Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!

Dotsthavesp I wanted to but couldn't!

Freaktana A Major Disappointment

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Charles Herold (cherold) In Christmas in Connecticut, a Martha-Stewart-style columnist is actually a fraud, grinding out columns from her city apartment, who is suddenly asked by her boss to throw a Christmas dinner in the farm she doesn't actually own.That's a really clever idea for a movie, and I had a good feeling about it when I was googling for Christmas films I'd never seen, but alas, the experience was underwhelming. While the cast list is impressive, the script is weak and nonsensical and the direction is lackluster. I rarely laughed, I felt the story was full of holes, I thought one character was treated pretty shabbily just because he was boring, and I found the constant duplicity extreme even by the standards of 40s comedies, particularly since no lie ever catches up with anyone.The movie also didn't have a strong Christmasy feel to it.There was one thing though that, in the context of a 1945 movie, is rather wondrous. There are two very very minor roles by black actors, a delivery person and a waiter or busboy. And the actors are allowed to be normal, with none of the "Yas ma'ams" and dopey remarks typical of the period. In fact, the waitstaff guy gives a dictionary definition of a long word, which makes him one of the smarter people in the movie. The number of Hollywood movies that portray African-Americans as normal human beings is so vanishingly small that I'm always excited to discover one. Outside of that, though, I didn't enjoy this movie.My girlfriend, on the other hand, kinda liked it.

AudioFileZ There's some things I certainly love about Christmas In Connecticut, but Barbara Stanwyck really isn't at the top of the list. I've always found Ms. Stanwyck to be a bit too cold to be sweet, a bit too melodramatic to be truly vulnerable to the point of one burning to save her, and polarizing in her beauty which, to me at any rate, was different from either a classic beauty or the girl next door. But, Ms. Stanwyck was without doubt a good actress that could make you watch even if you didn't particularly think she was the lead you wished for. I guess that puts her in a kind of "rare-air" actress league?Anyway, this is a simple story with good parts played by an all-round decent cast. It's suppose to be a romantic comedy, but it is light on both the romance and the comedy. Neither gets particularly showcased, but it isn't for lack of trying. A war hero spends weeks on a raft and is celebrated upon coming home. A single-minded magazine business magnate sees an opportunity. His star columnist is a kind of Martha Stewart of the day. Only thing Elizabeth Lane, the columnist, isn't a homemaker, she's just a fine writer of "fiction" you might say as she weaves her life to be the consummate cook, homemaker, and mother, none of which is true. It sells a lot of magazines however.This sets up our main story which is the magazine owner insists Mrs. Lane entertains the war hero, Jefferson James played by Dennis Morgan, over a long Holiday weekend. Mr. James will be treated to life with the nation's top homemaker for festive eats, entertainment, and a taste of the American Dream he's fighting for. Well, it's a major predicament and to pull it off Ms. Lane will go to some lengths which include borrowing several infants of different sex, hair color, and size to stand in for her one child. The Christmas element here is kind of incidental in providing a vehicle and it really isn't a movie that celebrates the season too awfully much. I like old movies from this era and as much as anything this is why I like Christmas In Connecticut. The other reason is the always fun to watch Sydney Greenstreet and S.Z Sakall who steal most every scene they appear in. I'm surprised this movie is rated as high as 7.5 (circa late 2016), I feel it's more modest and only as good as a 6.5 because of not the story, but the cast. Not a must see of the Christmas Season, but a nice one for fans of 40's comedies.

Dunham16 The first half of the 1940's was marked by well known performers from other film genres stepping out of character to star in what may be the last wave of remembered Hollywood screwball comedies still marketed for home viewing and seasonally aired on television. Barbara Stanwyck does her usual professional job as the hard as nails career woman fudging a domestic column for a magazine whose bluff is called in thirties type screwball involving a runaway horse and cow, mixed up babies, Cuddles Szakall stealing the show at every turn with his comic flair and a rural farmhouse which lacks the central iconic focus of every movie advertising the charm of a rural farmhouse - the welcoming, party sized period kitchen. The storyboard is a nonsensical enough fantasy to work yet the editing takes most of the true comic flair out of the film. It seems to me most of the way through a decent musical with at least Dennis Morgan singing once but not truly a top flight comedy.

utgard14 Barbara Stanwyck is a magazine writer of articles on being the perfect homemaker. She's the Martha Stewart of her day. Unfortunately, she's also a huge fraud. She can't cook and doesn't even have the family she writes about! When she's put in the position of having to make a big Christmas dinner for her publisher (the always excellent Sydney Greenstreet) and a war veteran (Dennis Morgan), she scrambles to keep up the ruse of her "happy homemaker" image.Funny Christmas romantic comedy helped by a superb cast. Stanwyck and Greenstreet are terrific, as usual. Dennis Morgan is very good as the poor soldier who hasn't been allowed to eat solid foods and is salivating at the thought of a big Christmas dinner. A great supporting cast including S.Z. Sakall, Robert Shayne, Una O'Connor, Reginald Gardiner, and the adorable Joyce Compton. This is definitely a must-see Christmas classic for everybody.