MovieChat Forums > Christmas in Connecticut (1945) Discussion > A holiday classic?

A holiday classic?

posted 18 years ago by ktrek
18 replies | jump to latest

****POSSIBLE SPOILERS BELOW****

At my house, during the Christmas season, my wife must watch all her favorite Christmas movies. I personally am not a huge Christmas movie fan but she watches so many things of my choosing I must give in sometimes.

I must start off by saying that if this film didn't have such wonderful casting it might be insufferable, but as it does the cast redeems the film.

The movie is setup on a patriotic premise. Two navy men are rescued from a sunken warship 18 days after the ship was destroyed. Jefferson Jones played by Dennis Morgan, is recovering in the hospital and works one his nurses to get better meals by fawning his love for her. She, of course, is looking for a husband and she thinks that if he could only experience a weekend of domesticity that he would convert from his single ways. So, she writes the owner/tycoon, Alexander Yardley, of a famous magazine, played by Sydney Greenstreet. The magazine has a well-known homemaker columnist named Elizabeth Lane, played by Barbara Stanwyck. It was suggested that it would be a "patriotic" thing to do to invite Jefferson to spend Christmas with Elizabeth Lane. Yardley sees the potential for a BIG story and so commands Lane to do so.

Now what Yardley does not know is that all the things that Elizabeth Lane writes up in her column are not true and come from her imagination. Yardley is a stickler for reporting and telling the truth and so Lane and her managers jobs are on the line if something is not done.

Well, to the rescue, it happens that John Sloan, played by Reginald Gardiner, is madly in love with Lane and has wanted to marry her. He just happens to have a farm in Connecticut, where Elizabeth Lane is supposed to live , according to her articles. Things become even more complicated in that Yardley has invited himself to participate in this special Christmas so that he can taste miss Lane's wonderful cooking that she so tastefully describes in her articles. Naturally, Lane knows nothing about cooking and has used recipes provided for her by chef Felix Bassenak, played by S.Z. Sakall.

Lane agrees to marry Sloan before the guests arrive at the farm house but naturally nothing goes as planned and the guests arrive early. As you can probably guess the plot becomes more convoluted and crazy as the whole thing plays out and Elizabeth Lane falls in love with Jefferson Jones, while she is pretending to be a "married" woman! Oh the scandal!

This has such an amazing cast, including Una O'Connor, one of my favorite character actors, as Sloane's housemaid. Like I said earlier this film might not have worked at all if it wasn't for the tremendous talent assembled for it but on some levels it does work and makes a fun film to watch during the holiday season.

I give it 2 1/2 out of 4 stars.

Kevin
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[–] kkarcher 17 years ago

Yes it's a Holiday Classic. A lesser known film of course, but enjoyable nonetheless. You come across as a pompus a** to say if not for the cast it would be an insufferable movie....Hello? The cast usually makes the movie! Somehow I think Casablanca would be "insufferable" if the leads were say John Wayne and Janet Leigh See (Jet pilot) Sit back and enjoy it a little bit!

[–] J. Spurlin 17 years ago

Casablanca has a great script; Christmas in Connecticut has an okay script. I think this film would have been insufferable, too, if everyone's talent had been on the same level as Dennis Morgan's.

He's breezy and likeable enough; but Barbera Stanwyck, Sydney Greenstreet, Una O'Conner, S.C. Sakall and the others make the show.

... Justin

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] PillowRock 13 years ago

So it is not a lesser known Christmas film.

Well, it is less universally known than It's a Wonderful Life. It has never had the wall-to-wall, you-couldn't-avoid-it-multiple-times-per-year-if-you-tried sort of saturation broadcasting that IaWL had for a couple decades there.

[–] liscarkat (16515) 5 years ago

Morgan is underrated. There's not a damned thing wrong with him, on any level. He gets dismissed simply because he didn't play badboys.

[–] gbennett5 13 years ago

He's an ass because he doesn't think the movie is great? Get over it.
I love Stanwyck, and the piece is shown every Christmas (usually - see
below), but it is NOT a true classic. Nor is it a particularly good
movie. The guy said he'd give it two and a half stars - EXACTLY what
Leonard Maltin gives it in his book. And, no, a good cast does NOT
always make a great movie! Plenty of big-name casts are in duds, while
unknowns can make an indie shine. It usually starts with the script.
As for the movie, it is NOT part of TCM's Christmas lineup this year.
Guess they want you to buy the film from their vaults.

[–] J. Spurlin 17 years ago

It's no classic, but it's amusing enough. I just watched it: I'd see it again on Christmas with my family. Otherwise, I can leave it.

... Justin

[–] sloanrules 13 years ago

Its the best ever, i can watch it over and over and over and never get sick of it, when Dennis Morgan sings, my heart melts...great moviea loser.[/spoiler]

[–] grogan81 13 years ago

I think it is a classic. I know the story is kind of corny,but a lot of Christmas movies are. It has a great cast who give great performances. It is just great lighthearted Christmas fun. We watch it every holiday season.

[–] keythd 13 years ago

I love this movie. In fact it's in my top 15 of all time. It's not on a "Casablanca" or "It's A Wonderful Life" level (my 1st. and 2nd. movies,respectively). But it's a great picture, nonetheless. I love these old wholesome movies with the screwball, mixup-ed situations that take the entire picture to straighten out. And how can any movie with Barbara Stanwyck and Sidney Greenstreet go wrong?

[–] TCMer 12 years ago

I must start off by saying that if this film didn't have such wonderful casting it might be insufferable, but as it does the cast redeems the film.

I have to agree.

[–] skiddoo 12 years ago

I watch it every year along with White Christmas and Holiday Inn. They aren't deep or meaningful but they set the tone for the season, have one great line after another, and make me feel good. They are just as much fun now as they were years ago. They are classics.

Christmas in CT is also very slightly racy with the idea of a supposedly married woman flirting with a supposedly engaged man. In that sense it is a film for adults because it depends on the audience being mature enough to find screwball comedies amusing and a wee bit titillating, but not immoral.

[–] Flight_of_Fantasy 12 years ago

Eh... not a classic, but it's pretty enjoyable. I'd never even heard of it before my mom bought a TCM Holiday movie pack with this movie in it. I liked it, but A Christmas Story, It's a Wonderful Life and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation will always be my Christmas favorites.

"He's already attracted to her. Time and monotony will do the rest."

[–] WarpedRecord 12 years ago

Those are all better titles than this, especially "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," which I could watch every year. I found this very entertaining but a bit muddled, and I probably won't be seeking it out next year. It's not quite a classic, but enough to earn 7/10 stars from me.