touser2004 Big fan of Colbert but can't understand why people like this film.Similar concept to Midnight where a woman doesn't trust love and feels money and security are more important.Though it works in Midnight it feels very forced in the Palm Beach Story.JDHackensacker is not believable or funny and the same is true of Mary Astors character .Colbert and McCrea make an attractive couple but the plot and screenplay just don't fly. It's not horrible but neither is it very good

AaronCapenBanner Preston Sturges wrote and directed this wacky screwball comedy that features Joel McCrea and Claudette Colbert as Tom and Gerry Jeffers, a happily married but poor couple who are about to be evicted from their apartment. Tom is a good but poor inventor and architect who just needs money to get started, and after meeting an eccentric prospective tenant(and millionaire!) who gives him money, he is quite happy, but his wife doesn't believe him, and runs off, determined to marry a millionaire to fund Tom's projects! Tom goes after her, but gets involved with the crazy family of the millionaire(played by Rudy Valle) Gerry intends to marry... Insane comedy is undeniably funny at times, and unpredictable, with a truly bizarre ending, but that's its problem: it doesn't know when, or how to quit, becoming so absurd that it took me right out of the movie, and I ultimately gave up altogether. Seriously needed some self-restraint and discipline here!

Claudio Carvalho In New York, Gerry (Claudette Colbert) and Tom Jeffers (Joel McCrea) are about to be evicted from their apartment for lack of payment after five years of marriage. Tom is an architect and has developed the design of a suspended airport, but can not find an investor and is completely bankrupted. When the aspirant tenant meets Gerry, he tells that he is a wealthy businessman from Texas that became rich with his sausage business and he gives US$ 700 to Gerry to pay her debts and start a new life. Tom does not believe that the old man gave the money to Gerry without sex and they have an argument, and Gerry concludes that she is a burden in the life of Tom. On the next morning, she decides to travel to Palm Beach to get a divorce, and marry again with a millionaire to help Tom in his project. She boards a train to Palm Beach, where she is helped by J.D. Hackensacker III (Rudy Vallee). They leave the train and she learns that Hackensacker is one of the richest men in the world. They travel to Palm Beach in his yacht and Gerry meets his sister, Princess Centimillia (Mary Astor). But Tom has followed Gerry and she introduces him as if he were her brother. Soon Hackensacker falls in love with Gerry and the Princess with Tom. But a zipper and twins help to solve the situation. "The Palm Beach Story" is a cynical and unethical but dated screwball comedy by Preston Sturges. I do not like this movie since Gerry Jeffers is a nasty woman and never a companion to Tom, who is a sucker; therefore I do not feel empathy for the ambitious character performed by Claudette Colbert. My vote is five. Title (Brazil): "Mulher de Verdade" ("True Woman")

j-catanzaro Funny enough, even for modern viewers. I am not and never will be interested in romantic comedies, however, this movie was entertaining enough to hold my attention throughout. Different style of romantic comedy than the one we're so used to seeing today. The screwball comedy lives up to the name with numerous gaffs and goofs throughout the film, I enjoyed it, though. Nothing too fancy with camera angles or lighting or any other special effects, just story and plot driven entertainment with an excellent twist! Not my favorite of an of the older films I have been seeing lately, but again the story is intriguing and funny enough to keep me interested. I'm sure it was a hit when it debuted in 1942, and as previously mentioned, today's viewers can still relate. Divorce is even more prominent today than it was at the time this movie came out! Definitely worth seeing.*Note- This movie came out after the "code" was enforced in 1934, and there were a few scenes I felt were almost provocative enough to garner attention from "code' proponents. In the beginning when Tom has Gerry sit on his lap and he begins kissing the back of her neck. Also, toward the end Gerry is wearing a bit of a suggestive black dress which just seemed a bit, risqué, if you will for the time. Just some food for thought.