Reviews (16)

One of Sturges's greatest comedies
This is an absolutely stunning comedy, with one comic shock and delight after another, and hilarious performances by a bevy of some of the best character actors in the history of Hollywood.

Highpoints include a trip on the railroad with the Ale and Quail Club; an introduction to The Weenie King, on of the funniest characters I know of in any film; Rudy Valee's unexpectedly delightful portrayal of a Rockefeller-like multi-millionaire; Mary Astor's excellent performance as Rudy Valee's sister; and a gentleman of unspecified ethnic origin known simply as "Toto."

The opening credits of the movie are among the most fascinating of the thirties or forties. While the credits are running, we see onscreen an entire prequel somehow involving two sets of identical twins (one set played by Joel McCrea and the other by Claudette Colbert).

Preston Sturges is not the best director the United States has ever produced, but he unquestionably enjoyed the finest five year period of any director we have ever seen. From 1940 until 1945, Preston Sturges enjoyed a run of amazingly crafted comedy masterpieces that by themselves place him on any list of the essential directors. In the late 1930s, Sturges built a name for himself by penning a number of first rate comedy scripts, including the classic EASY LIVING as well as REMEMBER THE NIGHT. Paramount gave him a shot at directing, and he responded with films like THE GREAT McGINTY, CHRISTMAS IN JULY, the great THE LADY EVE, SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS, THE PALM BEACH STORY, THE MIRACLE OF MORGAN'S CREEK, and HAIL THE CONQUERING HERO. But then, suddenly and without warning, his genius deserted him.

But this is one of the best of his best. Just sit back, get yourself pleasant to drink, and have a good time.

1942 STURGES CLASSIC
Preston Sturges, as a director, had a strong fancy for trains. In SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS, he had a great railroad yard sequence in which an old tramp was killed by a streamliner, and later Joel McCrea and Veronica Lake spent much time in freightcars. Here, Sturges again picked out a railroad car - a private Pullman to Florida - for a wild and slapstick farce. Claudette Colbert, fleeing from her husband in New York, finds herself in Pennsylvania Station without a cent. Here she is taken in tow by the millionaire members of the Ale & Quail Club - who are going south for their annual shoot-'em up and drink-em'-down vacation. What happens on the train is one of the funniest scenes in vintage comedy. Rudy Vallee plays the world's richest man who believes that it's un-American to give more than a 10-cent tip; he was praised by the critics for this performance because he showed he could do more than croon the Maine STEIN SONG, and act ineptly as he did in his early talkies. As John D. Hackensacker III, Vallee (playing straight comedy) rescues Claudette from the pyrotechnics of the Ale & Quail Club and takes her to Palm Beach on his yacht. Mary Astor and Joel McCrea also serve this classic film well.

Buy This Film!
This is a classy, sexy, side-splitting comedy. So why is it not out on DVD?!
Buy it, Please! Maybe if enough copies are sold someone will release this gem on DVD.
Criterion, are you listening?

Is that McGloo or McGrew?--Preston Sturges forever!
THE first Hollywood auteur--i.e., writer-director--Preston Sturges here gives us one of his all-time classics that, for my money, is better than Sullivan's Travels and easily the equal of The Lady Eve. It's pretty amazing to see not one but TWO smart, sophisticated women on the make--Claudette Colbert as a wife fed up with her husband's penury, and Mary Astor as the sister of the goofy millionaire Colbert meets and is, you should pardon the expression, wooed by.

Rudy Vallee, as the mllionaire, also has his not-as-wealthy doppelganger in Joel McCrea, Colbert's somewhat bumbling designer husband who's trying to get a $99,000 project off the ground (actually, onto the ground--it's a huge, ridiculous metal-net for airplanes to land on). Just as both women have tongues sharper than stainless steel razors honed with eager whetstones, so too do both men have brains that can't quite follow the women's spitfire patter and instead of paying close attention, resort to what Sturges' men usually do--follow instead their male instincts, which means say what they gotta say and do what they gotta do.

Sturges' forte is the uncanny ability to juxtapose selfishness with so much whimsy and foible-ridden thinking it's impossible not to laugh. Women are selfish in one way, men in another. But both of them ARE selfish, and therein lies the rub (as it were)--that is, the famous battle of the sexes. Colbert (Gerry Jeffers) wants a divorce from McCrea (Tom Jeffers) because of his inability to bring in the bacon and doesn't mind it at all when millionaire Vallee (John Hackensacker--gee, I wonder where that name came from...) buys her all kinds of clothes and stuff.

Obviously one of the major inspirations for, among many others, the Coen brothers (e.g., The Hudsucker Proxy), Sturges was a genius for his time, so far ahead of anybody else it boggles the mind. Listen to Colbert deliver a jaw-dropping speech on sex--meaning, not the physical act, but the power of a woman to divert a man. The use of the word "sex" to mean that--in fact, the use of the word itself--was without question a milestone (or is that millstone) for 1942, the year of this film.

Gerry calls Tom Captain McGloo when she's introducing him to Hackensacker to assure the latter that Tom is not really her husband at all but her brother. Mr. H. introduces Tom to her sister Centimilia (Mary Astor) so the foursome--a real brother and sister, and a fake duo of the same "persuasion"--gaily tramp off together to the nearest hotel.

The amazing scene on the train with the Ale and Quail Club has be seen to be believed, again so far ahead of its time it's almsot a shock.

How to fuse satire, wit, and superior intelligence in a single film? Preston Sturges FOREVER!

Preston Sturges Screwball Classic Delight
Rarely have I enjoyed a screw ball comedy more than Preston Sturges's classic look at the lives of the idle rich and those that aspire to be that way in 1942's "The Palm Beach Story". Taking over the reins as both writer and director here Sturges has produced a gem which came hot on the heels of his classic "The Lady Eve" of the previous year.

This gem of a feature boasts total excellence in all areas, sparkling performances from a top notch cast, superb writing, delicious one liners delivered with relish, rapid fire direction and a beautiful overall look to the proceedings. Indeed so rapid is the pace of this film that it almost requires repeated viewings to be able to fully appreciate the genius of the comic situations and dialogue.

