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| Christmas In Connecticut - 1945 |
My apologies for the lack of a post yesterday. I ran into technical difficulties. Today, those difficulties are solved, and I offer you 1945's "Christmas In Connecticut", a story about a WWII hero that comes to have Christmas at the home of his favorite magazine author. Unbeknownst to him, the truth is that this author can't do any of the things she claims to do in her column.
The film's cast includes Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet, Reginald Gardiner, S.Z. Sakall, Robert Shayne, Una O'Connor, and Joyce Compton.
Jefferson "Jeff" Jones is recovering from a WWII shipwreck in a hospital. There, according to doctor's orders, he's served a very bland diet. He reads his favorite magazine column authored by "America's Best Cook" Elizabeth Lane, and he dreams of the feast that she writes about.
He's tired of the same old fare. "All I get is milk, milk, milk. Ever time I yawn, I’m scared I’ll moo," he quips.
His nurse writes to publishing tycoon Alexander Yardley about him. Yardley decides to impose on Elizabeth Lane herself to host the war hero over the Christmas period.
We find out that Elizabeth Lane isn't at all who she says she is. She isn't married, has no children, has no farm in Connecticut, and she can't cook...all things that she claims in her column. She gets her recipes from dear old Uncle Felix, who is currently flabbergasted at her purchase of a new mink coat. "But I needed it!" she claims. "You need it? Nobody needs a mink coat but a mink," he counters.
Elizabeth's job is on the line when Yardley asks her to host Jeff for Christmas at her farm in Connecticut. She can't get a word in edgewise. And she is even more surprised when Yardley invites himself along to join in the holiday festivities.
Not knowing what to do or where to turn, Elizabeth is rescued by a man who loves her and has a farm in Connecticut, too. John Sloan asks Elizabeth to marry him, and, running out of reasons to say no, she agrees, though her heart really isn't in it.
Upon arrival at the farm, Elizabeth marvels at the beauty of the place. She's brought along Uncle Felix to help with the cooking, and he and housekeeper Norah instantly get into it. When he sees what she's cooking and insults it, she defends it with "it's good old Irish stew". He just shakes his head and says, "it may be old, but it's not good."
Elizabeth panics when she forgets that she doesn't have a baby, and she very clearly stated in the magazine that she has one. John calms her nerves and takes her into the bedroom, where a baby is resting on the bed. When Elizabeth questions him about the baby's identity, John tells her that the baby is watched by Norah while its mother is at work. The mother picks up the baby very late at night.
Soon enough, Jeff arrives. Unexpectedly, Elizabeth is instantly smitten with him, and Jeff feels exactly the same way.
Jeff jumps right into the swing of things. He even offers to help Elizabeth bathe the baby. She's thrilled, because she doesn't know the first thing about mothering.
Mr. Yardley later arrives bearing an armful of gifts to round out the merry country party. Elizabeth finds herself falling harder and harder for Jeff, especially when he sings "O Little Town Of Bethlehem" as she's trimming the Christmas tree. He's drawn to her, too.
And later, when the justice of the peace arrives to marry her and John after Jeff and Yardley have gone to bed, Elizabeth still can't get her mind off Jeff. Luckily, the marriage ceremony is constantly being put off for one reason or another. And this occasion is no different. Noises coming from the kitchen stall the ceremony once again.
Yardley and Jeff are having an impromptu midnight snack. The cow moos at the door, and Jeff and Elizabeth put on their coats and take the cow back to the barn, growing closer to each other as they do.
When a heavy snowdrift falls off of the roof and lands on top of them, Jeff and Elizabeth are knocked down. John runs over and asks Elizabeth if she's alright, to which she replies, "oh, wonderful, darling!".
The next morning, Christmas morning, sees the group in the kitchen. Mr. Yardley wants to see Elizabeth in some sort of domestic action, and he prevails upon her to flip some flapjacks. "I'm not in a flipping mood this morning, Mr. Yardley," she says. Yardley insists, and Elizabeth crosses her fingers as she tosses the flapjacks up in the air. Thankfully, they land perfectly back into the pan.
Felix silently thanks the cooking gods for this minor miracle, and everybody sits down to enjoy a hearty breakfast.
That night, the group attends a community dance. Jeff and Elizabeth dance every dance together, and they move out the door to spend more time alone.
This is watched by a very disapproving Mr. Yardley, who thinks that Elizabeth and John Sloan are married. He's not happy about the reputation of his very successful "Elizabeth Lane column" being ruined by an affair between Elizabeth and Jeff.
Outside, Jeff and Elizabeth talk more and grow closer. They get into a one-horse open sleigh to keep warm. The sleigh doesn't belong to them, and when the horse starts to trot off, they just go along for the ride. They are reported by the sleigh's owner and have to spend a night in jail.
While all this is happening, Mr. Yardley returns home just in time to see the borrowed baby's mother taking him home. Yardley thinks the baby is being kidnapped and mobilizes the full strength of the police force to search for the missing baby.
Everything is explained by Elizabeth when she returns home. She tells Yardley that she and John aren't really married. "Such blatant immorality!" Yardley exclaims angrily. He calms down once the whole truth is revealed.
The whole truth is revealed to Jeff too. He and Elizabeth kiss and send for the justice of the peace to marry them that very day. "What a Christmas! Ha ha, what a Christmas!" exclaims Mr. Yardley at the film's end.
Cast rundown:
Barbara Stanwyck...........................Elizabeth Lane
Dennis Morgan................................Jefferson Jones
Sydney Greenstreet.........................Alexander Yardley
Reginald Gardiner............................John Sloan
S.Z. Sakall.....................................Felix Bassenak
Robert Shayne................................Dudley Beecham
Una O'Connor.................................Norah
Joyce Compton...............................Mary Lee
And that's it for Christmas In Connecticut. This has got to be one of my favorite Christmas movies. Bette Davis was originally slated to play Elizabeth Lane, but Barbara Stanwyck replaced her. The Connecticut farmhouse is the same country house used in "Bringing Up Baby". In 1992, this film was remade as a television movie that starred Dyan Cannon and Kris Kristofferson. It was directed by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
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