Starring Barbara Stanwyck

It’s World War 2 and Elizabeth Lane keeps up spirits on the homefront and the battlefield with her exquisite homemaker magazine articles. Women across the US follow her recipes and childcare tips, and the boys at the front dream about her mouth-watering meals and picturesque Connecticut farm. So when a war hero named Jefferson Jones needs a place to recover over the holidays, the magazine’s owner, Alexander Yardley, comes up with the ultimate publicity stunt: why not spend Christmas in Connecticut? 

There’s only one small problem: Elizabeth Lane doesn’t live in Connecticut. She survives on her paychecks in a tiny apartment in NYC. Oh – and she can’t cook.

Pros: Today’s holiday comedies are cheap drivel compared to the side-splitting hilarity of this 1940s classic. The premise alone is comedic gold, and the first time I watched it, I laughed myself sick as the characters scrambled to keep up appearances. 

But beneath the never-ending humor is the classic nostalgia we crave from movies like White Christmas and It’s a Wonderful Life. The version I watch is in black and white, but the tinsel on the trees sparkle, Barbara Stanwyck’s gowns are breathtaking, and the soap sud sound stage snow is stunning. All that’s missing is Bing Crosby!

Cons: There’s not much in the con department. Characters lie non stop, but, without that, you wouldn’t have a story. If you think deeply, though, the constant flirting between the supposedly married Elizabeth Lane and engaged war hero Jefferson Jones is pretty cringe. 

Bottom Line: A humorous yet nostalgic Christmas movie to add to your holiday collection.