Christmas in Connecticut (1945)

Christmas in Connecticut is a 1945 romantic comedy film directed by Peter Godfrey. The film stars Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, and Sydney Greenstreet.

Director: Peter Godfrey

Production Company: Warner Bros.

Distributor: Warner Bros.

Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet, Reginald Gardiner, SZ Sakall

US Box Office: $8,182,500 ($223,700,000 adjusted for inflation)

Film Format: Black & White

Genre: Comedy

Release Date: July 27, 1945 (premiere), August 11, 1945 (general release)

Plot Summary: Elizabeth Lane (Barbara Stanwyck) is a food columnist who claims to be a married woman who lives on a farm in Connecticut. In actuality she is single, lives in a New York City apartment, and can’t cook, needing to borrow recipes from her chef friend Felix (SZ Sakall). Unfortunately for Elizabeth, her boss Alexander Yardley (Sydney Greenstreet) invites himself and returning war hero Jefferson Jones (Dennis Morgan) to Elizabeth’s nonexistent farm home for Christmas! Elizabeth and her friends need to come up with a ruse to make it seem like Elizabeth actually lives the life she claims to have, leading to many hilarious situations.

Production: Late in 1943, Warner Bros began working on a Christmas-related romantic comedy film titled Christmas in Connecticut. The film was produced by William Jacobs, who chose British director Peter Godfrey to direct the project. Godfrey excelled at both serious and comedic films, and shortly before Christmas in Connecticut he had worked with Warner Bros on the comedy film Make Your Own Bed (1944). Jacobs chose Lionel Houser and Adele Comandini to write the film’s screenplay.

In February of 1944 Bette Davis was cast as Elizabeth Lane, but by April she had been replaced by Barbara Stanwyck. Stanwyck was known for both her dramatic and comedic performances and she had previously starred in the popular comedy films The Lady Eve (1941) and Ball of Fire (1941). Dennis Morgan was cast as the leading man in the film. John Alexander was originally cast in the role of John Sloan, the man who poses as Elizabeth’s husband, but he was later replaced by Reginald Gardiner. Sydney Greenstreet was cast Yardley, Elizabeth’s boss. Christmas in Connecticut was one of the few comedy films to star Greenstreet, who was more well known for his roles in film noir and crime films.

Chirstmas in Connecticut was shot entirely on Warner Bros studios in California from May to July of 1944. As Christmas in Connecticut was a mid-budget comedy film that didn’t require outdoors sets, filming it entirely in the studio made the most sense for the studio. The house set that represents John Sloan’s Connecticut farm home had previously been used as the house in Bringing Up Baby (1938). Director Peter Godfrey and Sydney Greenstreet both started their careers in the London theater industry and had become good friends by the time Christmas in Connecticut was in production. They frequently told jokes on set and kept the rest of the cast happy and amused during filming. The gowns that Barbara Stanwyck wore in the film were designed by iconic Hollywood costume designer Edith Head.

Fun Facts and Trivia: The mink coat that Elizabeth buys for herself near the beginning of the film was the same coat worn by Joan Crawford in Mildred Pierce (1945) released that same year. This was part of a larger effort by Warner Bros studio head Jack Warner to cut down on production costs for his films at the time by reusing props and costumes. Director Peter Godfrey and Barbara Stanwyck got along well while filming Christmas in Connecticut and became friends. Stanwyck later starred in two more of Godfrey’s films, The Two Mrs. Carrolls (1947) and Cry Wolf (1947). Elizabeth is loosely based on Gladys Taber, a columnist for Ladies’ Home Journal and Family Circle, who lived on a farm in Southbury, Connecticut.

Reception: Christmas in Connecticut was a big success at the box office. The film had an average sized budget for a comedy and earned considerably more than its budget, so the film made a considerable profit for Warner Bros. Though not a war film, Christmas in Connecticut did have a positive depiction of the American war effort near the end of World War II, so its patriotic sentiments and light-hearted nature likely contributed to the film’s strong box office performance.

Christmas in Connecticut received generally strong reviews at the time of its release. The Hollywood Reporter thought that the film was very funny and gave it a positive review. Though it has been somewhat forgotten today (at least by Christmas movie standards), Christmas in Connecticut remains well-received in modern times. In 2000, Christmas in Connecticut was one of 500 films nominated by the American Film Institute for their list of the Top 100 funniest American comedy films. In 1992, Arnold Schwarzenegger directed a made-for-TV remake of the film for TNT that starred Dyan Cannon as Elizabeth.

Why You Should See It: Christmas in Connecticut is a very funny romantic comedy film. It is a very sweet and good-natured film with plenty of funny scenes. The film is very well-cast and all the actors are good in their parts. Barbara Stanwyck is very good in her role and does a good job with the comedic material. Dennis Morgan is also quite likeable in his part. SZ Sakall is hilarious in his supporting role and definitely stands out. Christmas in Connecticut is a lesser known Christmas film that is definately worth watching.