This has been one of my favorites for thirty years, since the Village Voice critics turned me on to Sturges. It's a loony world where loony things happen, and it's important to realize that the central loony joke is that Claudette Colbert's Gerry gets things from men without having to put any effort into it at all. No, she's not prostituting herself -- she never trades anything for her prizes, she just keeps on looking pretty. Joel McCrea with Colbert is sexy and just right. He's not supposed to be silly -- he is the sane anchor in the chaos (and the romantic leading man). Rudy Vallee -- absolutely perfect deadpan delivery of some really great lines. Hurrah for the Ale and Quail Club, for Toto and for the Wienie King.
But the mystery -- I have always believed that there is an unfinished story in here, a movie that didn't get produced, about the twins. It's almost like Palm Beach is a sequel to that movie. If you don't know that Gerry and Tom are twins, the opening frantic sequences makes no sense at all; as it is it is difficult to make sense of, but this is the gist of it -- Gerry and Tom's twins want Gerry and Tom, Tom and Gerry want each other, so in order to get married Gerry and Tom have to lock their twins in closets and run to their wedding. This means the unwanted twins must have been up to some business before the wedding, but we never see any of it. Something's missing here, and I think that is the flaw in Palm Beach Story. I have never been able to find out where this story element came from. Does anyone know?
But still, watch and enjoy this great movie over and over. There was no other like Preston Sturges -- no one as honest or real. Or funny.
But the mystery -- I have always believed that there is an unfinished story in here, a movie that didn't get produced, about the twins. It's almost like Palm Beach is a sequel to that movie. If you don't know that Gerry and Tom are twins, the opening frantic sequences makes no sense at all; as it is it is difficult to make sense of, but this is the gist of it -- Gerry and Tom's twins want Gerry and Tom, Tom and Gerry want each other, so in order to get married Gerry and Tom have to lock their twins in closets and run to their wedding. This means the unwanted twins must have been up to some business before the wedding, but we never see any of it. Something's missing here, and I think that is the flaw in Palm Beach Story. I have never been able to find out where this story element came from. Does anyone know?
But still, watch and enjoy this great movie over and over. There was no other like Preston Sturges -- no one as honest or real. Or funny.