To describle the plotline as being involved and complex is a definite understatement. Convoluted in an endearing way is the best way to describe it. It tells the story of young married couple Tom and Geraldine "Gerry" Jefferswho are struggling financially as Tom is an inventor who has difficulty in getting his original ideas to sell. Gerry being of a harder nature is fed up with being poor and when they are in danger of being evicted from their apartment Gerry decides to do the only thing that a girl like her knows; divorce Tom and find herself a rich husband who can keep her in the style she would like to become used to, while also helping Tom to obtain the financing for his new airport project. What develops from this point onwards adds up to one crazy comic situation after another. Gerry firstly encounters the unforgettable "Wienie King" (Robert Dudley in an absolutely scene stealing performance) an elderly gentleman who is hard of hearing and who gives Gerry a stack of money to get her out of her troubles because he likes her. Gerry heads for Palm Beach as that is "the second best place to get a divorce" according to the Taxi driver! What happens along the way is what classic comedies are made of as Gerry finds herself firstly "adapted" by the crazy members of a hunting club, the Ale and Quail Club that are travelling on the same train and who in a drunken state proceed to take over the train causing complete chaos for all concerned including the terrified barman who sees his whole workplace demolished around him. To escape them Gerry then slips into the sleeping compartment area where she then encounters John D. Hackensacker 111 (Rudy Vallee in a non crooner role) who just turns out to be one of the richest men in America and predictably falls instantly for Gerry. Once in Palm Beach pursued by an angry Tom Gerry is thrown into a whirlwind of deception and comic misunderstandings as she encounters the amazingly eccentric Countess Centimillia (Mary Astor in one of her most hilarious roles ever) John's man hungry, much married sister who takes an instant shine to Tom who is introduced to her as Gerry's brother Captain McGlue!! The comic goings one between the 4 main leads are a sight to behold and eventually end up with each person pairing off with the most suitable partner, Gerry with Tom, the Countess with Tom's identical brother and John with Gerry's twin sister!! Total madness indeed but so delightfully done that it almost takes on a logic of it's own!

Rarely have the cast here been in finer form. Under Sturges's sure direction each of them are outstanding. Claudette Colbert, a favourite actress of mine has rarely been better than here and she can say more with a sideways glance or a twinkle of her eyethan most actresses could do with 5 pages of dialogue. Her Geraldine is both calculating and refreshingly practical and cool headed in the bizzare situations she finds herself. Her scenes with the Ale and Quail club members are brilliant and real rib ticklers as her normally refined way of performing is put to the test with these loud and over the top performers. Joel McCrea has never been better than in his playing here as the harried husband who goes on a mad chase to reclaim his wife. His reactions to be dubbed "Captain McGlue" are priceless and his entanglement with the man hungry Countess who quickly earmarks him as her next husband will make you laugh out loud. Mary Astor, always an interesting actress literally steals the show as the Countess with her rapid hundred words to the minute type of delivery. Some of the most hilarious lines in the film belong to her and she delivers them with relish for example in a retort to Tom about the length of all her marriages she states "nothing is forever....except Roosevelt!!" In her memoirs Astor stated how she did not enjoy working for Preston Sturges in "The Palm Beach Story" and felt she never really got her characterisation right in this film. Interesting really as I think she has never been better than here and is the comic centre of the whole crazy proceedings with her playing. Rudy Vallee as the hapless millionaire is also a revelation in his playing of the fumbling man besotted with the much more world wise Geraldine. His different style of playing contrasts beautifully with the more over the top playing of Mary Astor. His scenes on the train with Colbert are classic where she continues to break his sets of glasses as he tries to give her a boost up into the top bunk of the sleeping compartment.

"The Palm Beach Story" is what classic screwball comedy is all about.The pace of the film is like a rocket and the one liners which hold many perceptive views on the rich and on our money consious society are a clever reflection of societies values at the time. Like all Sturges vechicles under the comic nonsense there is actually alot being said that can be applied to any age or time. Enjoy "The Palm Beach Story" and definately treat yourself to repeat viewings of this 1942 masterpiece as you will, like me, find new things to admire, laugh at, and reflect on with each visit. ... Read more

Description

This masterpiece by Preston Sturges is perhaps the finest movie-about-a-movie ever made. Hollywood director Joel McCrea, tired of churning out lightweight comedies, decides to make O Brother, Where Art Thou-a serious, socially responsible film about human suffering. After his producers point out that he knows nothing of hardship, he hits the road as a hobo. He finds the lovely Veronica Lake-and more trouble than he ever dreamed of. ... Read more

Reviews (47)

The Original Oh Brother Where Art Thou
This is a wonderful movie about a successful comedy director setting out to find trouble in order to film his next project a serious movie about the Depression called Oh Brother Where Art Thou. Early in the film the studio owners try to disuade Sullivan from the movie and suggest making it into a musical; a suggestion which the Coen brothers took over 50 years later.

Initially Sullivan cannot escape his entourage which comes to include the beautiful and witty Veronica Lake. Later however life becomes more vivid for the restless director and his lesson is learned.

The film is divided into two distinct parts as many people have commented on. While some have said this makes the movie uneven I think that it moves the movie well beyond a simple romantic comedy giving it a complexity and color you don't expect.

The movie is brilliantly written by Preston Sturges. Watch it once for the sheer joy of it but watch it again to experience a brilliance of dialogue that few have been able to accomplish since.

Being a Criterion production the presentation is excellent and it has many extras that we have come to expect and appreciate from this company.

A MOVIE THAT COMBINES COMEDY AND DRAMA.
"Sullivan's Travels" tells the story of director John L. Sullivan (Joel McCrea), who is very famous thanks to his mainstream comedy movies. But now he is tired of making shallow comedies, and decides to start a career of more serious movies. However, Sullivan thinks that because during all his life he has enjoyed special privileges, he doesn't actually know what is the suffering, and he is unable of make a serious social statement in his upcoming film.

So he now decides to hit the road, disguised as a tramp, and live in those conditions for a few months, and to experiment in his own flesh the lack of luxuries. In the road he meets "The Girl" (Veronica Lake), an unemployed actress who knows what is to live in those conditions, so now she decides to help him with his experiment. However, not everything is going to be that easy, because in their adventure they are going to find several obstacles that could make difficult to complete Sullivan's movie.

"Sullivan's Travels" is a very amusing movie, the director Preston Sturges did a good job, he created scenes where the comedy and the drama are mixed together with satisfying results. The movie has interesting situations, because it has an intelligent story and good performances. Also, "Sullivan's Travels" benefits with the presence of the elegant Veronica Lake

A Review for Sullivan's Travels
Directed by Preston Sturges in 1941, this classic screwball comedy with a message is definitely one worth watching. The film opens with famous Hollywood director, John Sullivan, trying to persuade his bosses to let him make a picture about poverty, O Brother, Where Are Thou? His producers proceed to ridicule him about being privileged and that he knows nothing about troubles. They tell him how they had to grow up selling newspapers to get through college and having to support a widowed mother and three sisters and two brothers. Sullivan realizes they have a point and decides to set out to find some trouble. Of course, as soon as Sullivan leaves the office, the bosses confess they were lying about their troubles, adding a bit of comic relief.

