CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT

US, 1945, 102 minutes, Black and white.
Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet, Reginald Gardiner, S.Z. Sakall, Una O’ Connor.
Directed by Peter Godfrey.

Christmas in Connecticut is a light Christmas story – one of those recurring on television year by year.

It is the story of a famous chef – who has a public story about a hardworking farmer and with family and children. However, this is not the case. She lives alone in New York, gets her recipes from her friend (played by S.Z. Sakall) and is inept in the kitchen. The publishers decide that a sailor should spend the Christmas with her – so her dilemma is to keep her true identity quiet and to pretend to be the cook. Needless to say, this is a comedy.

Barbara Stanwyck appeared in a lot of serious films, Double Indemnity just before this one. It is a change of pace for her. Dennis Morgan, an agreeable musical and comedy star at Warner Bros, is the sailor. The supporting cast includes regulars like Sydney Greenstreet.

The film was remade for television in 1992 with Dyan Cannon and Tony Curtis, with Kris Kristofferson as the sailor equivalent. The film was directed by, of all people, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

1. The appeal of this kind of comedy, romance, sentimental drama?

2. The film and the styles of the forties, black and white photography, music, the stars?

3. The atmosphere of reality and unreality, fantasy enjoyment? Escapism or necessary fantasy?

4. Audience response to the plot? Was it too contrived? Did contrivance matter? Audience anticipation of developments and the pleasure when these were fulfilled? Audience hopes for the discovery of the truth?

5. How important was the atmosphere of Christmas and its tone?

6. The background of the war, war suffering, the hero, the ship wreck and the eating, hospitalisation, romance? This as background for Jones?

7. The contrast with Elizabeth: her reputation, her career, the truth about her, the quandary in which she was placed, the details of the plans so that the deception could be carried out? How attractive a character was she? The strengths of her character, weaknesses? Her decision to marry? her involvement with Jones? The effect of the farcical situations on her, mistaken identity, deception? Her growing in love and the necessity of telling the truth?

8. What was the effect of all this experience on her character? Of trying to keep pace?

9. The importance of the character of Yardley? The overbearing and dominant type, his empire, his over-talking people? His arrangement of the whole Christmas in Connecticut? The importance for his magazine? His encounter with people in terms of the magazine? Pushing Elizabeth, arranging things with Sloane? Bargains about babies, etc.? The importance of food for him? His pressurising of Elizabeth to live up to her career?

10. The character of Sloane? Type of man, business man, relationship with Elizabeth but not loving her? His involvement in the farcical situations, especially about getting married? His warming to Yardley, his plans for big business, etc.? The satire on this type of man?

11. The incidental characters, for example the maid, the people in the village? The police? How humorous were the incidents, the coincidences? The attractive sentiment in the incidents?

12. How enjoyable a piece of Americana? The values that it stood for? Tradition?