list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around The Palm Beach Story on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/The_Palm_Beach_Story/26004/default.aspx Title: The Palm Beach Story
Year: 1942
Director: Preston Sturges
Plot: As for the opening reels, the principal motivating factor is money. After a deliberately confusing pre-credit sequence (not explained until the film's punch line), Tom Jeffers (Joel McCrea) and Gerry Jeffers (Claudette Colbert) are married. "And so they lived happily ever after," exults a title card, "...or did they?" Well, they didn't. After five years of marriage, Tom hasn't raised a dime with his pie-in-the-sky inventions. Using the sort of logic common to Sturges heroines, Gerry decides that the only way to help her husband is to divorce him, marry a wealthy man, and use the second husband's money to finance Tom's schemes. Borrowing money from a generous self-made business mogul known only as the Wienie King (Robert Dudley), Gerry boards a train to Palm Beach, FL, where all the rich folk go. En route, she is "adopted" by the Ale & Quail Club, a group of perpetually drunken millionaires whose idea of a good time is to shoot their rifles at everything that moves (among the club members are such Sturges regulars as William Demarest, Robert Warwick, Jimmy Conlin, Robert Greig, Jack Norton, and Dewey Robinson). Taking refuge from this rowdy crew, Gerry makes the acquaintance of likeable stuffed shirt John D. Hackensacker III (Rudy Vallee), who happens to be one of the wealthiest men in the Western Hemisphere. While Gerry spoons with Hackensacker in Palm Beach, the confused Tom (remember him?) dallies with Hackensacker's man-crazy sister, Princess Centimillia (Mary Astor). How all this straightens itself out is better seen than described, which is pretty much the case whenever one discusses Sturges' singular work, and The Palm Beach Story is vintage Sturges with one side-splitting sequence after another. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Number of Lists: 10
Number of blog posts: 3
SpoutRating: 3
]]>Thu, 02 Oct 2008 03:07:12 GMTThe Palm Beach Story1942Preston SturgesAs for the opening reels, the principal motivating factor is money. After a deliberately confusing pre-credit sequence (not explained until the film's punch line), Tom Jeffers (<a href="/players/P____47163/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Joel McCrea</a>) and Gerry Jeffers (<a href="/players/P____14003/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Claudette Colbert</a>) are married. "And so they lived happily ever after," exults a title card, "...or did they?" Well, they didn't. After five years of marriage, Tom hasn't raised a dime with his pie-in-the-sky inventions. Using the sort of logic common to Sturges heroines, Gerry decides that the only way to help her husband is to divorce him, marry a wealthy man, and use the second husband's money to finance Tom's schemes. Borrowing money from a generous self-made business mogul known only as the Wienie King (<a href="/players/P____20365/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Robert Dudley</a>), Gerry boards a train to Palm Beach, FL, where all the rich folk go. En route, she is "adopted" by the Ale & Quail Club, a group of perpetually drunken millionaires whose idea of a good time is to shoot their rifles at everything that moves (among the club members are such Sturges regulars as <a href="/players/P____18513/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>William Demarest</a>, <a href="/players/P___116030/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Robert Warwick</a>, <a href="/players/P____14480/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Jimmy Conlin</a>, <a href="/players/P____28696/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Robert Greig</a>, <a href="/players/P____53073/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Jack Norton</a>, and <a href="/players/P____60772/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Dewey Robinson</a>). Taking refuge from this rowdy crew, Gerry makes the acquaintance of likeable stuffed shirt John D. Hackensacker III (<a href="/players/P____72689/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Rudy Vallee</a>), who happens to be one of the wealthiest men in the Western Hemisphere. While Gerry spoons with Hackensacker in Palm Beach, the confused Tom (remember him?) dallies with Hackensacker's man-crazy sister, Princess Centimillia (<a href="/players/P_____2657/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Mary Astor</a>). How all this straightens itself out is better seen than described, which is pretty much the case whenever one discusses Sturges' singular work, and The Palm Beach Story is vintage Sturges with one side-splitting sequence after another. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide1033http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t52284z6b95.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/The_Palm_Beach_Story/26004/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/blogs/shaunhuston/archive/2008/6/18/31391.aspx Post By: ShaunHuston
Post To: ShaunHuston filmblog
Post Date: 6/18/2008 9:01:56 PM
