12 Days of Christmas: Barbara Stanwyck Hosts a Christmas in Connecticut

Happily married housewife,

Mother of one precious baby,

Loves to cook with a passion

In a beautiful Connecticut farmhouse

Author of Smart Housekeeping column

The above profile of Elizabeth Lane, smartly played by Barbara Stanwyck, sounds pretty awesome. Yet the only elements of truth are contained in the last line and even this is fraught with lies because every recipe published in Lane’s column is taken from her friend, professional chef Felix Bassenak, delightfully portrayed by S. Z. “Cuddles” Sakall.

The problem with building an existence on deception is that it can catch up to you at the most inopportune moment. For Lane, this happens when the magazine owner decides that she should play hostess to both a war hero and himself for Christmas in her fantastic farmhouse, with her fabulous family, and delectable dining.

The comedy of errors begins with a frenzy here! The hero, Jefferson Jones, played by Dennis Morgan, turns out to be a handsome and caring young man who finds himself attracted to what he thinks is a married woman with a young baby while Lane is equally smitten with Jones.

Some humorous scenes include when different babies are dropped off at the farmhouse to pass for Lane’s made-up child, one a blonde boy and the other a brunette girl. There are a number of attempts at a marriage between Lane and John Sloane (Reginald Gardiner)--a fellow who does care for her, is hosting the farce at his Connecticut farm, and is acting as the husband/father--but something always interrupts the effort.

Barbara Stanwyck is quite fun in this role, though it bears a strong resemblance to her work as Ann Mitchell, in Capra’s Meet John Doe. Christmas in Connecticut ends predictably but fans would expect and want nothing less.

Again, this movie was disastrously remade in 1992 and is reported to being remade even as I write, this time with Jennifer Garner.