From director Preston Sturges (The Lady Eve, Sullivan's Travels), I found this film in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, it was well rated by critics, the title didn't suggest anything particular to me, but I was hoping I would agree with the positive opinions. Basically in New York, Gerry (Claudette Colbert) and Tom Jeffers (Joel McCrea) have been married for five years, but with a lack of money coming in they are due to be evicted from their apartment, Tom is an architect and inventor near bankruptcy and unable to find an investor for his latest idea. As time has gone by Gerry finds herself unable to cope and realises that their marriage has been over for some time, so she leaves him and is heading to Palm Beach for a quick divorce and marry a millionaire to help Tom's project, but Tom is determined to do whatever he can to stop her. It is boarding a train when Gerry meets one of the richest men in the world, eccentric billionaire bachelor J.D. Hackensacker III (Rudy Vallee), and travelling on the yacht to Palm Beach she also meets his sister, Princess Centimillia (Mary Astor), eventually Tom catches up to his wife, but introduces himself to them as her brother. The situation becomes more complicated with Hackensecker falling in love with Gerry, and the Princess falling in love with Tom, after some embarrassing and near ridiculous situations, the truth is eventually revealed that Tom is actually Gerry's husband, but the other siblings come into it, in the end Hackensecker marries Gerry's twin sister and the Princess marries Tom's twin brother. The cast all do their parts well, Colbert being the wife who thinks the husband would be better without her, and McCrea as the husband trying to better himself and reignite her feelings, I did laugh at the moments with the mildly deaf man mistaking what is being said, and the mixed relationships and absurdities are funny, I admit it might not be something I would want to see again, but it is a likable enough screwball comedy. Good!
Review of The Palm Beach Story
