Barbara Stanwyck and Dennis Morgan share a “Christmas in Connecticut”

The classic romantic comedy Christmas in Connecticut (1945), directed by Peter Godfrey, centers on Elizabeth Lane (Barbara Stanwyck), a highly popular magazine columnist known nationwide as the ideal American wife, mother, and homemaker who lives an idyllic life on her Connecticut farm. She pens mouth-watering recipes and writes charming anecdotes about her domestic bliss. However, this entire persona is a complete fraud. Elizabeth is actually a single, childless, city-dwelling career woman who can’t even boil an egg. Her witty columns and gourmet recipes are the work of her editor and a professional chef friend, all kept secret from the public and, crucially, from her stern, demanding publisher, Alexander Yardley (Sidney Greenstreet).

The crisis begins when Yardley insists that Elizabeth host a Christmas dinner at her “farm” for Jefferson Jones (Dennis Morgan), a handsome, recently rescued war hero whose recovery was aided by reading her columns and dreaming of her meals. Terrified of being exposed and losing her job, Elizabeth, with the help of her friends, frantically arranges a desperate plan to maintain the deception. This involves agreeing to a hasty, non-romantic marriage to her persistent suitor, John Sloan (Reginald Gardiner), who owns a real Connecticut farmhouse, and borrowing a neighbor’s baby to pose as her own.

As Elizabeth, John, the chef, and the “borrowed” baby arrive at the farm, they are immediately thrown into a farcical whirlwind of complications. The unexpected early arrival of the war hero, Jones, and her publisher, Yardley, threatens to unravel the entire charade at every turn. Elizabeth finds herself struggling to perform the simplest domestic tasks while trying to keep her boss and the eager war hero from realizing the truth. As the impostor housewife attempts to navigate a chaotic Christmas weekend, she soon develops a genuine, unexpected connection with her honored guest, which further complicates her desperate and delicate tangle of lies.

 

Peter Godfrey (1899 – 1970) was an English actor and film director who was born in London. He began his career on the stage as a conjurer, clown, and actor, and was the founder of the experimental Gate Theatre Salon in 1925, where he staged London’s first expressionistic production the following year. After directing two British films in the early 1930s, he eventually moved to the United States, arriving in Hollywood around 1939 to establish a career as a film actor and director. Godfrey became a prominent director, working primarily on B-films for Warner Bros. and directing a variety of genres, including comedy, drama, and thriller, with notable credits including the Christmas classic Christmas in Connecticut (1945), Cry Wolf (1947), and The Woman in White (1948). He later switched to directing episodes for television shows in the 1950s and died in Hollywood, California, at the age of 70.

Barbara Stanwyck (1907 – 1990) was an American film star who got her acting start with a supporting role on Broadway in a play called The Noose (1926). The next year she had the lead in another Broadway production, Burlesque, which was a huge hit. She eventually made it to Hollywood, where her success was not immediate. Director Frank Capra saw something in Stanwyck, and he educated her in filmmaking and film acting, and the rest is history. Stanwyck was nominated four times for the Best Actress Oscar—Stella Dallas (1937), Ball of Fire (1941), Double Indemnity (1945), Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)—and remains one of the most beloved movie stars from Hollywood’s Golden Age.

Dennis Morgan (born Earl Stanley Morner, 1908–1994) was an American actor and singer, best known as a star for Warner Bros. in the late 1930s through the early 1950s. Morgan began his career using the name Stanley Morner in films like Suzy (1936), and later as Richard Stanley, before adopting the name Dennis Morgan when he signed with Warner Bros. He frequently played the amiable leading man with a pleasant tenor voice in musicals and comedies, often being paired with his friend, actor Jack Carson, in films such as Two Guys from Milwaukee (1946). Among his most notable film roles are his appearances in the classic holiday film Christmas in Connecticut (1945), Kitty Foyle (1940), The Desert Song (1943), and My Wild Irish Rose (1947). After his film career slowed, he transitioned to television, starring in the police series 21 Beacon Street in the late 1950s.

Sydney Greenstreet (1879–1954) was a British and American actor who began his distinguished film career at the late age of 61 after decades as a prominent stage performer in both Britain and America. Best known for his imposing physical presence and portrayal of cunning, often villainous characters, he made his sensational screen debut in The Maltese Falcon (1941) as Kasper Gutman, a role that earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He was a memorable fixture in many Warner Bros. films throughout the 1940s, frequently paired with Peter Lorre, and is highly celebrated for his work in classics like Casablanca (1942), where he played club owner Signor Ferrari, and the holiday film Christmas in Connecticut (1945), where he appeared as the blustering publisher Alexander Yardley. Greenstreet's film career spanned only eight years before he retired due to health issues, including diabetes and a kidney disorder.

