Breathless to Florida

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Movie
German title Breathless to Florida
Original title The Palm Beach Story
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1942
length 88 minutes
Rod
Director Preston Sturges
script Preston Sturges
production Buddy DeSylva for Paramount Pictures
music Victor Young
camera Victor Milner
cut Stuart Gilmore
occupation
synchronization

Breathless to Florida (Original title: The Palm Beach Story ) is an American screwball comedy directed by Preston Sturges and starring Claudette Colbert and Joel McCrea from 1942.

action

Tom and Gerry Jeffer live happily in New York City despite their tight financial circumstances. One day, however, they can no longer pay their rent and are supposed to vacate their apartment when Gerry comes up with what she thinks is a great idea. Through her acquaintance with the elderly sausage magnate “Wienie King”, the young woman becomes aware of her effect on older, wealthy men. She goes to Florida to marry a millionaire after an express divorce. That would enable her to live a life of luxury and worry-free, while also giving her the opportunity to support Tom in his career.

At Pennsylvania Station , Gerry met a hunting party with the resounding name of The Ale and Quail Club . The heavily drunk gentlemen invite Gerry to come with them to Palm Beach at their own expense, but when they shoot around with their rifles and become intrusive, Gerry flees into another sleeping car and promptly lands next to John D. Hackensacker III. The next morning Gerry finds himself only in his pajamas, because meanwhile the saloon car and the whole hunting party have been disconnected from the train due to improper behavior. John D. Hackensacker III., One of the richest men in the world, takes pity on Gerrys and takes her on his yacht off Palm Beach.

Just as the two are about to go ashore, they see Tom standing there, who wants his wife back. Gerry saves the situation by introducing Tom as her brother "Captain McGloo". Tom, aka Captain McGloo, attracts the attention of John's already divorced sister, Princess Maud Centimillia. The entanglements continue as John Gerry and Maud Tom make first advances and then marriage proposals. Eventually the misunderstandings cleared up and in the end John and Maud marry Tom and Gerry's twins and everyone is happy. At least for now.

background

Preston Sturges was something of the film industry prodigy in 1942 after a rapid rise from screenwriter to director. His films were critically acclaimed and with the financial success of Die Falschspielerin from 1941 at the latest , Sturges got a free hand from the studio managers with regard to the choice of the scripts and the entire technical staff, including the actors. The first film Sturges had full liberty in was one of his favorite projects, Sullivan's Travels , starring Joel McCrea and Veronica Lake . The film was not yet on distribution when Sturges was already thinking about the follow-up project. First he toyed with the idea of filming the novel The Passionate Witch , again with Lake and McCrea in the leading roles. The endeavor finally passed into the responsibility of René Clair , who turned it into the comedy My Wife, the Witch . In the end, from September 1, 1941, Sturges wrote a completely new screenplay with the working title Is That Bad? in which he poked fun at the morals of the so-called Upper Ten Thousand and their lavish lifestyle. Sturges himself came from a rich family and his first wife Eleanor Hutton was courted by Prince Jerome Rospigliosi-Gioeni, among others, before his marriage to Sturges. In his autobiography, Sturges said of the film:

“'Breathless to Florida' was meant to illustrate my theory about the aristocracy of the beautiful. Or, as Claudette Colbert put it to Joel McCrea: 'You have no idea what a long-legged beauty can do without doing anything at all.' "

Paramount's confidence was so great that Sturges was able to sign the studio's biggest star, Claudette Colbert , to the lead female role. Colbert received $ 150,000 for her contribution, while Joel McCrea received a fee of $ 60,000. With Mary Astor and Rudy Vallée , a well-known singer and musical actor, two highly paid actors topped the list of supporting actors. Colbert was a seasoned comedian who, since her breakthrough in Frank Capra's It Happened in One Night , had risen to become a sought-after actress in the screwball comedy genre , including Bluebeard's Eighth Wife , directed by Ernst Lubitsch, and Midnight - Revelation at Midnight . For Joel McCrea it was the second of three collaborations with Preston Sturges. As in his previous films, the director again cast supporting roles with William Demarest, Robert Warwick and Arthur Hoyt.

