The Palm Beach Story (1942)
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The Palm Beach Story Movie Review
The Palm Beach Story is a 1942 screwball comedy directed by Preston Sturges and starring Claudette Colbert and Joel McCrea. It is an uneven, but highly entertaining flick.
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“Nothing is permanent in this world except for Roosevelt“
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The plot is predictable but the execution is so strong that it doesn’t matter. A wife leaves her husband and finds a millionaire she wants to use for his money, but the husband follows her to her destination and hilarity ensues. There are a bunch of memorable, funny sequences in this film ranging from a couple of amusing scenes on the train to all the scenes with the old man as well as the princess to that unforgettable beginning.
The ending is admittedly very silly. Yes, it’s fun, but also too silly and too perfect as everyone gets their happy ending. But the beginning is absolutely magnificent as it employed very interesting sudden stills for the character introductions and their actors, not to mention that the reconstruction of the perfect fairy tale ending was highly original for its time and such an authentic way to open your film.
Almost all of the characters here are so incredibly likable and charming that I just loved hanging out with them. And honestly all of these actors are incredibly well cast as they are all perfect for their roles. Claudette Colbert can be unlikable at times as her character pursues money way too much, but still she is competent and her interactions with her husband are wonderful. I loved their romance and some admittedly very sexual scenes for its time stole the show here.
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Joel McCrea plays highly endearing and relatable Tom so well and he surely is one of the most underrated and shamefully underappreciated male actors from classic Hollywood pictures. He always delivers and is consistently both appealing and charismatic.
Mary Astor plays Princess Centimillia so well, a character who is so witty that her relatively short screen time bothered me. Her line about marriage and Roosevelt made me laugh so hard as the funniest moment in the film. Rudy Vallee is also very good, though admittedly his character is a rich man archetype.
The Palm Beach Story is frequently a great film, but what mostly led to it being just good instead of great lies in those supporting characters. Yes, the main four are terrific, but the rest annoyed me a lot. Toto has his moments but is unnecessary and naturally that old man was just so endearing and such a wonderful soul as well as a funny man that I really loved his every scene. But The Ale and Quail Club really bothered me. Admittedly they got some fine scenes, but some scenes (the one with the black service in particular and all the shooting) felt dated and of its time. Even though they are mostly endearing and interestingly goofy and cartoony (almost Disney-like), they took way too much of the screen time and ultimately for me came off as a detour.
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But the film is otherwise incredibly funny in some scenes featuring many witty, clever lines and it’s a great satire on marriage, love and rich people. The film is authentic in storyline and simply brilliant in its brisk, quick and highly sophisticated dialogue which is a hallmark of Preston Sturges who directed this film reliably so well. The pacing is problematic, but still I ended up being entertained by the film as it flew by how fun it was. The score’s great as well.
The Palm Beach Story has an admittedly amusing but silly ending and The Ale and Quail Club took too much of the screen time acting as a detour. Other than those flaws, the film is great and incredibly entertaining featuring witty dialogue, many very funny moments and such an authentic opening. The four main characters are all so likable and charming with all of the four actors being so well cast and delivering terrific comedic performances.