Since the bosses feel it would be a liability to them if Sullivan were to travel all alone, they arrange for him to have an entourage following him, writing stories about his travels, and photographing his escapades. Sullivan starts out like a hobo walking alone on the side of the road. A young boy of 13 pulls up and offers him a ride. What next ensues is perhaps the funniest scene in the entire movie. The 13 year old wants to be a tank driver so he sets off like mad, driving insanely fast and wildly out of control. The entourage that has been following Sullivan in a massive bus tries desperately to keep up, hurdling its occupants all over the place. Most funny is the cook who ends up with his head sticking out of the roof of the bus and then falls back down to the floor and gets smacked on the head by the door of the oven. Then a bowl of what appears to be pancake batter falls on his head and he is a royal mess.

After the bus plows into a pile of hay, Sullivan orders the 13 year old hooligan to stop and goes back to his entourage and persuades them that their following him is not a good idea. He advises they just go to Las Vegas and wait for him there. Not crazy enough to turn down a work-free vacation, they agree and each party sets off on their own.

Sullivan next ventures into a small café where he meets a nameless girl, played by Veronica Lake. She has been trying to make a go at it as an actress, but has given up and has plans to head back home. Seeing Sullivan's misfortunes, she offers to buy him some ham and eggs. Sullivan immediately takes a liking to her and offers to give her a lift back home. Still in Hollywood, he goes and gets his own car to drive her there. The police, seeing a hobo driving a nice car, believe he has stolen it and so both Sullivan and his female companion get arrested. Well, they eventually get released when the police realize their error. Sullivan then fesses up to the lovely Veronica, and tells her his plan of finding trouble.

She decides to join him on his journey. They plan to travel east and eventually take her back home. However, Sullivan must first have his butler call the railroad to find out how hobos board trains, another moment of comedic levity. After an awkward boarding of the train, Sullivan and the girl fall asleep in a pig stall. Sullivan gets some sort of allergic reaction to the hay and so when they wake up, they decide to get off the train. They wander into another café where they realize they are now in Las Vegas and Sullivan's entourage is just across the road. Hungry and wear worn, Sullivan goes back to the entourage where his doctor mandates that he stay in bed for three day to get better.

Back on the road again, scenes fly by as Sullivan and his girl mingle with the down and out. He eventually returns to his entourage and is prepared to start production on O Brother, Where Art Thou? but he decides to give one last thank you to his street companions in the form of five dollar bills. As he is handing out bills late one night, he is knocked out, robbed, and thrown onto a train car. As the robber is running off with the money, he accidentally stumbles and drops the money on the train tracks. As he is picking up the money, he gets run over by a train and dies. The people who find his body see some of Sullivan's belongings on him and mistake him for Sullivan. Word circles around the film community that Sullivan met his death mysteriously one night on the train tracks.

Meanwhile, Sullivan's train stops and he gets out where he is confronted by a railroad worker who hits him for hitching a ride on the train. Sullivan retaliates by bashing a rock against the workers face a couple times. For this misdeed, Sullivan is sentenced to six years of hard labor. He is not allowed to make any phone calls or write any letters to let anyone know he is still alive, as he has already seen newspaper pronouncements about his fate. He comes up with a scheme to get his pictures in the papers by confessing to the murder of himself. Of course, the mistake is quickly realized and he is back in Hollywood set to make the picture which has caused him so much trouble.

However, in a twist, Sullivan decides not to make O Brother, Where Art Thou? and instead he wants to continue making comedies. For, when he was in the labor camp, the one moment of happiness he and his fellow prisoners experienced was one night when they got to go to a picture show and watch a Mickey Mouse cartoon. He decides comedy is important because, for some people, it's all they've got.

"Sullivan's Travels" - A Life Changing Experience
Oh, this film is grand! First viewed it at about age 16, formative years & all. Made a great impact. Convinced me to pack off & live life as a hobo. Ah, the rootless life! Between "Sullivan's Travels", "Lust For Life" and Hermann Hesse novels, my character was set. Ah, youth! Oh, brother, where art thou?

One of my all time favorite films
One of the great screen comedies, and one in a string of absolutely brilliant comedies that Preston Sturges made in the space of only a few years, unquestionably the hottest streak any comedy director has ever gone on in a short period of time. This film contains a great deal more slapstick than his other films, and a great deal more social satire. Sturges doesn't quite mean it as a "message" picture, but in the end it does have overtones of an apologia pro vita sua as a comedy director. Sturges wants to say that he is a comedy director, and he isn't going to apologize for it, because making people laugh in hard times is one of the highest functions of art.

SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS is one of two superb comedies that Joel McCrea made with Sturges, the other being the equally outstanding THE PALM BEACH STORY. As most are aware, McCrea plays director John L. Sullivan, who has made his mark in Hollywood directing lightweight comedies, such as the "Ants in Your Pants" series. But now he wants to make a serious, "meaningful" film: O Brother! Where Art Thou? The studio head points out that Sullivan knows nothing about real life, and conceding his point without giving up his intentions, Sullivan decides to hit the road and live as a hobo in order to discover real life.

Like nearly all Sturges films (at least before his rapid and dramatic decline in late 1944), this film features an absolutely outstanding cast. His best films seem to feature a cast with literally dozens of great character actors, and this is no exception. Most of the Sturges regulars are here, like William Demarest and Robert Warwick, along with a host of others whose faces will be familiar to any Sturges fan, even if the names are not. The film also features the first major role for Veronica Lake, who enjoyed only a short career at the top, but who endures in memory as one of most stunningly beautiful women in Hollywood history, so much an icon that in L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, Kim Basinger's character was a prostitute who would be with men impersonating Veronica Lake.

Most Sturges films are characterized by their rapid-fire dialog, manic pace, and enormous wit. He always wrote his own scripts, and as good as he could be as a director, he was much better as a writer. For several years before becoming a director, he distinguished himself along with Billy Wilder as perhaps the premier comic writer in Hollywood. This film contains moments that are classic Sturges. For instance, while arguing with the head of the studio about his next film, his boss makes the point that his last escapist film did well in Pittsburgh. Sullivan retorts: "What do they know in Pittsburgh." Studio Head: "They know what they like." Sullivan: "Then what are they doing in Pittsburgh." But in this film, unlike his others, Sturges dramatically slows down the pace at several points, and allows the film to take a much more serious turn, so as to make his central points about the value of making people laugh. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Deanna Dubdin DVD's
Well finally some movies that I have waited for from those old years are coming out. I have Three Smart Girls, and Three Smart Girls Grow Up. I have 3 CD's of Deanna Durbin, and I do love to hear her sing..... Can not wait to get this Sweetheart Pack.....