Body: For me, the romantic comedy Top 10 is the most solid compilation of the group. Not only is the rom com a clearly established American film genre, but the individual selections are all eminently reasonable and defensible. This is not to suggest that I wouldn't make alternate suggestions, because I would, but I understand the reasoning behind each of the ten films on the AFI's list. And I don't have any strong contrarian or idiosyncratic preferences that would lead me to tilt at a windmill like arguing against the selection of, say, City Lights (1931) as number one, or its inclusion on the list altogether. The one film on this list that I do question is Sleepless in Seattle (1993). There isn't anything outstandingly wrong with the film, but it isn't especially remarkable, either. It doesn't represent a particularly clever or innovative take on the genre. It doesn't push any boundaries. It doesn't mark any point in the development of the form (indeed, I would argue that it is fairly typical of the post-Harry and Sally rom com, including being less enjoyable than its progenitor). And Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan do not have any special chemistry together (maybe one reason why they spend most of the movie apart). Replacing Sleepless in Seattle is fairly easy; the one gaping hole in the AFI's list is the absence of anything by Preston Sturges. But what to pick? Just about any of his films would be a better choice than the more contemporary film, but, for me, it's a tough call between: Sullivan's Travels (1941), The Lady Eve (1941), and The Palm Beach Story (1942). I probably lean in the direction of Sullivan's, largely because of how sharply written the first meeting between Sullivan (Joel McCrea) and The Girl (Veronica Lake) is; all I'll say here is that Nora Ephron wishes she could write dialogue like the snappy back-and-forth in this scene. On the other hand, there are moments of clear genius in The Lady Eve, from both Barbara Stanwyck and Sturges. However, the film does have one central flaw, and it's an important one from a genre perspective: the lead characters are not evenly matched. At no point does Henry Fonda's Charles Pike have a chance against Stanwyck's Jean Harrington, and practically each time I watch the film I want her to take her revenge without taking him back; he's that much of a drip. While I would replace Sleepless in Seattle with Sullivan's Travels, I would not list it at the bottom. In deference to people who know silent film better than I, I'd put it at number two. I could make an argument for either of the other two Sturges movies, but, as I indicated in the opening, the existing selections are reasonable enough that I don't feel compelled to argue for taking off, even, a film like Moonstruck (1987), the appearance of which I found to be surprisingly charming. Link to introduction. Originally posted on:Short-Circuit Signs
]]>Thu, 19 Jun 2008 01:01:56 GMTShaunHustonShaunHuston filmblog6/18/2008 9:01:56 PMFor me, the romantic comedy Top 10 is the most solid compilation of the group. Not only is the rom com a clearly established American film genre, but the individual selections are all eminently reasonable and defensible. This is not to suggest that I wouldn't make alternate suggestions, because I would, but I understand the reasoning behind each of the ten films on the AFI's list. And I don't have any strong contrarian or idiosyncratic preferences that would lead me to tilt at a windmill like arguing against the selection of, say, City Lights (1931) as number one, or its inclusion on the list altogether. The one film on this list that I do question is Sleepless in Seattle (1993). There isn't anything outstandingly wrong with the film, but it isn't especially remarkable, either. It doesn't represent a particularly clever or innovative take on the genre. It doesn't push any boundaries. It doesn't mark any point in the development of the form (indeed, I would argue that it is fairly typical of the post-Harry and Sally rom com, including being less enjoyable than its progenitor). And Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan do not have any special chemistry together (maybe one reason why they spend most of the movie apart). Replacing Sleepless in Seattle is fairly easy; the one gaping hole in the AFI's list is the absence of anything by Preston Sturges. But what to pick? Just about any of his films would be a better choice than the more contemporary film, but, for me, it's a tough call between: Sullivan's Travels (1941), The Lady Eve (1941), and The Palm Beach Story (1942). I probably lean in the direction of Sullivan's, largely because of how sharply written the first meeting between Sullivan (Joel McCrea) and The Girl (Veronica Lake) is; all I'll say here is that Nora Ephron wishes she could write dialogue like the snappy back-and-forth in this scene. On the other hand, there are moments of clear genius in The Lady Eve, from both Barbara Stanwyck and Sturges. However, the film does have one central flaw, and it's an important one from a genre perspective: the lead characters are not evenly matched. At no point does Henry Fonda's Charles Pike have a chance against Stanwyck's Jean Harrington, and practically each time I watch the film I want her to take her revenge without taking him back; he's that much of a drip. While I would replace Sleepless in Seattle with Sullivan's Travels, I would not list it at the bottom. In deference to people who know silent film better than I, I'd put it at number two. I could make an argument for either of the other two Sturges movies, but, as I indicated in the opening, the existing selections are reasonable enough that I don't feel compelled to argue for taking off, even, a film like Moonstruck (1987), the appearance of which I found to be surprisingly charming. Link to introduction. Originally posted on:Short-Circuit Signs http://www.spout.com/blogs/jammin/archive/2008/5/19/29460.aspx Post By: jammin
Post To: jammin Blog
Post Date: 5/19/2008 11:45:47 AM
Body: Sturges is a master at integrating gags with narration. His dialogue is smart, witty, and original, and, as many have said, way ahead of his time. The more I think about and watch this film the funnier it becomes. Not only is the dialogue in Sturges' unique style, but it is also in the rapid, reactionary manner found in other '40s films, like His Girl Friday, an aspect Claudette Colbert and Rudy Vallee especially shine in. The increased volume on Robert Dudley (The Wienie King) creates a delightfully annoying character. The sound, acting, and narrative techniques are all superb. What it lacks is a strong concentration in editing and cinematography. A '40s comedy such as this relies heavily on continuity. In many situations Sturges avoids the over-the-shoulder shot in favor of close-ups which put more emphasis on character reactions, while this helps in the development of each character, I think this choice of framing takes away from the spatial continuity, and is quite jolting. The editing also increases this discontinuity of space. Many times Sturges attempts dynamic shot-reverse shot conversation pieces, which are more disjointing than enjoyable. While some may disregard these aspects in favor of Sturges inventive writing, I think the lack of concentration on these features leaves an unpolished feel around the film. The Palm Beach Story (1942)
