''Christmas in July'' is a 1940 comedy film written and directed by

Preston Sturges Preston Sturges (; born Edmund Preston Biden; August 29, 1898 – August 6, 1959) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and film director. In 1941, he won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for the film '' The Great McGinty'' (1940), h ...

based on his 1931 play '' A Cup of Coffee''. It was Sturges' second film as writer-director, after ''

The Great McGinty ''The Great McGinty'' is a 1940 political satire comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, starring Brian Donlevy and Akim Tamiroff and featuring William Demarest and (in her final screen appearance) Muriel Angelus. It was Sturges's fir ...

'', and stars

Dick Powell Richard Ewing Powell (November 14, 1904 – January 2, 1963) was an American actor, musician, producer, director, and studio head. Though he came to stardom as a musical comedy performer, he showed versatility, and successfully transformed into ...

and

Ellen Drew Ellen Drew (born Esther Loretta Ray; November 23, 1914 – December 3, 2003) was an American film actress. Early life Drew, born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1914, was the daughter of an Irish-born barber. She had a younger brother, Arden. Her ...

Plot

Dr. Maxford is thoroughly exasperated; he is supposed to announce on national radio the winners of a slogan contest for his Maxford House Coffee, where the first prize is $25,000. Maxford's jury is deadlocked by the stubborn Mr. Bildocker. As a result, the program ends without an announcement. Office worker Jimmy MacDonald dreams of winning, hoping to validate himself, provide some luxuries for his mother, and marry his girlfriend, Betty Casey. Betty does not understand his slogan: "If you can't sleep at night, it's not the coffee, it's the bunk." As a joke, three of his co-workers place a fake telegram on Jimmy's desk informing him that he has won. Jimmy's boss, J. B. Baxter, is so impressed that he promotes Jimmy on the spot to advertising executive, with his own office, a private secretary, and a raise. Tom Darcy, one of the pranksters, tries to clear things up before they go too far, but loses his nerve. When Jimmy arrives to collect the check, Dr. Maxford assumes his committee finally reached a decision without informing him and writes a check to Jimmy. Jimmy and Betty go on a shopping spree at Shindel's department store. After telephoning Maxford to confirm the check is good, Mr. Shindel gives Jimmy credit to buy an engagement ring for Betty, a luxury sofa-bed for his mother, and presents for all of their neighbors. When the truth comes out, Shindel descends on Jimmy's street to try to repossess his merchandise. Maxford follows them and confirms Jimmy did not win. In the commotion, Shindel learns that Maxford's signature is genuine; instead of reclaiming the merchandise, he tries to force Maxford to pay for it. Tom and the other two pranksters admit they are to blame. That night, Jimmy and Betty confess to Baxter. Betty's heartfelt plea persuades Baxter to let Jimmy try to prove himself and keep his promotion, although on a very short probationary period and with no raise. Meanwhile, Bildocker bursts into Maxford's office to announce that the other jury members have finally given in and accepted his choice for the grand prize winner: Jimmy.

Cast

as Jimmy MacDonald *

as Betty Casey *

Raymond Walburn Raymond Walburn (September 9, 1887 – July 26, 1969) was an American character actor of stage and screen who appeared in dozens of Hollywood movie comedies and an occasional dramatic role during the 1930s and 1940s. Life and career Born i ...

as Dr. Maxford *

Alexander Carr Alexander Carr (1878–1946) was a Russian born stage and screen actor, writer, vaudevillian, burlesque and circus performer. Biography He made his first stage appearance on stage at a music hall in St. Paul, Minnesota. He appeared later in the ...

as Mr. Shindel *

William Demarest Carl William Demarest (February 27, 1892 – December 27, 1983) was an American character actor, known especially for his roles in screwball comedies by Preston Sturges and for playing Uncle Charley in the sitcom ''My Three Sons'' Demarest, w ...

as Mr. Bildocker *

Ernest Truex Ernest Truex (September 19, 1889 – June 26, 1973) was an American actor of stage, film, and television. Career Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Truex learned acting at an early age after his father, a doctor, treated actor Edwin Melvin, who ...

