, has one of his few comedic roles in this film, with much of the humor arising from the fact that his character of publisher Alexander Yardley terrorizes and intimidates almost everyone around him.

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Goofs

When the sleigh arrives at the house and the scene shift to Elizabeth and her party disembarking, it can be clearly seen that the sleigh has only moved about four feet, as the "snow" behind the tracks is smooth.

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Quotes

Elizabeth Lane: [Getting fed up with Mr. Yardley, who won't let her speak] Suppose you listen to me for a change?... I said listen to me! I'm tired of being pushed around. Tired of being told what to do. Tired of writing your god-darned articles. Tired of dancing to everybody else's tune. Tired of being told whom to marry. In short... I'm tired!

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Alternate Versions

Also available in a computer colorized version.

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Connections

Followed by Armchair Theatre: Roast Goose and Walnut Stuffing (1959)

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Soundtracks

For You
(uncredited)
Music by Joseph A. Burke
Played at the community dance and when Jeff and Elizabeth go outside

User Reviews

Who "Elizabeth Lane" was REALLY based on.

At the time that this movie was made most housewives knew exactly who Barbara Stanwick was parodying.Today only some women over 50 probably remember Gladys Taber,whose column "Butternut Wisdom" ran in Family Circle Magazine from before World War II until the 1970's.She lived on Stillmeadow Farm in Conecticut,and her columns were collected into a number of books,Stillmeadow Seasons, Stillmeadow Daybook, etc. The lines that Barbara Stanwick recites as she types them for her column are quite typical of the ones that began a typical Gladys Taber column.Besides cooking and country living,she got rather nostalgic and philosophical at times.She talked a lot about her favorite dogs, mostly cocker spaniels.You might say that Martha Stewart is the Gladys Tabor of today.

Christmas is Connecticut may not be any cinematic masterpiece,but it is pleasant,lighthearted entertainment,soothing to the stressed out mind,and that is good enough

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

11 August 1945 (USA)

Also Known As:

Christmas in Connecticut

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1