Christmas in July (Preston Sturges, 1941)

An inexplicably underrated comedy by one of the great American directors, Preston Sturges's Christmas in July (1940) has all the wit, humor, and grace of his more well-known masterpieces like Sullivan's Travels and The Lady Eve (both from 1941). At a brisk sixty-seven minutes, the film is also a terrific example that the best comedy is to be told as economically as possible, everything trimmed out of it but the absolutely essential (see: Duck Soup [1933]).

As Christmas in July opens, a young couple (skillfully played by Dick Powell and Ellen Drew) is on the roof of a New York building listening to the radio, when the announcer lets on that he's about to name the winner of the $25,000 Maxford House Coffee Slogan contest, which Jimmy (Powell) has entered. Down at the radio station, they tell the announcer (the wonderfully expressive Franklin Pangborn) that the jury is having a little difficulty picking a winner, so the program ends without any resolution. Back on top of the building, Jimmy and Betty (Drew) argue about the chances of him being named the winner when the jury actually decides. He thinks that the contests he has lost (three to be exact) guarantee that his slogan--"If you can't sleep at night, it isn't the coffee, it's the bunk"--will take the big prize. She admits she doesn't get it, but tries to be encouraging anyway. To make a long story short, something Sturges certainly does in this film, a few of Jimmy's co-workers send him a phony telegram telling him he's won, which thrills not only him and his young gal, but also his boss (Ernest Truex), who gives him a raise and a brand-new office once he hears the slogan. Needless to say, it all works beautifully for a while, and Jimmy and Betty buy gifts for everyone in their working-class neighborhood, but this being a Preston Sturges film, and Dr. Maxford of Maxford House Coffee (Raymond Walburn, easily the most hilarious person in the film) being nobody's fool, eventually, like the film, it all must come to an end.

Sturges, a supremely intelligent filmmaker in addition to his more obvious comedic talents, in Christmas in July paints a picture of capitalism, not as simply a horrible thing that's to blame for all the world's ills, but as a system with inherent injustices that generate a lot of unhappiness on good and sincere people like Jimmy and Betty. But this is also a world in which generosity and kindness can shine through in spite of everything, and it's because of Sturges's deep compassion that the moment when Jimmy hands a doll to a girl in a wheelchair doesn't seem at all trite or opportunistic, but instead as the very heart of why we care for this character. Immediately thereafter, the film's hilarity continues. This combination of grace and cheerfulness is all too rare even among the best films.