When the film finally went on sale, some critics were particularly positive about Mary Astor, who more or less stole the show with her portrayal of the lovable Princess Centimillia. Astor herself was anything but enthusiastic about her role. She said soberly in her biography:

“I was wearing a blonde wig and waving a lorgnette and Rudy Vallee was playing my brother. I could never please Preston Sturges. We didn't get together. I couldn't speak in that high-pitched, whistling voice and modulate my voice the way he thought mad high society women would, or at least those with six ex-husbands and six million dollars. "

The film should initially be titled Is Marriage Necessary? go to the rental shop, which failed due to the objection of the censorship authorities.

Theatrical release

Production costs ended up being a modest $ 950,000. The film was successful at the box office, grossing $ 1,700,000 in the US alone.

synchronization

The German dubbed version was created in 1977 in the Bavaria Atelier, Munich.

role actor Voice actor
Geraldine "Gerry" Jeffers Claudette Colbert Renate Küster
Tom Jeffers Joel McCrea Thomas Danneberg
Maude, Princess Centimillia Mary Astor Ursula Heyer
John D. Hackensacker III. Rudy Vallée Claus Wilcke
Wienie King Robert Dudley Leo Bardischewski
Club member Mr. McKeewie Victor Potel Wolf Ackva
Club member Jack Norton Erich Ebert

Awards

The American Film Institute voted Breathless after Florida # 77 of the best American comedies of all time.

Reviews

The contemporary critics were mostly friendly and praised the film and its actors, although some critics criticized a certain heaviness of dialogue. Bosley Crowther wrote in the New York Times on December 11, 1942 with praise but also a certain disappointment:

“It's a shame that Preston Sturges, the screenwriter and Preston Sturges, the director of exuberant films didn't get to know each other a little better before they, or rather, he in personal union, shot Breathlessly to Florida . […] Florida will never be breathless for the Persilflage that it wants to be. Apart from a few amusing moments, it's a slow and tedious affair. "

After a few decades, the lexicon of international film judged :

“Screwball comedy carried by polished, witty-lively dialogues and excellent actors; an ironic spoof of the hunt for success "

In the Rotten Tomatoes online service , 28 out of 29 reviews were positive, only the criticism by Bosley Crowther cited above was rated negative. The American Film Institute voted him 77th for the best American comedies of all time.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Brian Henderson: Cartoon and Narrative in: Andrew Horton: Comedy / cinema / theory , University of California Press, 1991, ISBN 978-0-520-07040-0 , p. 171, excerpt from Google Book Search
  2. ↑ [The Palm Beach Story was] conceived as an illustration of my theory of the aristocracy of beauty, or, as Claudette Colbert expressed it to Joel McCrea, 'You have no idea what a long-legged gal can do without doing anything.
  3. ↑ I wore a blond wig and waved a lorgnette around and Rudy Vallee played my brother, and I could never please Preston Sturges, the director. It was just not my thing. I couldn't talk in a high, fluty voice and run my words together as he thought high-society women did, or at least mad high-society women who've had six husbands and six million dollars.
  4. ^ Breathless to Florida. In: synchronkartei.de. German synchronous index , accessed on May 30, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Bosley Crowther: 'The Palm Beach Story' Brings Claudette Colbert and Joel McCrea to the Rivoli - 'Seven Days' Leave' at the Capitol . In: The New York Times . December 11, 1942 (English, online [accessed April 16, 2017]): “It's a shame that Preston Sturges the writer and Preston Sturges the director of loco films didn't get a little better acquainted before they — or, collectively he —Put the final and finishing touches on The Palm Beach Story […] The Palm Beach Story never really becomes the romp it aims to be. Except for some helter-skelter moments, it is generally slow and garrulous. "
  6. ^ Breathless to Florida. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed April 16, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  7. ↑ The Palm Beach Story at Rotten Tomatoes , accessed May 30, 2019.