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:

It's the fun show that's the one show to see! (original ad)

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Just before this film, Barbara Stanwyck had starred in Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity (1944), in which she played a seductress who lures a man into helping murder her husband. The clothes for that film were created by Paramount's resident designer Edith Head, and Stanwyck was so impressed with how attractive Head's outfits made her look in that film that she insisted Warners hire Head to design her gowns for this film as well.

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Goofs

During the square dance, while everyone is reeling through the different partners, John Sloane executes a fancy leaping step as he takes Liz's arm and she stumbles as she tries not to laugh at his antics.

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Quotes

[repeated line]
Felix Bassenak: Catastroph!

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Alternate Versions

Also available in a computer colorized version.

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Connections

Referenced in Hollywood Wonderland (1947)

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Soundtracks

She Broke My Heart in Three Places
(uncredited)
Written by Al Hoffman, Jerry Livingston and Milton Drake
Played when the nurse is reading the magazine to Jeff

User Reviews

The Moonlight and the Snow…and the Cow

The destroyer of Jefferson Jones (Dennis Morgan) and his partner Sinkewicz (Frank Jenks) is sunk by the Germans and they float adrift in a raft for eighteen days. When they are rescued, they are sent to a hospital and Jefferson has to follow a stringent diet imposed by the doctors. He seduces his nurse expecting to get solid food and she decides to write to Alexander Yardley (Sydney Greenstreet), who is the owner of the Smart Housekeeping magazine where the famous journalist Elizabeth Lane (Barbara Stanwyck) writes a column about recipes and food, asking him to allow Jefferson to spend Christmas with Elizabeth and her family in her farm in Connecticut. The prepotent Yardley sees the chance of free promotion of his magazine and forces Elizabeth to invite the hero Jones.

However, Elizabeth is single, does not have a baby and lives alone in a small apartment in New York and she made-up a perfect married life for her fans. Further, she does not how to cook and the recipes belong to her Hungarian friend Felix Bassenak (S.Z. Sakall), who owns a restaurant in New York. The architect John Sloan (Reginald Gardiner), who has been wooing Elizabeth for a long, proposes to marry her in his farm in Connecticut and she brings Felix with her to help to proceed the farce. The things get complicated when Yardley also decides to spend Christmas with Elizabeth while she falls in love with Jones.

"Christmas in Connecticut" is a delightful and witty comedy of errors about a famous food writer that makes up a fictitious life and has guests to her world. I have just bought this DVD and it was the perfect entertainment for a rainy Sunday afternoon, with hilarious situations and wonderful performances. "Christmas in Connecticut" is indeed a must- see for the Christmas period. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

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