]]>Mon, 19 May 2008 15:45:47 GMTjamminjammin Blog5/19/2008 11:45:47 AMSturges is a master at integrating gags with narration. His dialogue is smart, witty, and original, and, as many have said, way ahead of his time. The more I think about and watch this film the funnier it becomes. Not only is the dialogue in Sturges' unique style, but it is also in the rapid, reactionary manner found in other '40s films, like His Girl Friday, an aspect Claudette Colbert and Rudy Vallee especially shine in. The increased volume on Robert Dudley (The Wienie King) creates a delightfully annoying character. The sound, acting, and narrative techniques are all superb. What it lacks is a strong concentration in editing and cinematography. A '40s comedy such as this relies heavily on continuity. In many situations Sturges avoids the over-the-shoulder shot in favor of close-ups which put more emphasis on character reactions, while this helps in the development of each character, I think this choice of framing takes away from the spatial continuity, and is quite jolting. The editing also increases this discontinuity of space. Many times Sturges attempts dynamic shot-reverse shot conversation pieces, which are more disjointing than enjoyable. While some may disregard these aspects in favor of Sturges inventive writing, I think the lack of concentration on these features leaves an unpolished feel around the film. The Palm Beach Story (1942) http://www.spout.com/blogs/shaunhuston/archive/2007/7/11/13682.aspx Post By: ShaunHuston
Post To: ShaunHuston filmblog
Post Date: 7/11/2007 5:04:00 PM
Body: The movies in our DVD collection can be broadly categorized like this:Ones that we, and particularly Anne-Marie, will watch pretty casually. These tend to be films that are simply “watchable,” that we are already pretty familiar with, and/or can be watched for individual moments. Examples of these films include Dazed and Confused (1993), 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), and L.A. Confidential (1997).Ones with which we are familiar with and may watch casually, but are more, or at least just as, likely to watch with focus. Among these films are The Godfather (I and II), The Third Man (1949), and The Royal Tenenbaums (2001). Much as Anne-Marie is more likely to pop in a movie as background, I am more likely to devote my attention to a film I've chosen to watch. Both of these categories of films are the kinds of movies we're likely to watch when home sick, or have the luxury of a lazy day.Finally, there are those that we have in our collection, but rarely watch. In some cases, we may not have watched them at all since purchasing them, but have seen them previously in the theater or from renting. Many of these films are non-English language movies, Anne-Marie likes to knit while watching television, but not all. Movies that we have not yet watched since buying them include Band of Outsiders (1964), My Man Godfrey (1936), and Palm Beach Story (1942) (we have a small, like three to four, number of DVDs of films we have never seen; these came packaged in box sets).This summer, hopefully starting this week (7/8/2007-7/14/2007), we are starting an "At-Home Film Festival" to begin working, particularly, on the third category of movies, although films from the first two categories, especially those that we haven't watched with real intent in awhile, will also be fair game.I'll be listing the films here, and will try to post, at least, consistent “One thing ...” reactions to our selections. We're planning on one a week through August.
]]>Wed, 11 Jul 2007 21:04:00 GMTShaunHustonShaunHuston filmblog7/11/2007 5:04:00 PMThe movies in our DVD collection can be broadly categorized like this:Ones that we, and particularly Anne-Marie, will watch pretty casually. These tend to be films that are simply &ldquo;watchable,&rdquo; that we are already pretty familiar with, and/or can be watched for individual moments. Examples of these films include Dazed and Confused (1993), 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), and L.A. Confidential (1997).Ones with which we are familiar with and may watch casually, but are more, or at least just as, likely to watch with focus. Among these films are The Godfather (I and II), The Third Man (1949), and The Royal Tenenbaums (2001). Much as Anne-Marie is more likely to pop in a movie as background, I am more likely to devote my attention to a film I've chosen to watch. Both of these categories of films are the kinds of movies we're likely to watch when home sick, or have the luxury of a lazy day.Finally, there are those that we have in our collection, but rarely watch. In some cases, we may not have watched them at all since purchasing them, but have seen them previously in the theater or from renting. Many of these films are non-English language movies, Anne-Marie likes to knit while watching television, but not all. Movies that we have not yet watched since buying them include Band of Outsiders (1964), My Man Godfrey (1936), and Palm Beach Story (1942) (we have a small, like three to four, number of DVDs of films we have never seen; these came packaged in box sets).This summer, hopefully starting this week (7/8/2007-7/14/2007), we are starting an "At-Home Film Festival" to begin working, particularly, on the third category of movies, although films from the first two categories, especially those that we haven't watched with real intent in awhile, will also be fair game.I'll be listing the films here, and will try to post, at least, consistent &ldquo;One thing ...&rdquo; reactions to our selections. We're planning on one a week through August. http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/love/MemberTagFilms.aspxlove
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