At home I was always playing over and over Invitation to the Dance and Loch Lomond and the Last Rose of Summer.....WOW !!

At Last!!
Finally! We, devoted fans of Deanna Durbin, will be able to own her wonderful movies on DVD! I disagree, though, with the reviewer who stated that SOMETHING IN THE WIND was one of her worst. There are NO worst Deanna Durbin films; simply favorites. It happens that SOMETHING IN THE WIND is one of my favorites, and 100 MEN AND A GIRL is not. In this case I shall be pleased with the new choice, but others will be disappointed. Hopefully, we shall see ALL of her movies on DVD eventually; and all shall all be pleased!

Three cheers for Deanna Durbin
I am so happy to hear that these Deanna Durbin movies are coming to dvd.I have seen all of these movies. I agree with the viewer from Ventura California. Please transfer all of Deanna Durbin's movies on to dvd. My favorite Deanna Durbin movies are "His Butler's Sister" and "Spring Parade". I hope that they will come out on dvd, in the near future.

Note: "100 Men and a Girl" no longer in DVD set
Unlike what Amazon's page and another reviewer indicate, it seems that in this DVD set "100 Men and a Girl" has now been replaced by "Something in the Wind."

Since "100 Men and a Girl" is considered one of her best movies and the replacement is considered one of her worst, I assume that the DVD studio was unable to obtain the necessary rights and was forced to find another Durbin film to fill the slot.

Deanna durbin Sweetheart Pack
At last Universal Pictures is going to release six of Deanna Durbin's movies on DVD i am certinly looking forward to her movies, finaly coming to DVD, "Three Smart Girls", "100 Men and a Girl", "First Love", "It Started With Eve", and her only movie in Tecnicolor "Can't Help Singing", and "Lady On a Train". Let's have the rest of Deanna's movies released on DVD, Universal. ... Read more

Reviews (46)

The Ultimate Woman's Picture
At a time when Hollywood paid more attention to its female audience and made films for them, this may be the best of the bunch. A padded Bette Davis stars as Charlotte Vale, an overweight, unattractive spinster bullied by the mother who never wanted her. On the verge of a nervous breakdown, her sister-in-law arranges for her to meet a psychiatrist played by Claude Rains, and after spending time at his "hospital", she emerges thinner, beautiful, and more prepared to face the world, a world which include Paul Henreid, a married man that she falls in love with while on a post-recovery cruise. It's the kind of role an actress must love, and Davis plays it with restraint and class. Rains is good as usual, and Henreid delivers one of his best performances. The supporting cast is excellent, with Gladys Cooper pulling out all the stops as the tough mother and Mary Wickes bringing a gentle humour to her role as a nurse. The musical score by Max Steiner is excellent, and of course, there are the famous moments of Henreid lighting two cigarettes at once, something that wouldn't work in today's movies, but is quite effective in this film. With it's Ugly Duckling/Cinderella angle and it's sense of romance, this has to be the ultimate woman's picture. It knows its audience and delivers.

One of Bette's Best
I can never decide whether VOYAGER is the best Bette Davis
movie or DARK VICTORY. She is fantastic as a spinster who
is dominated by her monster mother, beautifully played by Gladys
Cooper. After her nervous breakdown she begins a new life
and meets Paul Henried who of course is married but later she
is able to help Paul's child. This is the movie where he lights
two cigarettes and gives her one and ends with "Oh Jerry, let's
not ask for the moon, we have the stars" Fabulous score by
Max Steiner. Fine acting from Claude Rains, Bonita Granville,
Ilka Chase and in a very small role, Lee Patrick. They don't make 'em like this anymore so thank God for home video. The
DVD transfer is terrific.

Overwrought and Only Somewhat Convincing Melodrama
Davis plays nice with middling results. The acting is fine, to be sure, but I miss the feistyness of her better movies. A hapless neurotic woman breaks free of her tyrannical and hateful mother. She seeks therapy and begins to live her own life. She learns that life can't be perfect but it can always be better & happiness s not impossible. Could be seen as encouragement to wallflowers.

Now Voyager - Bette at Her Best
Bette made some terrific films.... this is my personal favorite along with "Mr. Skeffington"... the ONLY criticism is the biographies of the cast ONLY work with Ms. Davis.. the others on the menu do not function.... still.. the plus side is the stunning transfer of the film to DVD. It is fresh and few flaws are visible on this version. I saw the new version of "Sunset Blvd." just after seeing this film, and though "Voyager" is 8 years older, it looks far cleaner and crisper than "Sunset" does. Bravo to the restoration crew here! The film itself, is of course, a masterpiece and well worth the purchase price. A true gem!

A Classic for the Fans
'Now, Voyager' tells the story of hapless introvert Charlotte Vale (Bette Davis), her near-nervous breakdown machinated by her domineering Mother (Gladys Vale) and her subsequent recovery with the help of the dashing J.D. Durrance (Paul Henreid). Directed by Irving Rapper (Another Man's Poison), 'Now, Voyager' is another glorious slice of early forties melodrama, and a total Davis vehicle.

Not that that's a bad thing, actually. Her performance as Charlotte Vale is excellent, she's emotional and deep enough to be believable, and her private exchanges with JD and her Mother are excellent illustrations of the power of Ms. Davis as an actress. Henreid, too, is wonderful as the stiff and faithful JD, stern enough to cause Charlotte frustration yet likeable enough to generate sympathy from the audience.

The supporting cast are a credible bunch - Gladys Vale is an excellent Matriarch (where are the actresses of this calibre today?) and Ivisible Man Claude Rains is hugely charismatic as Dr. Jaquith, a Vermont-based psychologist who all-but saves Charlotte from herself. Comic relief is supplied in the shape of the always-entertaining Mary Wickes (the crotchety nun in the Sister Act movies) as Dora.

Direction is beautiful, with noir-esque interiors and excellent lighting techniques employed to best suggest the sense of Charlotte subsisting in a grim dictatorial household. Rapper's style is a strange contrast to the script, too - it's got a more organic flow about it than the sometimes-stilted dialogue. The score is provided by the genius Max Steiner and is, as one would expect from a man of this legendary reputation, exactly perfect for the tone of the piece.