as J. B. Baxter *

Franklin Pangborn Franklin Pangborn (January 23, 1889 – July 20, 1958) was an American comedic character actor famous for playing small but memorable roles with comic flair. He appeared in many Preston Sturges movies as well as the W. C. Fields films '' Interna ...

as Don Hartman, the radio announcer *

Harry Hayden Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

as E. L. Waterbury, Jimmy's office manager * Rod Cameron as Dick, a co-worker *

Adrian Morris Adrian Grant Morris (18 May 1929 – 6 December 2004) was an England, English painter. Early life Morris was born in London, England. He spent his childhood in rural Somerset before the family moved to the United States, where he attended the ...

as Tom Darcy, a co-worker *

Harry Rosenthal Harry Rosenthal (15 May c. 1893 – 10 May 1953) was an orchestra leader, composer, pianist and actor. Biography Rosenthal was born in Belfast in 1893, and by the 1920s he was in London where he had a thriving musical career as a composer ...

as Harry, a co-worker * Georgia Caine as Mrs. Ellen MacDonald *

Ferike Boros Ferike Boros (3 August 1873 – 16 January 1951) was a Hungarian-born American stage and movie actress. Biography Ferike Weinstock was born in Nagyvárad, Austria-Hungary, in 1873, Boros was on stage starting in 1893. She moved to London in 19 ...

as Mrs. Schwartz *

Torben Meyer Torben Emil Meyer (1 December 1884 – 22 May 1975) was a Danish-American character actor who appeared in more than 190 films in a 55-year career. He began his acting career in Europe before moving to the United States. Early life Meyer was ...

as Mr. Schmidt, a Shindel's employee *

Julius Tannen Julius Tannen (May 16, 1880 – January 3, 1965) was a monologist in vaudeville. He was known to stage audiences for his witty improvisations and creative word games. He had a successful career as a character actor in films, appearing in over ...

as Mr. Zimmerman *

Al Bridge Alfred Morton Bridge (February 26, 1891 – December 27, 1957) was an American character actor who played mostly small roles in over 270 films between 1931 and 1954. Bridge's persona was an unpleasant, gravel-voiced man with an untidy mous ...

as Mr. Hillbeiner, a jewelry salesman at Shindel's *

Lucille Ward Lucille Ward (February 25, 1880 – August 8, 1952) was an American film actress. She appeared in more than 140 films between 1915 and 1944. She was born and died in Dayton, Ohio. Ward's career began in 1907 when she acted in a production ...

as Mrs. Casey *Kay Stewart as Maxford's secretary *

Victor Potel Victor Potel (October 12, 1889 – March 8, 1947) was an American film character actor who began in the silent era and appeared in more than 430 films in his 38-year career. Career Victor Potel was born in Lafayette, Indiana in 1889, and hi ...

as Davenola salesman Cast notes: *''Christmas in July'' was the only time Sturges worked with

and

, but the film is populated with many of the character actors he used regularly in his films. Aside from William Demarest, they include George Anderson, Al Bridge, Georgia Caine, Jimmy Conlin, Harry Hayden,

Arthur Hoyt Arthur Hoyt (March 19, 1874 – January 4, 1953) was an American film character actor who appeared in more than 275 films in his 34-year film career, about a third of them silent films. Career Born in Georgetown, Colorado, in 1874, Hoyt ma ...

, Charles R. Moore, Frank Moran,

, Victor Potel,

Dewey Robinson Dewey Robinson (August 17, 1898 – December 11, 1950) was an American film character actor who appeared in more than 250 films made between 1931 and 1952. Career Dewey Robinson was born in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1898, and made his B ...

, Julius Tannen and

Robert Warwick Robert Warwick (born Robert Taylor Bien, October 9, 1878 – June 6, 1964) was an American stage, film and television actor with over 200 film appearances. A matinee idol during the silent film era, he also prospered after the introduction ...

. *This was the fourth of ten films written by Sturges in which Demarest appeared (see note). *Sturges makes a cameo appearance as a man at a shoeshine stand.