 

Barbara Stanwyck and S.Z Sakall

Christmas in Connecticut trivia

• The Casting of "Elizabeth Lane": Barbara Stanwyck, who plays the famously terrible cook and fraudulent columnist Elizabeth Lane, was personally selected for the role by director Peter Godfrey because he was one of the few directors who knew that Stanwyck was a highly skilled comedienne, a talent often overlooked in favor of her dramatic roles.
• The Title's Double Meaning: The film's title refers both to the geographical setting of the holiday chaos and to the magazine column written by the fictional Elizabeth Lane. Interestingly, the film was shot entirely on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, California, and none of the scenes were actually filmed in Connecticut.
• Sydney Greenstreet's Only Comedy Role: The film features Sydney Greenstreet, known for his roles as menacing villains in noirs like The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca. His role as the demanding publisher Alexander Yardley in Christmas in Connecticut is one of the few, if not the only, purely comedic roles he played during his short but highly impactful film career.
• A Familiar Farmhouse Setting: The exterior set used for John Sloan's farmhouse—the place where the entire holiday deception takes place—was a standing set on the Warner Bros. ranch. It was reused multiple times for various films and television shows over the years.

 

Click HERE to watch the movie on the Internet Archive.

Click HERE to join the online discussion on December 8, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation and a link to join the conversation on Zoom.

 

Dennis Morgan and Barbara Stanwyck

Discussion questions

1. Identity and Deception: Elizabeth Lane’s entire public persona is a fabrication. Discuss the moral and professional implications of this deception. 
2. The Nature of Love and Marriage: Elizabeth is pressured to marry John Sloan, a man she doesn’t love, simply to maintain her professional lie. How does the film contrast this “marriage of convenience” with the genuine, albeit complicated, connection she develops with Jeff Jones? What does the story ultimately suggest about finding true love?
3. The Role of Setting: The film satirizes the idea of the “ideal” Connecticut Christmas. How essential is the farm setting to the comedy and the plot's conflicts? What does the film say about the difference between the romanticized image of domesticity (as described in Elizabeth’s columns) and the reality of an ordinary household?
4. The Comedic Use of Authority: Publisher Alexander Yardley serves as the primary obstacle and source of conflict for Elizabeth. Analyze the effectiveness of Sydney Greenstreet’s performance in this role. How does the film use Yardley's strict, overbearing authority—and Elizabeth’s fear of it—to drive the farcical action?

Barbara Stanwyck Sleighs Christmas

Barbara Stanwyck is one of the icons of Hollywood’s Golden Age. She was believable as a hard-boiled film noir dame as she was a madcap heiress in screwball comedy. She had a way of mixing toughness and vulnerability like no other actress in film history. These qualities would contribute to Stanwyck’s longevity in a career that spanned over 60 years.

Stanwyck is so closely identified with film noir due to her Oscar-nominated performance in Double Indemnity (1944) that she is almost forgotten for some of the best Christmas-themed movies ever made.

The four Christmas movies Stanwyck starred in have stood the test of time and all are worth watching, even in the jaded 21^st century. So here we go!

Lee Leander (Barbara Stanwyck) and John Sargent (Fred MacMurray) take a break on their way to Indiana.

Remember the Night (1940) is directed by the underrated Michell Leisen with a screenplay by Preston Sturges. It’s a wonderful Christmas movie that has been rediscovered in the last several years. It’s also the first pairing of Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray, four years before Double Indemnity cemented their status as film noir icons.

Lee Leander (Stanwyck) is arrested for shoplifting a bracelet from a jewelry store in New York City. Her trial is set to start right before Christmas. John “Jack” Sargeant (MacMurray), the lawyer set to prosecute her, gets the trial postponed until after Christmas. He fears that the jurors will be filled with compassion during the Christmas holiday and declare her not guilty. But when he hears Lee complain to her lawyer that she’ll be spending Christmas in jail, Sargeant arranges for her bail.

Through a misunderstanding, the bail bondsman delivers Lee to Jack’s apartment, thinking he wants to take advantage of the situation by seducing her. When Jack realizes that Leander is a fellow Hoosier, he volunteers to drive her home for Christmas. When Lee arrives at her mother’s home, she finds a mean spirited woman who wants nothing to do with her daughter. Lee is devastated by her mother’s rejection. Seeing how hurt she is, Jack invites her to come home with him for Christmas.

Lee is embraced by Jack’s family including his mother (Beulah Bondi), Aunt Emma (Elizabeth Patterson), and Cousin Willie (Stanley Holloway). Perhaps for the first time in her life, Lee feels loved and accepted. Jack’s mother and aunt treat Lee like family and it has a profound effect on her.

