Christmas in July (1940)

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

What begins as a feel-good-human-interest story turns into a mystery, then a tragedy, and ultimately an outrage.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Smart, sentimental Preston Sturges comedy about a man (Dick Powell) who mistakenly believes he won a slogan contest and goes on a spending spree, buying gifts for all of his friends and neighbors. While this isn't the most critically-praised Sturges film, it's certainly one of my favorites. Probably my second fave behind Sullivan's Travels. At 67 minutes it's short for an "A" picture, but not so short you feel like it is missing anything.It features a great cast, as most Sturges films do. Dick Powell and Ellen Drew are immensely likable leads. The supporting cast is full of top-notch comedic talent, many of whom were staples in Sturges films. Raymond Walburn, William Demarest, Ernest Truex, and Franklin Pangborn are all terrific. Sturges wrote and directed it and, if you're a fan of his work, you know this means a funny script and great characters. This is a classic, not just for Christmas, but for the whole year round. Everybody should see it at least once. And remember: If you can't sleep, it isn't the coffee. It's the bunk.

Dick Powell plays an office clerk named Jimmy MacDonald who loves entering all kinds of contests in hopes of winning the grand prize, including one from Maxwell House Ground Coffee. His co-workers decide to play a practical joke on him by faking a winning telegram saying that Jimmy has won the $25,000 grand prize. Ecstatic, Jimmy then goes overboard buying presents and proposing to his girlfriend, as well as receiving a promotion. When he learns the whole thing was a hoax, he finds himself in a real bind... Sporadically funny comedy is just too contrived and silly to succeed, despite an energetic cast. What a rotten trick to pull on someone too!

A clerk making $22 per week dreams of winning the $25,000 grand prize in a coffee company's slogan contest. Sturges' second directorial effort is not only a sweet and simple comedy but also fast-paced and efficient, wrapping up in just over an hour. As the ambitious but earnest sloganeer, Powell basically plays the role of the straight man, surrounded by loony characters, including Walburn as the flustered owner of Maxford House, not to be confused with Maxwell House, and Sturges regular Demarest as one of the judges of the contest. Despite the short running time and the emphasis on comedy, Sturges manages to make the characters human.

On the surface this effort from the brilliant Preston Sturges looks like a standard sugar coated feel good movie, but strip away the outer skin and you get a delightful collage of comedy, romance, satire, drama, and nudge nudge observations about hunger of wealth and all the spin offs that wealth creates.I don't deem it unfair to state that the films core plot of frivolity may not be to everyones taste, but to me personally it ticks all the boxes for a joyride with more at its heart. The pace of the film is more in keeping with screwball comedies of the great era, but that is not to say that the film doesn't shift down a gear for poignant reflection, because it does , but ultimately the film is full of hilarity from many quarters, that is acted out accordingly from a sparky cast, and of course directed by a deity .A joyous winner that prods you in the ribs and gives a cheeky wink along the way 9/10.