Production

The working titles for ''Christmas in July'' were "The New Yorkers", "Something to Shout About" and "A Cup of Coffee", the latter of which was the name of the play Sturges wrote in 1931 on which the film was based. '' A Cup of Coffee'' remained unproduced until 1988, when

Soho Rep The Soho Repertory Theatre, known as Soho Rep,The official website'now use "Soho", with a lowercase h, as do most articles from th''New York Times''/ref> is an American Off-Broadway theater company based in New York City which is notable for prod ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

mounted a production. In 1934,

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...

hired Sturges to direct a film based on the play, but that project fell through when the studio found other work to assign him, including doctoring the script of ''

Diamond Jim ''Diamond Jim'' is a 1935 biographical film based on the published biography ''Diamond Jim Brady'' by Parker Morell. It follows the life of legendary entrepreneur James Buchanan Brady, including his romance with entertainer Lillian Russell, and s ...

''. Once that task was completed, Sturges' mentor at the studio, producer Henry Henigson, left, leaving nobody at Universal to champion Sturges' project. Once Sturges himself moved to Paramount, he made a deal with the studio to buy the script for $6,000.

William Holden William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor, and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film ''Stalag 17'' (1953) ...

and Betty Fields were to have played the leads, with Arthur Hornblow Jr. as producer. Production on ''Christmas in July'' began on June 1, 1940 and continued through June 29. According to author

Donald Spoto Donald Spoto (born June 28, 1941) is an American biographer and theologian. He is known for his best-selling biographies of people in the worlds of film and theater, and more recently for his books on theology and spirituality. Spoto has writte ...

in his book ''Madcap: The Life of Preston Sturges'', Sturges directed ''Christmas in July'' wearing a straw boater and carrying a bamboo cane. The film was released on October 18th, 1940 and marketed with the tagline, "If you can't sleep at night, it isn't the coffee - it's the bunk" a line from the movie. The film was released on video in the U.S. on July 12, 1990, and re-released on June 30, 1993.

Reception

In 1998,

Jonathan Rosenbaum Jonathan Rosenbaum (born February 27, 1943) is an American film critic and author. Rosenbaum was the head film critic for ''The Chicago Reader'' from 1987 to 2008, when he retired. He has published and edited numerous books about cinema and has ...

of the ''

Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by a ...

'' included the film in his unranked list of the best American films not included on the AFI Top 100.

Adaptations

Lux Radio Theatre ''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of American Broadcasting Company ...

'' presented a radio adaptation of ''Christmas in July'' on June 26, 1944, with Dick Powell and

Linda Darnell Linda Darnell (born Monetta Eloyse Darnell; October 16, 1923 – April 10, 1965) was an American actress. Darnell progressed from modeling as a child to acting in theater and film. At the encouragement of her mother, she made her first film in ...

as leads. On September 9th, 1954,

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

presented a television version on ''

Lux Video Theatre ''Lux Video Theatre'' is an American television anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1957. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays. Overview The ''Lux Vid ...

'' with

Nancy Gates Nancy Gates (February 1, 1926Katz, Ephraim (1979). ''The Film Encyclopedia: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of World Cinema in a Single Volume''. Perigee Books. .P. 471. – March 24, 2019) was an American film and television actress. Early ...

, Alex Nicol and

starring; the director was

Earl Eby Earl William Eby (November 18, 1894 – December 14, 1970) was an American sprinter who won a silver medal in the 800 m at the 1920 Summer Olympics. Earlier at the 1919 Inter-Allied Games he won the 400 m event and placed second in the 800 m to ...

and the adaptation was by S.H. Barnett.

References

External links

* * *
''Christmas in July''
on the radio show '' Hollywood Star Time'': July 13, 1946 {{DEFAULTSORT:Christmas In July (film) 1940 films 1940 romantic comedy films 1940s screwball comedy films American romantic comedy films American satirical films American screwball comedy films American black-and-white films American films based on plays Films about food and drink Films directed by Preston Sturges Films set in New York City Paramount Pictures films Films with screenplays by Preston Sturges Films about coffee 1940s American films