DVD Quality is excellent, perhaps a little worn in places but on the whole, it's fantastic, and certainly better than a lot of other later DVD conversions. The extras are perfunctory (and indeed, as one reviewer pointed out below, half seem to be missing!) but they don;t make the picture.

On the whole, 'Now, Voyager' is definitely one for the fans. It seems to have established all of the trademark Davis moves (cigarette, EYES, clipped accent, constantly jiggling arm) and is very stilted in some scenes, approaching Camp (see Charlotte's exchanges with the dreadfully annoying Tina Durrance for proof of this!). While it is an endearing and oftentimes emotionally-involving story, one can't help but feel that it will win no new fans to the genre.

Still, if you're fan, you can't go wrong with this. ... Read more

Description

The definitive screwball comedy, My Man Godfrey follows the madcap antics of a wealthy and eccentric family when they hire a down-and-out "forgotten man" as their butler. My Man Godfrey features brilliant performances by Carole Lombard and William Powell, and was the first film to receive Academy Award® nominations in all four acting categories. ... Read more

Reviews (79)

"My Man Godfrey" Still Sparkles after 60 Years
Gregory La Cava's 1936 masterpiece "My Man Godfrey" my well be the best comedy of the '30s. This screwball classic features a witty topnotch script, fast paced direction, fabulous art deco sets and wonderful performances from Carole Lombard and William Powell, as well as, supporting players, Gail Patrick, Mischa Auer, Eugene Pallette, Alan Mowbray and, the particularly dizzy, Alice Brady. This film has never looked better than it has on this Criterion edition. The picture is crisp and clear and way better than any public domain print. In fact, during a recent showing of a PD print on TCM I got out my laptop and ran the Criterion DVD simultaneously and wow, what a difference. The clarity and amount of detail is terrific. I wish the extras had been better and the commentary could have been from the actual stars and creators rather than a film historian but these are petty complaints. If you have been thinking of adding this classic to your collection then pay the extra money and get the best version out there.

Probably the best screwball comedy ever!
MY RATING- 8.4

Well I was never too keen of screwball comedies, specially the Katherine Hepburn's ones. Movs of that kind relied too much on her feminist style and I certainly didn't identify with that!
This one made me change my mind, it's one of the oldest (1936) and it's some of the best. It's all about a "forgotten man" of the Depression (wonderful William Powell, he was nominated for the oscar) who is caught by rich crazy girl Irene (Carol Lombard, also nominated) to be butler of her family. The rest of the cast is simply brilliant: Alice Brady (nominated), an often forgotten lady of the 30's, who is absolutely funny in the scenes with Mischa Auer (nominated), as Carlo, her "protégé". I was laughing a lot in his gorila scene! Also with the great Eugene Palette as the father and snobish Gail Patrick as the inteligent sister, Cornelia.
This is another gem by director Gregory La Cava, who marks his soft and inteligent flow of action here.

The Gold Standard for DVDs
My Man Godfrey, for me, represents all that's admirable about the DVD format. Visually, it sparkles, literally so in the opening credits. My 15-year-old VHS copy is good, but pales next to the DVD transfer. The inclusion of a vintage trailer from so old a movie was a welcome surprise. The newsreel footage gave historical context. The radio broadcast was icing, just lain fun. The commentary is urbane and inciteful. Yes, I listened to it all. A word of advice about commentaries: Self-described historians do the best. Their commentaries are like fine classroom lectures on your favorite subject. Directors seem to ad lib haltingly, as if they'd rather be somewhere else but can't pass up the dough. If picking a movie for it's commentary, make sure the director is dead. That goes for actors and crew also.

If you like old movies this is one of the best
I have a DVD copy from a Canadian company Cascadia and its excellent video and audio and is perfect except for one scene which is repeated twice in an editing loop- oh well- otherwise its perfect. Great supporting cast.

MISSING A SCENE!!
Do not buy this DVD! I am very familiar with this movie as I own a VHS copy, so I immediately noticed the missing scene. If you know the movie, it is the scene when Irene goes to Godfrey's room and he lectures her on certain "proprieties" and she becomes hysterical and tells him "You'll be sorry!"

This is a great screwball comedy, a must see for classic movie fans and it is a disgrace that this company released the movie so carelessly. ... Read more

Description

W.C. Fields stars as an unemployed, henpecked drunk who spends most of his time at the Black Pussy Cat café. Things take a turn for the absurd when he unwittingly captures a bank robber and lands a job as a security guard. Written by Fields under the pseudonym Mahatma Kane Jeeves and featuring one of his most hilarious performances, The Bank Dick is an undisputed classic of American comedy. Criterion is proud to present Fields' last major film in a new digital transfer, with English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired. ... Read more

Reviews (25)

This is Just Too Funny
This is the second best Fields film (after It's a Gift) and it's similar in that it casts Fields as the lovable drunk with an absolutely hateful family. From the almost surreal episode directing the movie to the eye-poppingly ridiculous chase scene, this one is pure comic entertainment. One side note: it's sad and not a little scary how bloated and tired the Great Man looks in this compared to just six years earlier when It's a Gift was released

a fine example of slapstick comedy
This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.

W.C. Fields stars as Egbert Sousè (Pronounced as "Soosay" but mispronounced as "souse" by many of the people in his town though he is also a souse) a husband who is constantly critized by his family for his drinking and smoking. He lated inadvertently catches a bank robber and is offered a job as a guard at the bank.

The acting is what one would expect from comedy films of the time, and has a cameo role by Shemp Howard best known for his work as one of the 3 stooges.

This is W.C. field's last major film role. The DVD has no special features.

Pretty Good for Sketch Comedy
If this had been made 20 or 30 years later, it would have been great television stuff like Monty Python or Benny Hill. Essentially plotless w/ Fields careening around. Fun but no reason to own it.

W.C. Fields is too funny...
this movie may cause you to lose faith in the possibilities of comedy in the new millenium. W.C. Fields was the best curmudgeon ever and this is one of his greatest films. His wife and his children hate him. Only his friendly neighborhood bartender (played by 4th or 5th stooge, Shemp Howard) loves him. As usual, W.C. gets himself into loads of trouble and finds a way to get out of it with a bunch of money. The final chase scene is rivaled only by It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, What's up, Doc?, and Seven Chances in it's superfluity of gags and danger.

Watch this movie....or die!