Lee and Mrs. Sargent (Beulah Bondi) have a serious conversation. 

When Jack and Lee start falling in love, things begin to change. As much as Jack’s mother feels for Lee’s predicament, she’s concerned for her son’s career, a career that took a lot of hard work and sacrifice.

Will Jack and Lee be able to overcome the obstacles in their way and find happiness? I hope you get the chance to see this classic for yourself; I think you’ll be surprised by the ending. 

Meet John Doe (1941) is a comedy-drama directed by Frank Capra. Stanwyck’s co-star is Gary Cooper who has the title role. Stanwyck stars as Ann Mitchell, a newspaper reporter who is fired when a new owner takes over The Bulletin a paper with a sagging readership. As she exits, Ann creates a column featuring a man she calls John Doe who plans on committing suicide to protest the ills of the world on Christmas Eve.

John Willoughby (Gary Cooper) and Ann Mitchell (Barbara Stanwyck)

The column gets such a big response from the public that the new editor of the paper hires Ann back. Once she’s back on the paper, Ann sets about finding a “real” John Doe to promote her column and to keep her employed. When she sees Long John Willoughby (Cooper), a former baseball player and tramp, she thinks she’s found the perfect man to play the part. With coaching from Ann, John develops into a competent speaker and leader. John Doe clubs pop up all over the country due to John’s appearances on the radio and Ann’s columns.

Ann convinced newspaper editor Henry Connell (James Gleason) that she should get her job back.

When the owner of the paper D. B. Norton realizes that the John Doe clubs could help him with his political ambitions, as long as he can convince Ann and John to go along. Things get complicated when Ann finds herself falling in love with John but is blinded by the money and position Norton offers her.

John refuses to go along with Norton which also alienates him from Ann who he thinks has betrayed him. At an outdoor rally where John is set to speak, Norton has the microphones turned off and agitators in the crowd hired to turn the rallygoers against him. Ann, now being held by Norton is desperate to explain herself to John but he won’t listen. Frustrated and upset, Ann makes herself sick when she realizes that John thinks she played him for a fool.

Hurt and disillusioned, John decides to jump off of the top of City Hall on Christmas Eve just as Ann had said he would in her first column. D. B. Morton and his associates fear that John may actually try to jump to his death and go to the top of City Hall. They’re afraid he’ll turn himself into a martyr and thwart their political ambitions.

Ann Mitchell begs John not to jump

Ann, leaving her sickbed goes to City Hall in an attempt to keep John from jumping. She confronts John and begs him not to jump. She also proclaims her love for him and that together they can continue the John Doe movement. Exhausted from her climb to the top of City Hall and her illness, Ann collapses in John’s arms. At that moment, some members of the John Doe clubs have gone to the top of city hall to tell him the movement isn’t dead and that they still believe in him.

What does John do? Is there hope for John and Ann and the John Doe movement? Watch this classic (it’s free on YouTube) to find out.

Christmas in Connecticut (1945) is a wonderful screwball comedy directed by Peter Godfrey. Stanwyck plays Elizabeth Lane, a popular food writer for Smart Housekeeping magazine owned by publisher Alexander Yardley (Sydney Greenstreet). Her stories about her married life on a farm in Connecticut with her husband and baby have helped boost circulation, making it one of the top magazines in the country. The only problem is Elizabeth Lane’s life is one big lie. She can’t cook, she’s not married, has no baby or a farm in Connecticut. All her recipes come from her friend Felix Bassenak (S.Z. Sakall) a restaurateur in her neighborhood.

Jefferson Jones (Dennis Morgan) and Elizabeth Lane (Barbara Stanwyck) out for a sleigh ride

As a publicity stunt, Yardley invites a Navy veteran who was adrift at sea for several weeks before his rescue to Elizabeth’s “farm” for Christmas. Yardley believes that if Elizabeth Lane entertains a war hero in her home, readers will buy and subscribe to Smart Housekeeping.

This development puts Elizabeth on the spot. How will she be able to entertain a war hero when she lives in a small New York City apartment? Enter John Sloan, an architect, who is in love with Elizabeth and has asked her to marry him on several occasions but has always been turned down…until now! John has a farm in Connecticut, the farm she has based her stories on, and he’s anxious to make her his bride. Sloan even has worked out a plan where they can “rent” a baby!

