The Palm Beach Story
The captivating Claudette Colbert stars as the frustrated wife of struggling engineer Joel McCrea. In a seemingly amicable agreement, Colbert hops a train to Palm Beach where divorces come easy. Desperate to escape a group of obnoxious millionaires on the train to Florida, Colbert hides out in a sleeping car where she meets, unbeknownst to her, one of the world's richest men (Rudy Vallee) who is relentless in his attempt to romance her. Upon their arrival in Palm Beach, Colbert is met by her husband who has come to claim her back only to find that Vallee's man-crazy sister (Mary Astor) is after him! The foursome's story unfolds through intensely humorous dialogue, flirtatious situations and a splendid soundtrack.
Member Reviews
Nothing's permanent but Roosevelt - Neil1
The Palm Beach Story starts out a little jejune when Rudy Vallee shows up in the lower bunk of a Pullman headed for Palm Beach where Claudette Colbert is planning a quickie divorce by which she hopes to contrive a marriage of convenience with the idea of helping out her intended ex Joel McCrae with whom she's still (secretly) in love to realize his dreams of financial success before he is snapped up by Mary Astor. And they all live happily ever after...or do they?Another Sturges classic - Port_Moresby
Preston Sturges is probably one of the greatest writers that Hollywood ever got to celebrate, let alone comedy writers, and this beautiful film is a classic example of his genius. It doesn't deserve to be ahead of Sullivan's Travels, which is his masterpiece, but it's up there, a terrific comedy with lots of heart. Rent it with Miracle Of Morgan's Creek and Lady Eve, you'll never stop laughing.Finely Tuned Screwball Shows Colbert At Her Best - Radio_Jane
This movie is a hilarious, but also a little bizaare. The opening sequence is done up to look like an old Silent comedy, gives the impression this is a sequal of some sort, but it's just to set up an equally odd ending. However, everything in between in just hilarious. It's screwball all the way, up there with The Awful truth for laughs. Mary Astor, with her mile a minute dialogue is a treat, and Colbert is her usuall saucy self. There is some interesting social commentary hidden in the flirty dialogue, and even sixty-five years later this film holds it's own in comedy.
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Nothing's permanent but Roosevelt - Neil1
The Palm Beach Story starts out a little jejune when Rudy Vallee shows up in the lower bunk of a Pullman headed for Palm Beach where Claudette Colbert is planning a quickie divorce by which she hopes to contrive a marriage of convenience with the idea of helping ...Another Sturges classic - Port_Moresby
Preston Sturges is probably one of the greatest writers that Hollywood ever got to celebrate, let alone comedy writers, and this beautiful film is a classic example of his genius. It doesn't deserve to be ahead of Sullivan's Travels, which is his masterpiece, ...Finely Tuned Screwball Shows Colbert At Her Best - Radio_Jane
This movie is a hilarious, but also a little bizaare. The opening sequence is done up to look like an old Silent comedy, gives the impression this is a sequal of some sort, but it's just to set up an equally odd ending. However, everything in between in just ...