''Christmas in Connecticut'' is a 1945 American

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film about an unmarried city magazine writer who pretends to be a farm wife and mother and then falls in love with a returning war hero. The film was directed by English director Peter Godfrey and stars Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan and

Sydney Greenstreet Sydney Hughes Greenstreet (December 27, 1879 – January 18, 1954) was a British-American actor. While he did not begin his career in films until the age of 61, he had a run of significant motion pictures in a Hollywood career lasting throu ...

Plot

Elizabeth Lane ( Barbara Stanwyck) is a single New Yorker, employed as a food writer. Her articles about her fictitious Connecticut farm, husband, and baby are admired by housewives across the country. Her publisher, Alexander Yardley (

), is unaware of the charade and insists that Elizabeth host a Christmas dinner for returning war hero Jefferson Jones ( Dennis Morgan), who read all of her recipes while in the hospital and is so fond of them that his nurse/fiancée Mary Lee (

Joyce Compton Olivia Joyce Compton (January 27, 1907 – October 13, 1997) was an American actress. Biography Compton was born in Lexington, Kentucky, the daughter of Henry and Golden Compton. (Despite frequent reports to the contrary, her name was not ...

), wrote a letter to the publisher. Facing a career-ending scandal, not only for herself but for her editor, Dudley Beecham (

Robert Shayne Robert Shayne (born Robert Shaen Dawe, October 4, 1900 – November 29, 1992) was an American actor whose career lasted for over 60 years. He was best known for portraying Inspector Bill Henderson in the American television series '' Adven ...

), Lane is forced to comply. In desperation, Elizabeth agrees to marry her friend, John Sloan (

Reginald Gardiner William Reginald Gardiner (27 February 1903 – 7 July 1980) was an English actor on the stage, in films and on television. Early years Gardiner was born in Wimbledon, England, and he was a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.Katz, ...

), who has a farm in Connecticut. She also enlists the help of her chef friend and "honorary uncle" Felix Bassenak ( S. Z. Sakall), who has been providing her with the recipes for her articles. At Sloan's farm on Christmas Eve, Elizabeth meets Norah ( Una O'Connor), the housekeeper, as well as a neighbor's baby whom they pretend is their baby. Elizabeth and John plan to be married immediately by Judge Crothers ( Dick Elliot), but the ceremony is interrupted when Jefferson arrives early. Elizabeth is smitten and it is

love at first sight Love at first sight is a personal experience as well as a common trope in literature: a person or character feels an instant, extreme, and ultimately long-lasting romantic attraction for a stranger upon first seeing that stranger. Described by p ...

. The judge returns on Christmas morning, but the ceremony is postponed when a different neighbor's baby is presented instead of the one from the day before. The household is alarmed when Felix claims that the baby has swallowed his watch. After the judge leaves, Uncle Felix admits to Elizabeth that he had lied about the watch to stop the wedding. While the household attends a local dance, the baby's real mother arrives to pick up her baby. Alexander witnesses her leaving with the child and assumes someone is kidnapping the baby. Elizabeth and Jefferson spend the night in jail, charged with stealing a neighbor's horse and sleigh they had accidentally taken a joyride in, and return to the farm early the next morning. Alexander chastises Elizabeth for being out all night and accuses her of neglecting her child. Elizabeth finally confesses all. Furious, Alexander fires her. Mary Lee arrives unexpectedly. Dejected, Elizabeth retires to pack her things and leave the farm. Felix learns that Mary Lee has already married someone else and must break the engagement. He entices Alexander into the kitchen with the smell of cooking kidneys. He fabricates a story about a competing magazine's attempts to hire Elizabeth, and Alexander decides to hire her back with an increase in salary. Felix tells Jefferson that he is free to pursue Elizabeth. Elizabeth's packing is interrupted, first by Alexander, and then by Jefferson. After teasing her that he is a cad who woos married women, Jefferson reveals the truth. The couple kiss and plan to marry.

Cast

* Barbara Stanwyck as Elizabeth Lane * Dennis Morgan as Jefferson Jones *

as Alexander Yardley *

as John Sloan * S.Z. Sakall as Felix Bassenak *

as Dudley Beecham * Una O'Connor as Norah * Frank Jenks as Sinkewicz *

as Mary Lee *

Dick Elliott Richard Damon Elliott (April 30, 1886 – December 22, 1961) was an American character actor who played in over 240 films from the 1930s until the time of his death. Early years Elliott was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Career Elliott p ...

as Judge Crothers

Production

Principal photography took place from late May to late July 1944.

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her pe ...

was originally announced in February 1944 as the female lead for the film, but was replaced by Stanwyck in April. Stanwyck's suitor, played in the film by Reginald Gardiner, was originally to have been played by John Alexander. Sydney Greenstreet and director Peter Godfrey kept the cast amused on the set during filming. Edith Head designed Barbara Stanwyck's gowns for the film and Milo Anderson designed additional gowns.

Reception

The film was a big hit, earning $3,273,000 domestically and $859,000 in overseas markets. It has score on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, based on reviews. Critic

Emanuel Levy Emanuel Levy is an American film critic and professor who has taught at Columbia University, New School for Social Research, Wellesley College, Arizona State University and UCLA Film School. Levy currently teaches in the department of cinema ...

noted that the film "obviously propagated conservative ideology, sending women to the kitchen to dutifully play their roles as housewives and mothers after tasting some emancipation during the War years."

Radio adaptation

''Christmas in Connecticut'' was presented on ''Stars in the Air'' on March 20, 1952. The 30-minute adaptation starred

Gordon MacRae Albert Gordon MacRae (March 12, 1921 – January 24, 1986) was an American actor, singer and radio/television host who appeared in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals ''Oklahoma!'' (1955) and '' Carousel'' (1956) and who p ...

and

Phyllis Thaxter Phyllis St. Felix Thaxter (November 20, 1919 – August 14, 2012) was an American actress. She is best known for portraying Ellen Lawson in ''Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo'' (1944) and Martha Kent in ''Superman'' (1978). She also appeared in ''Bewi ...

Television adaptation

The ''

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 ...

'' presented a one hour version on December 13, 1956 starring

Mona Freeman Monica Elizabeth "Mona" Freeman (June 9, 1926 – May 23, 2014) was an American actress and painter. Early years Freeman was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and grew up in Pelham, New York. A lumberman's daughter, she was a model while in hig ...

, Ed Kemmer and

Roland Winters Roland Winters (born Roland Winternitz; November 22, 1904 – October 22, 1989)DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 287. was an Ame ...

Remake

A remake of ''Christmas in Connecticut'' was made in 1992, starring Dyan Cannon as Elizabeth,

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are " Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", " Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and " Help Me Make It Through the ...

as Jefferson Jones, and

Tony Curtis Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor whose career spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s (Kansas Raiders, 1950) and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 f ...

as Mr. Yardley. The made-for-TV movie, which first aired on

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

, was directed by Arnold Schwarzenegger, who also had a cameo appearance. In this remake, Elizabeth "Blane" is the hostess of her own cooking show. When her manager, Alexander Yardley, introduces her to Jefferson Jones – a forest ranger who lost his cabin in a fire – he asks her to make Jones Christmas dinner live on her show. As in the original, Elizabeth isn't as talented as she seems. This version was not as well-received as the original. As one critic wrote, "You'll be hungry for a better movie after suffering through this film".

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Christmas In Connecticut 1945 films 1945 romantic comedy films American Christmas comedy films American romantic comedy films American black-and-white films Films about writers Films directed by Peter Godfrey Films scored by Friedrich Hollaender Films set in Connecticut Warner Bros. films 1940s Christmas films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films