Essential W.C. Fields DVD
The Bank Dick is pure Fields and the best of his feature films (with My Little Chickadee a close second). The comedy is timeless; most of the jokes, although written 60 years ago , are relevant today. Supporting cast is brilliant. A must have for all classic comedy fans. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Director Gregory La Cava deftly balances satire, romance, and social comment in this 1936 classic, which echoes Frank Capra in its Depression-era subtext. The Bullocks are a well-heeled, harebrained Manhattan family genetically engineered for screwball collisions: father Alexander (Eugene Pallette, of the foghorn voice and thick-knit eyebrows) is the breadwinner at wit's end, thanks to his spoiled daughters, the sultry Cornelia (Gail Patrick) and the sweet but scatterbrained Irene (a luminous Carole Lombard), his dizzy and doting wife, Angelica (Alice Brady), and her "protégé," Italian freeloader Carlo (Mischa Auer). When Irene wins a society scavenger hunt (and atypically trumps her scheming sister) by producing a "lost man," a seeming tramp named Godfrey (William Powell), all their lives are transformed. With the always suave, effortlessly funny Powell in the title role, this mystery man provides the film's conscience and its model of decency; the giddy, passionate Lombard holds out its model for triumphant love. In a movie riddled with memorable comic highlights, the real miracle is the unapologetic romanticism that prevails. --Sam Sutherland ... Read more

Reviews (85)

Timeless Comedy Classic
My Man Godfrey (1936) embodies why we like to watch old movies.We are reminded of a simpler, more innocent time when people dressed, acted, and spoke with a degree of class that you do not often see in movies today.In such old films, there is no bad language, nudity, violence, or graphic sex.Yet much more is conveyed with a glance or a phrase than a whole modern movie sex scene.

This movie is just hilarious.The film opens with a bunch of rich ne'er do wells in a scavenger hunt for all kinds of bizarre objects.The scene is pure chaos and pure delight.One of the objects is to find a "forgotten man."A young, pretty, somewhat airheaded socialite named Irene Bullock (Carole Lombard) encounters Godfrey (William Powell) in a hobo camp and persuades him to come with her.He soon becomes employed as the family butler, bringing some order to the chaotic Bullock household.

It soon becomes clear that there is more to this man than meets the eye.Godfrey has a mysterious past.The two sisters start vying for his affections.No one's life will ever be the same, as rich meet poor and some people learn some much-needed lessons.

One of the funniest characters in the film is a permanent "houseguest" who has no employ but somehow manages to mooch off them.He made me roar with laughter.

Magical Lombard Plus Dapper Powell Sparkle in Comedy Classic
During Hollywood's golden era, Carole Lombard was probably the most strikingly beautiful actress of her generation and arguably the most talented comedienne. She managed to be both hilariously free-wheeling and uninhibitedly down-to-earth, even as she plays the flightiest of madcap heiresses. One can only speculate what brilliant career lay ahead of her had she not died tragically early in a 1942 plane crash. Fortunately, we have this 1936 screwball classic, likely her most famous film, as a reminder of her beauty, charisma and sheer likeability. Her character Irene Bullock feels like a first cousin to Katharine Hepburn's Susan Vance in "Bringing Up Baby", a scatterbrained, motor-mouthed, persistent-beyond-reason socialite living with her equally eccentric family on Park Avenue. If not for Lombard, this character would try anyone's patience with her impetuous behavior and the childish competitiveness she displays with her sister.

What makes this movie different though is its social consciousness about the thoughtless rich and the put-upon downtrodden, the contrast of which made this particularly apt during the Great Depression. But the grand statements one would expect from a Capra never seem leaden in this comedy as directed by the underrated Gregory LaCava. Instead, they are fully integrated into a story that starts with a society "scavenger hunt" for a "forgotten man". In the city dump, the Bullock daughters find one in the form of Godfrey, portrayed with typically dapper élan by William Powell. Godfrey is an erudite hobo with whom Irene becomes quickly enamored, and she quickly convinces him to become the family butler. As it turns out, of course, he turns out to be the scion of a wealthy Boston family who decided to shuck it all once he was betrayed by love. He becomes the catalyst for improving the lives and characters of the Bullocks, all the while ensuring he takes care of his hobo friends on the riverfront. Only Powell could play a character that moves so fluidly between bum and butler, though he does falter slightly in his drunken scenes which seem really to come out of nowhere to move the plot along. Powell and Lombard were previously married and divorced prior to this film, and there is a subtle familiarity in their burgeoning relationship that makes their rapport sparkle (ironically, off-screen, he was in love with Jean Harlow at the time, she just beginning with Gable).

The supporting cast is impeccable in characteristic roles for the actors - Eugene Palette in typical comic, fog-horned bluster as the frustrated patriarch (though actually more restrained here than his other similar roles of the period); Alice Brady in full daffy flightiness as the arts-loving mother with her own live-in protégé in Mischa Auer, who plays Carlo as the high-maintenance leech he is (his chimpanzee impersonation scene is priceless thanks to his manic agility); Jean Dixon as the smart-mouthed maid Molly who develops her own crush on Godfrey (though the script gives her short shrift in this development); and best of all, Gail Patrick, who epitomizes the upper-crust bitch-princess as the talon-bearing sister Cornelia (of course, she and Lombard do not look remotely like sisters). It all wraps up nicely though rather fancifully, for instance, Cornelia does an about-face only a Hollywood producer would find credible. And one could argue that the portrayal of Godfrey's hobo brethren is on the sanctimonious side. But it doesn't matter, as the movie glides over the heavier implications of wealth, class distinctions and social injustice with a velvet glove. A true and deserved classic.

I am generally not a fan of colorization, though I have to admit the digital technology seems to be improving as the new discount-priced DVD provides a surprisingly nice transfer with soft, pastel colors except for some of the more elaborate evening gowns at the beginning.The package includes the original black-and-white version for purists and a colorized trailer as well. This is a good alternative to the Criterion Collection DVD priced at nearly four times the price (granted with additional features).

William Powell is at his best.
A dysfunctional but seemingly wealthy family takes in a new butler of dubious background.In return the butler saves the family in more ways than one.(This is a comedy)

I really appreciate this movie on many levels.You may recognize several people types just in the Bullock family.The interaction between Carole Lombard and William Powell is worth watching in its self.I particularly like when Tommy Gray (Alan Mowbray) has to explain his earlier relationship with Godfrey.

As good as this movie is I still like the remake with David Niven and June Allyson just as well."My Man" Godfrey (1957) but many of his movies are hard to find.Such as "The Statue" and "Prudence and the pill."

