In Connecticut (1945) — Christmas

December 15, 2021 6:42am. Robert Shayne, Reginald Gardiner, S.Z. Sakall and Barbara Stanwyck in 1945's 'Christmas in Connecticut.' The Hollywood Reporter Christmas in Connecticut (1945) - IMDb

The 1945 film is a sparkling example of the post-war screwball comedy, blending holiday warmth with a sharp, slightly cynical wit that keeps it from becoming overly sentimental. The Plot: A "Hunky-Dunky" Charade

The story follows Elizabeth Lane (played with effortless charm by ), a famous lifestyle columnist for Smart Housekeeping magazine. To her readers, she is the ultimate domestic goddess living on a picturesque Connecticut farm with a loving husband and a perfect baby. In reality, Elizabeth is a single, career-driven New Yorker who can’t boil water and gets her recipes from her chef friend, Felix.

The charade begins to crumble when her tycoon publisher, Alexander Yardley (), insists she host a returning war hero, Jefferson Jones ( Dennis Morgan ), for a traditional Christmas dinner at her non-existent farm. What follows is a frantic comedy of errors involving a borrowed house, a borrowed baby, and a sham marriage to her actual suitor, John Sloan ( Reginald Gardiner ). Why It Works 'Christmas in Connecticut': THR's 1945 Review