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The Palm Beach Story (1942)

The Palm Beach Story (1942)
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As for the opening reels, the principal motivating factor is money. After a deliberately confusing pre-credit sequence (not explained until the film's punch line), Tom Jeffers (Joel McCrea) and Gerry Jeffers (Claudette Colbert) are married. "And so they lived happily ever after," exults a title card, "...or did they?" Well, they didn't. After five years of marriage, Tom hasn't raised a dime with his pie-in-the-sky inventions. Using the sort of logic common to Sturges heroines, Gerry decides that the only way to help her husband is to divorce him, marry a wealthy man, and use the second husband's money to finance Tom's schemes. Borrowing money from a generous self-made business mogul known only as the Wienie King (Robert Dudley), Gerry boards a train to Palm Beach, FL, where all the rich folk go. En route, she is "adopted" by the Ale & Quail Club, a group of perpetually drunken millionaires whose idea of a good time is to shoot their rifles at everything that moves (among the club members are such Sturges regulars as William Demarest, Robert Warwick, Jimmy Conlin, Robert Greig, Jack Norton, and Dewey Robinson). Taking refuge from this rowdy crew, Gerry makes the acquaintance of likeable stuffed shirt John D. Hackensacker III (Rudy Vallee), who happens to be one of the wealthiest men in the Western Hemisphere. While Gerry spoons with Hackensacker in Palm Beach, the confused Tom (remember him?) dallies with Hackensacker's man-crazy sister, Princess Centimillia (Mary Astor). How all this straightens itself out is better seen than described, which is pretty much the case whenever one discusses Sturges' singular work, and The Palm Beach Story is vintage Sturges with one side-splitting sequence after another. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Starring:
Claudette Colbert, Joel McCrea, (more)
Director(s):
Preston Sturges
Format(s):
DVD
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Synopsis of The Palm Beach Story

As for the opening reels, the principal motivating factor is money. After a deliberately confusing pre-credit sequence (not explained until the film's punch line), Tom Jeffers (Joel McCrea) and Gerry Jeffers (Claudette Colbert) are married. "And so they lived happily ever after," exults a title card, "...or did they?" Well, they didn't. After five years of marriage, Tom hasn't raised a dime with his pie-in-the-sky inventions. Using the sort of logic common to Sturges heroines, Gerry decides that the only way to help her husband is to divorce him, marry a wealthy man, and use the second husband's money to finance Tom's schemes. Borrowing money from a generous self-made business mogul known only as the Wienie King (Robert Dudley), Gerry boards a train to Palm Beach, FL, where all the rich folk go. En route, she is "adopted" by the Ale & Quail Club, a group of perpetually drunken millionaires whose idea of a good time is to shoot their rifles at everything that moves (among the club members are such Sturges regulars as William Demarest, Robert Warwick, Jimmy Conlin, Robert Greig, Jack Norton, and Dewey Robinson). Taking refuge from this rowdy crew, Gerry makes the acquaintance of likeable stuffed shirt John D. Hackensacker III (Rudy Vallee), who happens to be one of the wealthiest men in the Western Hemisphere. While Gerry spoons with Hackensacker in Palm Beach, the confused Tom (remember him?) dallies with Hackensacker's man-crazy sister, Princess Centimillia (Mary Astor). How all this straightens itself out is better seen than described, which is pretty much the case whenever one discusses Sturges' singular work, and The Palm Beach Story is vintage Sturges with one side-splitting sequence after another. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Theatrical Feature Running Time:
88 mins

Complete Cast of The Palm Beach Story


Director(s):
Preston Sturges
Writer(s):
Preston Sturges
Producer(s):
Paul Jones
Categories:
Comedy
The Palm Beach Story Awards:
  • 1942 - National Board of Review - Best Acting
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    Member Reviews
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    Chad B.

    This movie really had potential. It started slow but became really funny in the middle and became a sure fires screw abll comedy. But, ended very strangely. Almost like they ran out of money and said Okay,...wrap up a happy ending. If more thought had gone into the ending I may have really enjoyed this movie.

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    Grace and Howard G.

    McCrea plays a stiff-necked creative type who believes he has to make it on his own, not understanding that working with others is the key to success. Colbert plays a neurotic female who doesn't know what she wants, or does and cannot accept it: same difference. Neither is sympathetic, instead coming across selfish and manipulative. In fact, there were no sympathetic characters. The ending shows that Sturges ran out of ideas, so he drums up twins to tie off the impasse he created with the four-way romantic entanglement in Palm Beach. The few funny lines don't make for a decent final product.

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    Richard C.

    One of the most boring, witless movies I have viewed. They started to lose me when the hunters shot up their club car and then marched through the train with loaded rifles. When they finally get to Florida the worm-like John D. the 3rd is nauseating with his spineless dialogue and little notebook. The "heroine" in the story seems like a money grubbing opportunist. I found little funny about this movie. It the Three Stooges had been the main characters at least the zaniness would have seemed believable.

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