MovieChat Forums > The Palm Beach Story (1943) Discussion > Another Sturges Classic

Another Sturges Classic

posted 20 years ago by csu16387
9 replies | jump to latest

I can never decide what is my favorite Preston Sturges film. Every one I've seen so far are simply terrific. Watching The Palm Beach Story again recently was a pure joy. Sturges usually covers a few topics in his films. This was primarily on marriage. He gets his points across through the fast-paced and snappy dialogue. The performances are always fantastic in Preston's movies. Claudette Colbert, Joel McCrea, Mary Astor (who looked quite good in this film), and Robert Dudley were all great. The Palm Beach Story is certainly one of the funniest films I've ever seen. Any other comments?

"Dry your eyes baby, it's out of character."

[–] gregcouture 20 years ago

Came across this quite tardily (obviously) and have to agree with you that it's awfully hard to decide on a favorite Preston Sturges film. I like them all, but have a special affection for "The Lady Eve," which is wonderfully funny from start to finish, and with the perfect teaming of Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda at their best. But "The Palm Beach Story" holds up at least as well and there are so many things in it that never fail to elicit at least a chuckle every time I re-view it.

Sturges was especially good at making sly fun of Rudy Vallee's slighty pompous persona (check this out in "Unfaithfully Yours," too), particularly with the unctuous way he has Mary Astor constantly calling him "Snoodles," and I always have to smile at the train porter who mispronounces the word "yacht" ("yat-chit") and speaks scornfully of the size of the millionaire's tip.

[–] den_quixote 19 years ago

palm beach story is good, except for the ridiculous opening, but my favorites are the lady eve, as the previous writer said, it is great from start to finish. but hail the conquering hero and the great mcginty are great also.

[–] pjwoodall1 19 years ago

Another of my moviegoing experiences was seeing Rudy Vallee at a special screening of the film at the Kennedy Center about a year before he died. Quite a shock to see him larger than life up on the screen some 40 years earlier and then see him in person, but then we all age.
Vallee came out after the movie and took only two questions from the audience. One, of course, was about how Preston Sturges created the role expressly for him, and the other question concerned HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS...

I love Sturges' film, and when I wrote my first screenplay one of my models was SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS with a nod to Al Bridges. Very strange when you consider THE WAGES OF FEAR was the inspiration for the my screenplay. But that's another story.

[–] the-thin-ice 19 years ago

I would have to say The Lady Eve is also my favorite of Sturges. But I got to see The Palm Beach Story on TCM yesterday, and I thought it was great. The only other films by him I've seen are Sullivan's Travels and The Miracle on Morgan's Creek, both of which I recommend.

[–] terrythomas 19 years ago

Preston Sturges is, in my opinion, the funniest filmmaker ever. I've seen all but four of his films (THE GREAT MOMENT, HAIL THE CONQUERING HERO, THE BEAUTIFUL BLONDE FROM BASHFUL BEND and THE SIN OF HAROLD DIDDLEBOCK) and I have LOVED every one. I agree that it's hard to choose a favorite of his films.

Although, if pressed to make a decision, I would probably chose THE MIRACLE OF MORGAN'S CREEK, for three reasons: 1) It is, in my opinion, the funniest film ever made, 2) William Demearest and Eddie Bracken are BRILLIANT in it, not to mention Diana Lynn, Betty Hutton, Al Bridge, ect., and 3) it was the first Sturges film I saw, and introduced me to his brilliance. :)

[–] csu16387 17 years ago

The Miracle of Morgan's Creek may be Sturges' funniest film, which is saying something, but Palm Beach is certainly up there.

I haven't seen The Palm Beach Story in a while, perhaps since my original thread, and it's time to revisit this one.

"Watch me run a 50-yard dash with my legs cut off!"

[–] caribeno 16 years ago

I agree: "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek" is the funniest film Preston Sturges ever made and he made some of the greatest comic films ever. "The Lady Eve" is marred, I believe, by having Barbara Stanwyck's character go on faaaaaaaaaaaar too long getting Henry Fonda his comeuppance. As good as Fonda is in this role, he comes across as such a patsy that Stanwyck's character appears castrating, rather than a woman avenging a wrong.

With that said, all of his Paramount comedies were great!

By the way, as told to me by film historian David Chierechetti, Carole Lombard was originally asked to appear in "Palm Beach Story". Though Lombard had ended her Paramount contract in 1937 and had, briefly, been co-Queen of the Lot with her close friend, Claudette Colbert, Paramount kept Lombard's name on their roster of players through 1939, hoping she'd re-sign, which she never did. As late as 1941, Paramount sought out Lombard, as evidenced by this anecdote about "The Palm Beach Story". She was taking most of the year off to conceive a child and she figured (correctly, as it turns out) that, if she made her price too high, Paramount wouldn't want her. As Preston Sturges was one of Lombard's friends and he would ask her to look at his scripts to see how well they sounded, what a set it would've been with Lombard as Gerry Jeffers. It certainly would've been a different film with her in it. Having just seen "They All Kissed The Bride", the film that Lombard did sign on to do when she died, I see now how much more suited her replacement, Joan Crawford, was for that film and how Lombard was much more suited for "The Palm Beach Story", though not taking away anything from Claudette Colbert, another one of the legendary comic actresses. Lombard ended with another certifiable comedy classic, "To Be or Not To Be". 1942 saw three excellent (one, very surprising) comedic performances by Hollywood legends. Lombard went out on a great film and career high, nothing to sneeze at.

[–] csu16387 14 years ago

As great as Claudette Colbert was, Carole Lombard in The Palm Beach Story certainly would have been a treat!

"I think we've out-sophisticated ourselves out of some of the pleasures of movies."

[–] Percivalx 16 years ago

Agreed! It's great fun. Colbert and Astor are particularly outstanding. The supporting characters are hilarious! Robert Dudley as the Wienie King is memorable.

Last Seen:
The Palm Beach Story (1942) - 9/10