Christmas
in Connecticut (1945)
by Jonathan
Walker
Elizabeth Lane (Barbara Stanwyck) writes a domestic column for a popular magazine. In fact, her pearls of wisdom regarding the beauty of domesticity increased the periodical's circulation dramatically. Her publisher Alexander Yardley (Sydney Greenstreet) demands that she invite the war hero Jefferson Jones (Dennis Morgan) to spend Christmas with her family on their country farm. Besides being a good deed, it will be a great publicity stunt. The only problem is that Miss Lane has fabricated everything in her columns; she doesn't have a husband and baby and she lives in a Manhattan apartment. The biggest problem is that she's an atrocious cook and has no domestic skills. Nevertheless, she must create the illusion for Jones and Yardley to preserve her job.
Uneven
Script
The screenplay has its good and bad points. The first fifteen
minutes wastes time on what could easily be simplified, but the
characters are charming and well-drawn. Aileen Hamilton and Lionel
Houser, the screenplay's authors, admirably avoid both heavy-handedness
and a saccharine conclusion. Pushing past the miss-start, the
film quickly picks up and keeps the action moving. Peter Godfrey's
direction keeps the film light and playful as Elizabeth finds
herself getting deeper and deeper in the ruse. He allows the gags
to play themselves out without tinkering with them. During the
baby swapping, he does not push the absurdity, but permits the
actors' reactions to deliver the humor. This hands-off style serves
well, but does not smooth over uneven moments in the screenplay.
Little
White Lies
While
Connecticut's premise hinges on Elizabeth's literary
license, almost every main character can be blamed for some dishonest
representation. All of the harmless lies collide to cause the
commotion that ends up being the Christmas holiday on the Connecticut
farm. Lacking a villain, as well as any malicious intent, the
misrepresentation (or "The Magoo" as one minor character calls
it) creates the conflict of the story. Notwithstanding that fact,
the comedy doesn't intentionally lay out a moral, but one stands
out: even "harmless" lies have a way of complicating life. Connecticut
illustrates how our relationships with people can be the first
things affected. The foundation for all good relationships-whether
they are employer/employee, husband/wife, uncle/niece-is honesty.
If we cannot deal honestly with those around us, we are never
able to create the stability necessary for happiness.
A Convincing
Picture
Barbara
Stanwyck (Meet John Doe and Double Indemnity)
delightfully plays the writer Elizabeth Lane. Lane paints such
a convincing picture of the idyllic country life that she has
convinced her readers that she lives the perfect domestic life.
Dozens of chairs flooded her apartment when she wrote that she
was in search of the perfect rocking chair. Even her publisher
Alexander Yardley admits to his mouth watering over the dishes
featured in a given edition. As a capitalist, he appreciates the
increase to circulation, but as a journalist, he demands a commitment
to the truth. So, Elizabeth must hide the truth or lose her job.
Yardley's commitment to honesty is admirable, but it's imperfect.
Sydney Greenstreet (The Maltese Falcon) plays the overbearing
Alexander Yardley well as he steps on other people's sentences
and refuses to listen to others. His refusal to allow dialogue
creates an environment where the truth, if he does not know it,
cannot be told to him. This prevents understanding and causes
many moments of needless commotion.
"That will
come."
In
a slightly different way Elizabeth's fiancé John Sloan
(Reginald Gardiner) is also guilty of this. Elizabeth finally
accepts Sloan's incessant proposal for marriage, partly in an
effort to keep up appearances and partly because she has "run
out of excuses." He will not accept her primary excuse: she does
not love him. "That will come, in time." While the proposal seems
honest enough, it lacks something. Elizabeth soon realizes that
it isn't enough for only one of them to love the other. It isn't
fulfilling for either of them. This fact is drawn out by an offer
Yardley makes to the couple. He sees a business opportunity in
the husband and wife team collaborating on a building/domesticating
periodical. Sloan loves the idea and his ambition quickly reveals
the weakness in his affection for Elizabeth. Soon, his desire
to marry her becomes an issue of satisfying ambition and not of
making a loved-one happy. The financial advantage of their union
exposes the extent of their emotional deficiencies.
Perfectly balancing the dishonesty of these characters, Elizabeth's Baltic uncle, Felix (enjoyably played by S. Z. Sakall), stands as a paragon of honesty. When Elizabeth encourages him to lie about who will be cooking the meals over the holiday, he cannot do it. Instead, he simply makes a cryptic remark that allows the visitors to believe Elizabeth's ruse. He does not hide the fact that he disapproves of Elizabeth and Sloan's marriage and openly tries to thwart it. Meaningfully, he must step in at the end to set straight the problems that threaten Elizabeth's future happiness.
Like many comedies, Christmas in Connecticut's premise hinges on the wiles of people's harmless white lies. Godfrey issues no heavy handed reproach for people misrepresenting themselves to others. The simple realization that their problems are all of their own making stands for itself.
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