Christmas in July (1940)

This is a Preston Sturges mistaken identity drama and comedy. It was only moderately interesting to me. It's listed as 64min. long, but the version I saw was only 55min., missing 12 min.. The beginning and ending were present, and I didn't notice any gaps elsewhere. Raymond Walburn, as Dr. Maxford, president of the Maxford Coffee Company, steals this one, for the most part. Dick Powell, as Jimmy, who is the elated victim of a practical joke, provides occasional fireworks, as when he received a bogus telegram notifying him that he had won the grand prize in a slogan contest by Maxford: "If you can't sleep at night, it's not the coffee, it's the bunk". Maxford didn't like it, but an awards committee presumably did. Also, when Jimmy is picking out gifts for his girlfriend Betty(Ellen Drew),and mother, and when handing out lesser gifts to the neighbors and friends, Jimmy is especially animated. "It's like Christmas in July" exclaims Betty. But there are slow sections too, especially, the initial scene with Jimmy and Betty gabbing away on a rooftop for maybe 10min..Walburn was perfectly cast as the easily excitable, blustering, company president, who's intimately involved in this slogan fiasco. He had few peers in this era in this type of role. Adolphe Monjou was nearly as good, at times. I know some people don't like their shtick, but I find them very funny and charismatic. Ellen Drew, as Betty, had little to do, except tag along with Jimmy, wherever he went. She mainly served as eye candy. The duo would be reteamed in "Johnny O'clock". Stuges often included irony as a major plot feature, as well as for lesser roles. For, example,, there are many in his masterpiece "Sullivan's Travels". Here, I point out a few in the present film:1)After all the hullabaloo about the fake telegram had died down, the awards committee, not knowing about this development, selected Jimmy's entry(which Maxford hated)from among many thousands, as the winner.2)That the fake telegram perpetrators were very wrong, in assuming that this was a harmless practical joke that the Maxford people would figure out before they gave him the $25,000.. 3)Even though Jimmy was more than ecstatic over apparently winning the prize, he first thought of gifts for Betty, his mother and neighbors, never mentioning anything for himself.4)Jimmy, in initially falsely winning the contest, induces his boss to assume he's a genius, promoting him, and giving him his private office and secretary, whereas previously, he considered Jimmy an idling daydreamer.

Short but sweet comedy about a working schnook who gets pranked into thinking he's won a big pile of cash. I really enjoyed how this movie played out, with some heartfelt turns and nice character moments that made it feel a bit more Capra-esque than your typical Sturges. It doesn't really get too manic, and just has a pleasant vibe to it. This could have been a wackier movie, or a more cynical one, but I appreciate that it didn't go in those directions. I also appreciate that it doesn't torment the audience by dragging out the misunderstanding too much. Dick Powell and Ellen Drew are terrific together, they make a charming couple, and the film sports a roster of enjoyable character actors too. The ending is a bit predictable, but other moments aren't.

This is probably my favorite Presto Sturgess film--and I am not sure wonder why it's one of his least famous films. This is because although the story is quite simple, it's presented absolutely perfectly. The dialog, the characters and everything about the production is top-notch. In fact, it's so good I give it a 10--something I actually do pretty rarely. But it has got to be one of the best comedies of its time--in the same league as great comedies such as "Bringing Up Baby", "His Girl Friday" and "Arsenic and Old Lace" (all, incidentally, which starred Cary Grant).The film stars Dick Powell and Ellen Drew. I have always liked Powell in films where he didn't sing--he had a nice presence about him and was underrated as an actor. As for Powell, he, too, hated the singing in all his earlier films and I am sure he liked having a break in the usual routine. However, if you've seen many of writer/director Sturgess' films, you'll know that the real stars of his movies are the wonderful supporting characters. Raymond Walburn is simply terrific but Franklin Pangborn, William Demerest (who seems to be in almost EVERY Sturgess film) and Ernest Truex are just wonderful and add so much color to the movie.Powell plays a guy who is always entering jingle contests (something rather popular back in the good 'ol days) but keeps failing. He is especially excited about a coffee company that is giving away a $25,000 first prize--and that's all he thinks about or talks of to his fiancé or at work. To play a joke on him (a very, very unfunny one), one of his co-workers decide to send him a phony telegram saying he's won this contest. As soon as this occurs, an unexpected chain of events takes place and the joke goes spiraling out of control. I'd say more, but I don't want to ruin the film. Just see the movie--it will give you quite a few laugh out loud moments and is clever and supremely well-constructed. A must-see.

I really enjoyed the first half hour of this movie but, wow, did it turn corny, or should I say, "just plain stupid." This is just another example of outdated humor. It might have been funny in 1940, but not now....not even close.Dick Powell is always interesting to watch. I especially liked him once he started switching from his boyish looks and high voice of the Busby Berkeley musicals to where he's mature and sounds it, too.He was fine as "Jimmy MacDonald," but the rest of the cast just played stupid characters, the worst being the boss (Raymond Walburn) of the Maxford House Coffee Company, who did nothing but shout all the time. He was brutal to hear and was a big detriment to the movie.