The Palm Beach Story

"Love is fickle! Love is blind! She runs 'round the country...with him behind!"

1942 1h 28m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 214

ComedyRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A New York inventor, Tom Jeffers, needs cash to develop his big idea, so his adoring wife, Gerry, decides to raise it by divorcing him and marrying an eccentric Florida millionaire, J. D. Hackensacker III.

“Love is fickle! Love is blind! She runs 'round the country...with him behind!”

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Cast

Claudette Colbert
Geraldine 'Gerry' Jeffers
Joel McCrea
Tom Jeffers
Mary Astor
The Princess Centimillia
Rudy Vallee
John D. Hackensacker III
Sig Arno
Toto
Robert Warwick
Mr. Hinch
Arthur Stuart Hull
Mr. Osmond
Torben Meyer
Dr. Kluck

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Preston Sturges
Writers: Preston Sturges
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

88 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

84 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Preston Sturges, shot by Victor Milner. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Victor Young. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Stuart Gilmore shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Claudette Colbert and Joel McCrea and Mary Astor carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Love is fickle! Love is blind! She runs 'round the country...with him behind!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0035169 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Preston Sturges directs. Victor Milner behind the camera. Victor Young scores. Stuart Gilmore cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

188 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
284 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Preston Sturges, shot by Victor Milner. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Victor Young. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Stuart Gilmore shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Claudette Colbert and Joel McCrea and Mary Astor carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Love is fickle! Love is blind! She runs 'round the country...with him behind!".
8IMDB entry: tt0035169 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 10 themes, including "florida", "airport", "marriage", "love".

The technical file

Cinematography: Victor Milner
Original score: Victor Young
Editing: Stuart Gilmore
Costume design: Irene
Makeup / hair: Wally Westmore
Runtime: 88 min · 1h 28m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Palm Beach Story (1942)

Also by

Preston Sturges

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

barrymost2019-10-04
★ 9/10
A woman leaves her inventor husband, believing that it would be better for him if she were gone. She heads to Palm Beach to get a divorce, and meets kind billionaire John D. Hackensacker the III during crazy train ride there. The energy is bursting in every scene thanks to film's great, seasoned cast. Watch for early scenes with the endearing, little old "Wienie King". The film is a wonderful, joyfully hilarious romp. Would I recommend? Yes. The quintessential screwball comedy.
CinemaSerf2025-06-05
★ 7/10
“Men don’t get smarter as they get older, they just lose their hair”! That’s the view of “Gerry” (Claudette Colbert) who is married to frustrated designer “Tom” (Joel McCrea). He needs $90,000 to build a state of the art airport but all of the traditional investment sources have politely declined. She decides that he would do better on his own, or better yet - she could divorce him the go marry a millionaire and try to fund him that way. He thinks this is bonkers, but next thing she is on a train to Palm Beach where she encounters “J.D.” (Rudy Vallee) who just happens to be a very rich gent who is happy to dispense his largesse generously. Hooked up with this man, they meet his open-minded sister (Mary Astor) to whom “Gerry” spins some fanciful yarns about her husband that only come home to roost when that poor soul, determined not to give up on his wife, arrives and risks spoiling her carefully stacked line of fibbing dominoes. What chance they can get the money without someone in this ostensibly spoiled and vacuous scenario cottoning on? The story is a bit on the far-fetched side, but Colbert has excellent comedy timing and there are quite a few pithy gems amidst the fairly relentless dialogue as the story takes aim at the owners of inherited wealth and at attitudes to the wealthy from those who aspire and despise in equal measure. There’s some fun chemistry on display between all four here and though the denouement is a little rushed and disappointing, this is still a fun romp that I did quite enjoy.