Colorized and Black&White
Good Black&White edition and surprisingly good 2005 Color edition. Although I'm no fan of colorized movies in general, this edition has some very pleasant and natural looking colors (we're living in the digital age after all and colorizing images has not been overdone like the tendency in the past). No subtitles are available, both movies are on the same side of the DVD. No special features other than scene selections and original Trailer. A bargain compared to the Criterion edition. Key Video is supposed to be a subsidiary of Fox.

Terrific Comedy With Powell and Lombard
This is one of the movies that beget the term "screwball comedy" to describe some of the wonderful, sophisticated, fast-paced and funny Hollywood films to come out of the Depression. In my view, it's one of the best. It would be hard to find two actors who were more skilled at portraying stylish insouciance, who were more attractive as people and who were more polished at delivering funny dialogue than William Powell and Carole Lombard. And although the movie is great fun, there's an underlying message about how people treat each other that is handled deftly.

Irene Bullock (Carole Lombard) and her sister, Cornelia (Gail Patrick), the spoiled, rich daughters of a New York businessman and his scatterbrained wife, are on a society party scavenger hunt. They're competing to find a forgotten man and bring him back to the party. In a dump by the East River they find a group of homeless men living in scrap huts, among them Godfrey Smith (William Powell). Godfrey rejects Cornelia's imperious command to come with her, but is intrigued by Irene's ditsy honesty.

"Do you mind telling me just what a scavenger hunt is?" Godfrey asks.
"Well," Irene says, "a scavenger hunt is exactly like a treasure hunt, except in a treasure hunt you try to find something you want, and in a scavenger hunt you try to find something that nobody wants."
"Hmm, like a forgotten man?"
"That's right, and the one who wins gets a prize, only there really isn't a prize. It's just the honor of winning, because all the money goes to charity, that is, if there is any money left over, but there never is."
"Well, that clears the whole matter up beautifully," Godfrey says. He goes with Irene, she wins the prize and is so intrigued by Godfrey that she offers him a job as butler in the Bullock mansion.

The movie is all about Godfrey the butler dealing with the Bullock family, from Irene's infatuation to her father's gruff frustrations and increasing financial failures. The mother is forever going off into self-indulgent flights of nonsense. Cornelia is beautiful and condescending, the maid is knowing and funny. And there seems to be a live-in gigolo for Mrs. Bullock, Mischa Auer, who at one point does a great impersonation of an arm-swinging ape. Through it all Godfrey maintains his composure. And little by little we learn that Godfrey is not who we think he is, or who the Bullocks think he is.

By the end of the movie Godfrey has by his example taught the Bullocks a thing or two about honesty and humility, his real identity has been discovered, and Irene Bullock has more or less coerced him into what will most likely be a very interesting marriage.

William Powell could deliver more meaning in a cocked eyebrow or a slightly questioning line delivery than, I think, any of his contemporaries. He wasn't a conventionally handsome lead actor, but he carried himself with such style and assurance that he was a dominant star. Carole Lombard was his match in this film. She was a gorgeous creature, but could be earthy or funny or glamorous when she chose, and all at once, too.

The Criterion DVD is in great shape. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

In this 1942 melodrama, founded on the novel by Olivia Higgins Prouty (who also wrote the novel on whichStella Dallas was based), Bette Davis stars as Charlotte Vale, a dowdy, repressed woman who, overwhelmed by her domineering mother, is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She finds help at a sanitarium from a kind psychiatrist (Claude Rains), who turns her into a beautiful, confident woman. As a new person, she takes a pleasure cruise, where she meets Jerry (Paul Henreid), an architect trapped in an unhappy marriage, saddled with a troubled daughter. The two fall in love, but, of course, the romance is doomed. Yet their paths cross on occasion, and, despite their feelings, Charlotte finds satisfaction in helping Jerry's depressed child. The film will seem familiar to new viewers--the campy style was the pattern for many tearjerkers to come, and its most famous line has been oft repeated ("Don't ask for the moon--we have the stars"). But the heartstrings are tugged, and as Paul Henreid chivalrously lights two cigarettes and hands one over to the doleful-eyed Davis, pull out the box of tissues--you're gonna need 'em.--Jenny Brown ... Read more

Reviews (56)

"To Seek and Find"
Sister #3:

"The untold want, by life and land ne'er granted
Now, Voyager sail thou forth to seek and find."- Walt Whitman

This was my favorite Bette Davis movie when I was growing up.I saw it many, many times.I loved her character - she was the "good Bette Davis" - I loved her clothes, and I loved the story: the transformation of an ugly, insecure duckling into the beautiful, graceful swan. I see the Charlotte Vale character as a women who must overcome herself in order find happiness.As the good Dr. Jaquith (Claude Rains), says, she "has come to a fork in the road and must decide which road to take."Ultimately, she decides that she can express her love by helping others overcome what she had to overcome.She makes a graceful, lovely decision.Charlotte Vale was my role model when I was growing up in the late 1960's and 70's.

"No one ever called me darling before."
A great melodrama, a tearjerker about love and sacrifice that grabs you by the throat and won't let go. Bette Davis is Charlotte Vale, a supressed spinster who gets help from her psychiatrist (Claude Rains). Breaking out of her shell, she goes on a voyage to Brazil where she meets Jerry (Paul Henreid), who is married. They fall in love and then must part. Davis later becomes the surrogate mother to Jerry's daughter Tina, who is suffering from a lack of love just as Charlotte did as a girl. In a famous scene at the end, Davis and Henreid reconfirm their love and its continuation through Tina: "Don't ask for the moon - we have the stars" Davis tells him. Max Steiner's music score is lush anddesigned to make the tears flow even more. At first, when the part about Tina begins, it seems like a tag-on for affect (the scene just before it with Davis on a train pleading for the absent Jerry when she needs him most seems like the logical conclusion to the picture), but it starts to grow on you, thanks to Rains's light touches at the right moments. It's a story of impossible, idealized love and the sacrifices attendant to that love - if it was an opera there'd be a double suicide. But it's moving and touching just the same. Davis was famous for this kind of role, and she is excellent. And Henreid and that famous bit of lighting two cigarettes at once - gotta love it. Definitely worth a watch.

Now,Voyager-First rate quality DVD.
Warner Bros of old would be proud of the quality of this DVD from a technical point,the crispiness of the black & white print is sheer outstanding-compare that with the trailer which is also enclosed.Over the years this was typical of the results you would expect from a VHS print.

