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The Palm Beach Story

Play trailer Poster for The Palm Beach Story 1942 1h 30m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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97% Tomatometer 30 Reviews 81% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
This screwball comedy finds married couple Tom (Joel McCrea) and Gerry Jeffers (Claudette Colbert) in a strained relationship, largely due to financial difficulties. Gerry decides to leave Tom, a struggling architect, and head to Palm Beach in order to marry a wealthy man who could fund Tom's projects. When Tom follows Gerry, they cross paths with the quirky millionaire John D. Hackensacker III (Rudy Vallee) and his chatty, husband-seeking sister, Princess Centimillia (Mary Astor).
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The Palm Beach Story

Critics Reviews

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Kate Muir The Times (UK) 01/28/2016
4/5
In many ways this screwball comedy is a precursor to Some Like It Hot, but with a silkier wit and some gorgeous fashions. Go to Full Review Lou Lumenick New York Post 04/11/2015
4/4
This might not be the funniest film of Sturges' brilliant '40s heyday ("The Miracle of Morgan's Creek"), or the most subversively romantic ("The Lady Eve"), or the best made ("Sullivan's Travels"), but it's definitely a censor-baiting treat. Go to Full Review Keith Phipps The Dissolve 02/04/2015
4.5/5
Even as Colbert and McCrea trade fast-paced dialogue and fall into each others' arms, they sell their characters' marriage as one whose fire desperately needs tending. Go to Full Review Dennis Harvey 48 Hills 07/31/2023
There's no space here to extol the individual glories... Go to Full Review Mike Massie Gone With The Twins 03/24/2021
10/10
One of the absolute greatest of all screwball comedies. Go to Full Review Rachel Wagner rachelsreviews.net 02/28/2019
A-
I was impressed with how modern the script was in both tone and candor. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Steve D 05/27/2023 The script isn't funny enough. See more isla s 09/04/2022 This is a quirky, somewhat madcap style comedy film (of sorts). The old man who mishears things made me laugh and some of the situations were a bit unlikely but amusing never the less. Its pretty basic comedy I suppose but I thought at times it was relatively entertaining. Its not a greatly memorable film. It is, of course, somewhat dated, having been released in 1942. There are some outdated sexist comments, cheesy foreign accents and perhaps racial stereotypes present. This is an ok watch but nothing more, it becoming a little bland and dialogue heavy shortly before an hour in and I was pretty distracted by the end. See more john g 06/12/2022 Super. vintage Preston Sturgis. great cast, surprisingly fine job by Rudy, very clever script. See more 05/25/2021 Fun and fast paced screwball comedy about a weird wife but dang she hot. See more 08/23/2019 Sophisticated comedy for 1942 could only have been improved by elimination of the Hayes censorship office -- and the allowance of writers to write what they wanted to write. See more 04/26/2017 Claudette Colbert (at least in this movie) never looks lovelier than when she's kissing or has just been kissed. See more Read all reviews
The Palm Beach Story

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Cast & Crew

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Preston Sturges

Director

Claudette Colbert

Geraldine "Gerry" Jeffers

Joel McCrea

Tom Jeffers

Rudy Vallee

John D. Hackensacker III

Mary Astor

The Princess Centimillia

Sig Arno

Toto

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The Palm Beach Story

The Palm Beach Story (1942) The Palm Beach Story (1942) The Palm Beach Story (1942) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis This screwball comedy finds married couple Tom (Joel McCrea) and Gerry Jeffers (Claudette Colbert) in a strained relationship, largely due to financial difficulties. Gerry decides to leave Tom, a struggling architect, and head to Palm Beach in order to marry a wealthy man who could fund Tom's projects. When Tom follows Gerry, they cross paths with the quirky millionaire John D. Hackensacker III (Rudy Vallee) and his chatty, husband-seeking sister, Princess Centimillia (Mary Astor).
Director
Preston Sturges
Screenwriter
Preston Sturges
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Production Co
Paramount Pictures
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 2, 1942, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 2, 2012
Runtime
1h 30m
Sound Mix
Mono
Aspect Ratio
35mm, Flat (1.37:1)
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