Since
You Went Away (1944)
It's a melodrama, but it's so well-played that
you won't mind the plethora of misfortunes that befall the family
of women (Teresa Wright as an adolescent, Shirley Temple as a
"teen", and Claudette Colbert as their mother) left
alone when the father has to go off to war. This movie was meant
as a reminder of just what the men were fighting for, and
sentimental as it is, was a good snapshot of peoples' concerns and
hopes and travails during WWII. This movie has myriad characters
and various story lines to give it a rich, textured feel, like an
old family quilt made up of many old, beloved clothes. It's a
wonderful winter afternoon movie, or to watch when it's raining.
Enjoy it for it's representation of any era, and in remembrance of
the bravery of our parents and grandparents.
The
Palm Beach Story (1942)
Among the earliest writers to set his sights on
the director's chair, Preston Sturges brought a frank,
unsentimental view of the war between the sexes to his mid-'40s
features that exemplify his style, as demonstrated in this
prescient 1942 gem. Architect Tom Jeffers (Joel McCrea) and his
wife, Gerry (Claudette Colbert), further refine the archetypal
Sturges couple--the male embodying strength, idealism, and a
certain naivete, the female ultimately stronger, smarter, and (as
revealed early on in an astonishing speech by Colbert)
clearer-eyed and more pragmatic about the subtext of sex. This
giddy shaggy-dog story follows the couple's split, and Gerry's
subsequent flight to Palm Beach. This head-snapping frolic is
paced by double-entendres and lampooning looks at the very rich,
with standout performances by the predatory Princess Centimillia
(the delicious Mary Astor), who's more than ready to comfort Tom,
and the wealthy, dim-witted John D. Hackensacker III (Rudy Vallee,
staking out a new career, post-crooner, as comic foil), Gerry's
new suitor. Even the predictable reunion of the star-crossed
lovers is achieved with an antic surrealism. Sturges's strength in
building strong character ensembles is matched by his affection
for coupling screwball dialogue with physical slapstick, seldom to
better effect than in the drunken target practice of the Ale and
Quail Club, who make Colbert's train ride to Florida a different
kind of shoot-'em-up. --Sam Sutherland
Claudette Colbert Filmography