Dolby have done an excellent job of cleaning up the sound track also.I've worked in the film industry/photography for many years so I can see quality when it comes along.This DVD lives up to expectation,not only to the contents but picture perfect as well.

It looks as though it's just arrived off the Warner lot only yesterday.

Abosultely Marvellous!!!
This is a MARVELLOUS film of which displays the true character of a young lady burdnened down by her mother. Throughout the film, a man on a cruise encourages her true character embeded within heart to be shown.I encourage every person who finds classic movies to his or her enjoyment to please view this movie.

Now, Voyager
With the help of her psychologist, Dr. Jaquith (Claude Rains), Charlotte Vale (Bette Davis) breaks lose from the iron grip of her stern and domineering mother (Gladys Cooper).Charlotte loses weight, trims her eyebrows, and finds love with the handsome Jerry Durrance (Paul Henreid) while on a cruise to Rio.
NOW, VOYAGER is full of that thick, gooey stuff of which impossible melodramas are made - the cruel parent, the ugly duckling child who must wrest herself out from under the suffocating maternal wing so she may blossom into a beautiful swan, etc., etc., etc.Tear-jerking muck is a toxin to my system, and my thumb hung heavy over the `eject' button, ready to zap this one into oblivion.
But Davis, who must be the greatest movie star ever, plays her character free of artifice and false sentimentality.By the time she meets (unhappily) married Henreid on the cruise ship I was totally involved in her story.By the time they parted at the railroad station and she asked "Shall I tell you what you've given me...?" I was reaching for the hankies.
What a remarkable actress was Bette Davis.
... Read more

Reviews (9)

Just Picture A Pent-House Way Up In The Sky!
It's hard for me to say who's films I enjoy more Preston Sturges or Ernst Lubitsch, both to me are masters of the sophisticated comedies. It's like asking someone who do you like more Chaplin or Keaton, both are so good you'd hate to chose one or the other. But of all the Sturges films I've seen I have to admit "Christmas in July" I think is his weakest. If judge purely on it's own merits it's a fine lighthearted enjoyable comedy. But when you consider the other films Preston Sturges made, "Christmas in July" doesn't hold up as well. It doesn't seem to have the bite movies such as "The Great McGinty" (Sturges' first film as dirctor), or "The Palm Beach Story" and my favorite "Unfaithfully Yours" had. It seems as if Sturges missed a few marks with this one. I didn't laugh as much as I usually do when watching one of his films. Though there is one great scene dealing with Powell after he thinks he won a contest and goes to the office of Dr. Maxford (Raymond Walburn). That scene made me laugh. And I promise not to give it away.

"Christmas in July" has Jimmy MacDonald (Dick Powell, this was at the time Powell wanted to break away from the musicals) as a poor but in love young man trying to make it big. Currently he has tried out in a contest created by Dr.Maxford (Walburn) who is looking for a new slogan for his coffee. Jimmy has entered in many contest before and naturally has lost them all. But, the way he figures it, one of these days he's bound to win one. So he and his sweetheart, Betty (Ellen Drew) hope for the best. If Jimmy wins they can finally get married. But everything will not work out so fine.

While at work some co-workers over-hear the news of Jimmy entering the contest and they decide to have a little fun at his expense. They tell him he's won the contest and a prize of $25,000!

Sturges' comedy starts to take off at this point, but I just can't help but feel the movie leaves much to be desired. And I only say this because I've truly enjoyed Sturges' past films. But this one is just not quite up to par with the rest of them. If you've never seen a Preston Sturges comedy, please do not start here.

So is there anything good to say about this movie? Yes. As I said before it is a cute old-fashioned comedy that has one of those happy endings we've come to expect from Hollywood. It does have a few funny scenes and is a harmless silly comedy. I would only suggest that fans of Sturges watch this one.

Bottom-line: One of Preston Sturges weaker comedies. Not to say this is a bad movie. Has a few bright spots but doesn't live up to Struges' other films such as "Unfaithfully Yours", "The Palm Beach Story" & "The Lady Eve".

A splendiferous gem.
"Christmas in July" is among the finest and yet unappreciated comedies of Hollywood's golden age. Dick Powell, a newcomer at Paramount studios, portrays Jimmy MacDonald who has entered a coffee company's slogan contest with the grand prize being $25,000. Some of his co-workers play a joke on him with a fake telegram. Jimmy and his fiance, Betty Casey (Ellen Drew) become excited as Jimmy is thought by his boss as being such a genius at writing slogans that Jimmy gets his own office and Betty is his private secretary. After they pick up the check (surprising to Dr. Maxford of Maxford House Coffee who doesn't know of anybody selected), they go on a shopping spree buying something for everybody in their neighborhood. Probably the only reason for the film's title is because Ellen Drew gives the line "It's like Christmas, in July." When Dr. Maxford finds out nobody was selected and the check was supposedly fake, Shindel Bros., the department store of which they went on a spree, starts to take everything back until the pompous Dr. Maxford steps in. Shindel is convinced when the townspeople take Jimmy's side and not Dr. Maxford's. Later, as they view Jimmy's new office, his boss is still impressed with his slogan-writing ability until when he hears Jimmy didn't really win and it was a joke. His boss goes into a fury, but Betty takes Jimmy's side by saying that he belongs in his own office becuase he thinks he has ideas and gives a short speech to him. In Maxford House, Dr. Maxford gets into a huge fit when he is distressed at the contest and that his workers have finally selected a winner. Guess who? Quite likely, the cycle will start again. Amazing film, and quite amazing what you can fit in a short 67 minute film.

A comic gem from Sturges.
One of Preston Sturges' best but least known films stars Dick Powell as an ordinary guy who becomes the victim of a prank and thinks he has won a slogan-writing contest. Altho the events are fairly predictable, this does not detract from the laughs. As with all Sturges films, plenty of fine old character actors (including, as always, William Demarest) are on hand. Why doesn't anyone make 67 minute movies anymore?

Not a masterpiece
This film combines a rather dull, predictable and contrived plot with inconsistent characters. William Demerest plays a minor role in the movie, but "Uncle Charlie" is by far its highlight. A couple of slapstick scenes including a fishfight (yes, a fishfight) prevent the movie from having no redeeming aspects. Potential purchasers, beware! This is not a Christmas movie. Set in July, it takes its title from one line in the movie. Not worth the price of admission or even rental.

IF YOU'RE A PRESTON STURGES FAN
then you'll enjoy this VHS. It's typical Sturges. Very predictable but enjoyable, nothing spectacular, though. ... Read more