Felix (S.Z. Sakall) teaches Elizabeth how to flip pancakes

When returning war hero Jefferson Jones (Dennis Morgan) arrives at the Connecticut farm, he is immediately smitten with Elizabeth Lane, and she is with him. Elizabeth and Sloan try numerous times to get married at the farm but are always interrupted by someone or something. Felix, who doesn’t think Sloan is the right man for Elizabeth, finds ways to disrupt their wedding plans on several occasions. On the other hand, he does all he can to bring Elizabeth and Jefferson together since Felix sees the war veteran as a better match for his friend.

Like many screwball comedies, the action is fast and furious with lots of witty dialogue and improbable situations. You know that Elizabeth and Jefferson are destined to be together, but it’s the crazy path they take to get there that makes this movie so much fun.

My Reputation (1946) is a wonderful romantic drama directed by Curtis Bernhardt. Stanwyck stars as Jessica Drummond a widow who is trying to get on with her life while raising two young boys. She gets a lot of advice from her friends and family on how she should act now that she’s a widow. Her mother (Lucile Watson) especially feels that her daughter should mourn her husband perpetually. Jessica’s mother still wears black in memory of her dead husband. Jessica wants no part of her mother’s view of widowhood. Some of the film’s major events take place during the Christmas and New Year’s Eve holidays.

Ginna Abbott (Eve Arden) and Jessica Drummond (Barbara Stanwyck)

Jessica’s best friend Ginna Abbott (Eve Arden) and her husband Cary (John Ridgely) invite her on a ski vacation in Lake Tahoe. Jessica has a skiing mishap and is assisted by Major Scott Landis (George Brent). Jessica is wary of Scott’s attention but she needs his help to get back to her friends' cabin. After a little back and forth between the two, Jessica asks him to leave.

Back home in Lake Forest, Illinois, Jessica learns that Scott is stationed in Chicago. In the meantime, Jessica’s social circle starts spreading rumors about her and Scott. Not understanding why, when she’s unattached, a platonic relationship should garner so much attention and ruin her reputation. One of Jessica’s chief critics is Riette Van Orman (Leona Maricle) whose husband tried to force himself on Jessica.

Jessica and Major Scott Landis (George Brent) on the slopes

During the Christmas holiday, Jessica spends time with her mother her boys, and the family lawyer and friend Frank Everett (Warner Anderson). Jessica’s mother thinks Frank is a suitable man for Jessica to consider dating. Jessica is having none of it; she doesn’t want to be pushed into a relationship with someone she doesn’t love.

After being subjected to her “friends” talking behind her back for months, Jessica confronts Riette at Van Orman’s New Year’s Eve party. Riette expresses her disapproval of Jessica’s behavior in a most unkind way. Jessica protests saying she’s done nothing wrong and resents Riette’s judgment.

It’s about this time that Jessica realizes that she’s in love with Scott and wants to build a life together with him in spite of the gossip and judgment she may encounter going forward. Scott has orders to go overseas which complicates their relationship. It is especially difficult for her two boys who wonder if Jessica has forgotten their father. She tells them that she loved their father but has it in her to love another

My Reputation had its premiere at a U.S. Army base.

Scott is on his way to New York by train and Jessica goes to meet him. She originally planned on going to New York with him but after speaking with her boys decided not to. Jessica meets Scott at the train but tells him she can’t go with him because her boys are too young to understand. Scott asks her to wait for him. Jessica says she will as she watches the train leave the station.

Holiday Family Fun at The Venue at Daystar Center

The Greater South Loop Association and the Chicago Film Club are having a holiday event, Saturday, December 7, 2013 at 5:30 p.m. at The Venue at Daystar Center, 1550 S. State St., before the screening of the classic film Christmas in Connecticut starring Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, and Sydney Greenstreet.

Holiday Treats and Crafts for All Ages
There will be holiday crafts and treats for all ages, surprises and give-aways. The Chicago Film Club’s screening of Christmas in Connecticut is at 6:30 p.m. A copy of the new Barbara Stanwyck biography will be given away before the movie. A Life of Barbara Stanwyck: Steel – True 1907 – 1940 by Victoria Wilson was released at the end of November and retails for $40. To purchase tickets to the movie, which includes the holiday event—crafts and treats—click here.

Someone will win this new biography.

Screening of a Holiday Classic
Christmas in Connecticut was a big hit when first released, but is sometimes overlooked in the lists of great Christmas movies. Made when Barbara Stanwyck was at her peak, the story is clever and genuinely funny. Stanwyck is Elizabeth Lane, a writer for Smart Housekeeping magazine, who delights her readers with recipes and homemaking hints. Her character is a sort of 1940s version of Martha Stewart, except, unlike Martha, she has no domestic skills whatsoever. When compelled by her magazine publisher to entertain a war hero, Stanwyck goes into high gear to present herself as the perfect domestic goddess the reading public and her publisher think she is. Stanwyck, often cast in heavy melodramas was a great comic actress. This holiday charmer fits right in with our screwball comedy series.

