Christmas in July

"If you can't sleep at night, it isn't the coffee - it's the bunk!"

1940 1h 7m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

🔥

95%

CERTIFIED FRESH

⭐

7.3

IMDB

★7.0TMDB · 91🍅95%Rotten Tomatoes★7.3IMDB · 4,565

ComedyRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

An office clerk loves entering contests in the hopes of someday winning a fortune and marrying the girl he loves. His latest attempt is the Maxford House Coffee Slogan Contest. As a joke, some of his co-workers put together a fake telegram which says that he won the $25,000 grand prize.

“If you can't sleep at night, it isn't the coffee - it's the bunk!”

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Cast

Dick Powell
Jimmy MacDonald
Ellen Drew
Betty Casey
Raymond Walburn
Dr. Maxford
Alexander Carr
Mr. Shindel
William Demarest
Mr. Bildocker
Ernest Truex
Mr. Baxter
Franklin Pangborn
Don Hartman - Radio Announcer
Rod Cameron
Dick

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

Tight 67-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

86 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 Leo Shuken. 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 Ellsworth Hoagland 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

Dick Powell and Ellen Drew and Raymond Walburn carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "If you can't sleep at night, it isn't the coffee - it's the bunk!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0032338 — 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. Leo Shuken scores. Ellsworth Hoagland cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 67-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
286 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 Leo Shuken. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Ellsworth Hoagland shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Dick Powell and Ellen Drew and Raymond Walburn carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "If you can't sleep at night, it isn't the coffee - it's the bunk!".
8IMDB entry: tt0032338 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 91 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
10Classified under 11 themes, including "department store", "telegram", "coffee", "marketing".

The technical file

Cinematography: Victor Milner
Original score: Leo Shuken
Editing: Ellsworth Hoagland
Makeup / hair: Wally Westmore
Runtime: 67 min · 1h 7m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Christmas in July (1940)
Rotten Tomatoes: 95% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 7.3/10 · 4,565 votes
MPAA: Approved

Awards

3 wins total

Also by

Preston Sturges

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2018-12-23
★ 9/10
Smarter than you may at first think. 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 everyone's 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

Production companies