Christmas in Connecticut
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Christmas in Connecticut is a 1945 christmas movie, starring Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan and Sydney Greenstreet. Released through Warner Brothers, it was directed by Peter Godfrey, and is still consider to be a holiday classic.
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[edit] Plot Summary
The movie begins with two Navy sailors, Jefferson Jones (Morgan) and his shipmate, Sinkewicz, AKA "Sink". The two have been floating aimlessly for days after their ship was sunk by a German U-boat. When they're finally rescued, all Jones can think about is food. But at the hospital, all he gets to eat is "mush". After all the days he spent without food, the doctors don't think his stomach can handle solid food. Desparate for some real food, Jones turns to Sink, who tells him that the nurses will do special favors for patients who are in love with them. To get his nurse, Mary, to bring him some solid food, Jones has to make her think he wants to marry her. The con pays off, but Jones soon learns that the doctors were right; his stomach's not ready for solid food.
With his attention finally turned away from his stomach, Jones must now convince Mary that he's not ready to get married. He tells her that, being in the Navy, he's never really known what a real home is like. But Mary is determined to see this engagement through. She reads an article in a housekeeping magazine by Elizabeth Lane. Elizabeth Lane (Stanwyck) is like the Martha Stewart of her era. She lives on a farm in Connecticut with her husband and baby, she's a real country girl, a great housekeeper and an amazing cook. Mary decides to write to the magazine editor, Mr. Alexander Yardley (Greenstreet), and ask if Jones can spend Christmas on Mrs. Lane's farm. Mr. Yardley writes back, saying he will arrange it.
But there's a small problem; Elizabeth lied. She lives in a small apartment in New York, she's not married and has no children, she doesn't like the country, and she can't cook. She writes the articles simply for the money, and her "five-star" recipes are provided by her friend, Felix, who owns a small restaurant around the corner from Elizabeth's apartment. When she hears that Mr. Yardley wants to meet with her about a sailor staying on her farm for Christmas, she begins to panic. She tries to call the whole thing off, but Mr. Yardley talks her into it. Yardley can be very over-bearing, and he's a stickler for the truth (just a little reminder about what's at stake if Yardley ever finds out that Elizabeth's been lying this whole time). In addition, Yardley is feeling lonely this Christmas. His daughter is stuck in Washington, and he's all alone in his big house in New York. So, he invites himself up to Elizabeth's farm for Christmas. This adds more pressure to Elizabeth's problems.
With no time to think of a better plan, Elizabeth turns to her friend, John Sloan, an architect who has been asking Elizabeth to marry him for a long time, but she always says no. John actually lives on a farm in Connecticut, and he agrees to let her use it, if she agrees to marry him. Given the circumstances, Elizabeth agrees. Also, she decides to bring Felix along to do the cooking. It seems that Elizabeth is in the clear, but the next few days turn out to be more difficult than anyone imagined.
Over the next few days, Elizabeth and her friends struggle to keep things under control, and keep Yardley and Jones from finding out the truth. In addition, Elizabeth develops a romantic interest in Jones, which she must also keep to herself. But things go horribly wrong on the evening after Christmas, when Mr. Yardley spots a woman stealing Elizabeth's baby, he immediately calls the police. (The woman was actually the baby's real mother. Norah the housekeeper was just babysitting while the mother was at work.) When Elizabeth comes home, and finds that "the cat's out of the bag," she comes clean and tells everyone the truth. Angrily, Mr. Yardley fires her, but has a change of heart after breakfast, when he's had a change to cool down. After finding out that Jones' fiancee, Mary is now married to Sink, Jones and Elizabeth admit their love for each other. Felix goes to call Judge Crothers to perform the wedding. After everything that's been going on this Christmas, Mr. Yardley laughs to himself, "What a Christmas!"
[edit] Cast
- 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
- Frank Jenks .... Sinkewicz
- Joyce Compton .... Mary Lee
- Dick Elliott .... Judge Crothers
[edit] Remake
In 1992, a remake of Christmas in Connecticut was made. It starred Dyan Cannon as Elizabeth, Kris Kristofferson as Jefferson Jones, and Tony Curtis as Mr. Yardley. It was directed by Arnold Schwarzenegger. In this version, Elizabeth "Blane" is the hostess of her own cooking show. When her manager, Alexander Yardley introduces her to Jefferson Jones, a forest ranger who lost his cabin in a fire, he asks her to make Jones Christmas dinner live on her show. As in the original, Elizabeth isn't as talented as she seems.
This version was not as well liked as the original. Many people called it a disaster and wondered why Arnold Schwarzenegger was directing a Christmas movie. As one critic stated, "You'll be hungry for a better movie after suffering through this film." [1]
