Christmas in Connecticut

Elizabeth Lane writes about home and food for a large magazine: her farm in Connecticut, her husband, her baby and her perfect recipes. None of it is real; she lives alone in New York and cannot cook. When the magazine's owner decides to spend Christmas at that farm with a sailor home from the war, Elizabeth has a week to find a husband, a baby and a farm. Peter Godfrey builds it in the classic shape of a comedy of misunderstanding, and being made at the end of the war years gives it a particular air. Barbara Stanwyck leads and plays the part entirely on timing. It was shown again and again at Christmas in America for years and became one of the best-loved holiday comedies of its period. Who it is for: viewers who like classic Hollywood comedy and Stanwyck. Who it is not for: anyone troubled by the gender assumptions of the period.