Tag: Preston Sturges

Christmas in July (1940)

Christmas in July (1940). 68 minutes. Directed by Preston Sturges. Starring Dick Powell (as Jimmy MacDonald), Ellen Drew (as Betty Casey), Raymond Walburn (as Dr. Maxford), Alexander Carr (as Mr. Shindel), William Demarest (as Mr. Bildocker), Ernest Truex (as J. B. Baxter), Franklin Pangborn (as Don Hartman), and Georgia Caine (as Ellen MacDonald). Written by Preston Sturges.

Christmas in July might initially appear to be a holiday film akin to It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), Christmas in Connecticut (1945), or  Holiday Inn (1942); but Christmas in July, in spite of its name, is not an actual Christmas movie and does not take place during the holiday season. (It is also not the origin of the phrase, “Christmas in July,” which has roots in the late 19th century.) The movie is instead about gift-giving and abundance manifested outside of the winter months—in the spirit of Christmas beneficence but devoid of the religious sentiment. The film’s protagonist, Jimmy

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Remember the Night (1940)

Remember the Night (1940). 91 minutes. Directed by Mitchell Leisen. Starring Barbara Stanwyck (as Lee Leander), Fred MacMurray (as John Sargent), Beulah Bondi (as Mrs. Sargent), Elizabeth Patterson (as Aunt Emma), Sterling Holloway ( as Willie Simms), Paul Guilfoyle (as district attorney), Charles Waldron (as New York judge), Fred Toones (as Rufus), Tom Kennedy (as Fat Mike), Georgia Cane (as Lee’s mother). Screenplay by Preston Sturges.

Remember the Night is a Preston Sturges comedy starring Barbara Stanwyck as a thief and Fred MacMurray as a New York prosecutor who spend Christmas together in Wabash, Indiana. Although not as well known as other Sturges films such as The Lady Eve, Sullivan’s Travels, and The Palm Beach Story, Remember the Night is nevertheless a surprisingly enjoyable holiday film weirdly mixed together with elements of a trial drama. In addition, and probably the reason that I recommend it the most, the movie also functions as a love story to the … Read the rest