Movie Review - Christmas in Connecticut (1945)

Christmas Movie a Day #4
Christmas in Connecticut
Starring Barbara Stanwyck and Dennis Morgan
Directed by Peter Godfrey

This flick was certainly innocuous enough, but I couldn't help but think I've seen better versions of a similar premise. Playing somewhat off of a case of mistaken identity, Christmas in Connecticut is pleasant, but, in the end, could have been much funnier than it was.

Elizabeth Lane (Barbara Stanwyck) is a writer for the woman's magazine, Smart Housekeeping. She has crafted a life for her in the pages of the magazine that is very different from her own -- while she actually lives alone in an apartment in the city, her readers (and her publisher, Alexander Yardley) think that she's quite the housewife, living in a beautiful farmhouse in Connecticut, cooking up the most beautiful meals, married to a lovely man named John, and the mother to a beautiful baby. The readership eats it up, including a young nurse who is caring for a recently returned war veteran, Jefferson (Dennis Morgan). Thinking that Jeff is falling for her, but aware that he is not the domesticated type, the young nurse writes a letter to family friend Alexander Yardley asking him to allow Jeff to spend time with Ms. Lane in order to realize that he can become acclimated to "normal" life. Little does the nurse know that Jeff will fall for Ms. Lane and Ms. Lane will fall for Jeff, and much confusion will ensue due to Elizabeth's attempts to fool everyone into thinking she's the ultimate domestic goddess.

It's not that the film is bad by any means, and it's certainly one I'd watch again in the future, but it's just not as good as it could be. The humor could've been amplified and this would've been a much better flick. Barbara Stanwyck, who I'm really only familiar with from the fantastic Double Indemnity, is quite good as the romantic comedic lead. Her co-star, Dennis Morgan, however, is fairly bland, which is maybe why I've never heard of him before. Their chemistry was fine, but I never really bought into their falling in love.

Additionally (and this isn't a factor that affects the overall rating), there's very little "Christmas" about this despite the fact that the holiday gets prominent placement in the title. Yes, it snows and there's a Christmas tree, but there's really nothing holiday-oriented here.

The RyMickey Rating: C
The Christmas Spirit Scale: 3/10

(The Christmas Spirit Scale is a totally pointless rating that is simply my feeling about how "Christmas-y" the movie felt to me)