Classic Movie Film Club
The Chicago Film Club explores classic Hollywood cinema at The Venue at Daystar Center. We enjoy viewing movies on a big screen with an audience. By providing background information with each film’s introduction and discussion afterward, we attempt to put each film in the context of the era in which it was produced. We discuss what makes each film a classic and look for its influences in modern film. The group is led and moderated by Steve Reginald, an amateur film historian and classic movie enthusiast. Steve is a writer/editor. He teaches adult education classes on classic movies at Facets Film School in Chicago.

For more information on the Chicago Film Club (free to join), click here.

Classic Movie Man's Favorite Christmas Movies

Meet Me In St. Louis—1944 This musical classic may not be thought of as a Christmas movie, but the story about the trials and tribulations of the Smith family in the year before the 1904 World’s Fair does contain the Christmas classic “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” As sung by Judy Garland to a young Margaret O’Brien, it became an instant hit and holiday standard. Great music, beautiful color cinematography, and a wonderful ensemble cast make this the perfect movie to watch on a snowy winter’s evening with family and friends. 

The Bells of St. Mary’s—1945 Can anyone make great sentimental films the way Leo McCarey did? McCarey was a master of emotional manipulation, but in a good way. Plus, when you have Ingrid Bergman as your leading lady (even if she’s playing a nun), you can’t really go wrong, can you? Bing Crosby reprises his Oscar-winning performance as Father O’Malley in this sequel to Going My Way, but it’s Bergman’s Sister Benedict that really is the heart and soul of this Christmas classic, in my opinion. And who do we have here? Henry Travers, the great character actor, playing business tycoon-turned-benefactor, Mr. Bogardus, one year before he would be immortalized as the angel Clarence in It’s a Wonderful Life (see below). 

Christmas in Connecticut—1945 A big hit when first released, this holiday classic is sometimes overlooked in the lists of great Christmas movies. Made when Barbara Stanwyck was at her peak, the story is clever and genuinely funny. Stanwyck’s character is a sort of 1940s version of Martha Stewart, except, unlike Martha, she has no domestic skills whatsoever. When compelled by her magazine publisher to entertain a war hero, Stanwyck goes into high gear to present herself as the perfect domestic goddess the reading public and her publisher think she is. Stanwyck, often cast in heavy melodramas was a great comic actress. She looks luminous on screen as the career woman falling for war hero Dennis Morgan. 

It’s a Wonderful Life—1946 What do you say that hasn’t already been said about this classic holiday favorite? Well, for starters, it wasn’t such a big hit when released. Most post-war audiences thought the story line was rather dark. Today, the tale of George Bailey visited by an angel named Clarence, who shows George what life would be like if he hadn’t been born, is almost required viewing during the Christmas season. James Stewart is perfectly cast as George and Donna Reed is every bit his equal as George’s wife, Mary. Reed’s characterization is pitch perfect and she makes us understand why George loves her so. 

Miracle on 34th Street—1947 There have been other versions of this classic, but none come close to matching the warmth and intelligence of the original. It’s amazing to me how well this movie holds up today. Maureen O’Hara is a single working mom trying to balance work while raising her young daughter, Susan, played by Natalie Wood. All the praise went to Edmund Gwen as Kris Kringle, and he’s wonderful (Best Supporting Actor winner), but O’Hara gives a beautifully layered performance as Doris Walker, a conflicted career woman who doesn't want her daughter to believe in fantasies of any kind. John Payne is also excellent as Fred Gailey, as is George Seaton’s crisp and fluid direction. 

The Bishop’s Wife—1947 Released the same year as Miracle on 34th Street, the movie boasts two of the most glamorous movie stars in the history of film: Loretta Young and Cary Grant. And for us regular folk, there’s David Niven as the bishop. Probably the most spiritual of all the Christmas classics, The Bishop’s Wife grows on me with each viewing. Niven is a bishop struggling to raise money to build a cathedral without compromising his faith or his marriage to Young. Grant plays an angel named Dudley sent from heaven to help the bishop during his hour of need. Perhaps a little too earthly an angel for his own good, Grant finds himself falling for Young, who, in simple dress and hairstyles, radiates feminine grace and beauty. A wonderful movie about grace, love, and commitment that continues to speak to audiences today.

The above is hardly an exhaustive list of my favorites, but these are very close to the top. What are your favorite Christmas movies? Do you have a list of holiday favorites that you absolutely have to watch every year? I’d love to hear from you.