The Palm Beach Story 1942

The Palm Beach Story

1942 · United States · Directed by Preston Sturges · 88 min

FunnyRomantic Great first watch · Easy Screwball comedy

A woman decides that divorcing her inventor husband and marrying money is the most practical way to finance his ambitions.

What to expect

Preston Sturges treats marriage, money, and identity as materials for a farce that refuses to slow down long enough for respectability to recover. Claudette Colbert keeps the impossible plan emotionally legible amid escalating invention.

How to ease in

The opening credits plant a puzzle, but the film works even before that puzzle is resolved. Accept the coincidences and follow who can turn wealth, charm, or confusion into immediate freedom.

Heads-up

A quick, non-exhaustive note Includes alcohol, gunfire played for comedy, deception, sexual bargaining, class stereotypes, and dated attitudes towards marriage and consent.
Momo's Note May contain spoilers Who is Momo? →

A woman decides that divorcing her inventor husband and marrying money is the most practical way to finance his ambitions.

Gerry treats money like weather: dangerous, changeable, and too practical to ignore. I enjoy how every millionaire she meets makes her plan easier and reality less believable.

Open the note ↓

Gerry treats money like weather: dangerous, changeable, and too practical to ignore. I enjoy how every millionaire she meets makes her plan easier and reality less believable.

— Momo

Momo with notes about this film

Credits & versions

Credits
Screenplay
Preston Sturges
Production
Paramount Pictures, Inc.
Cinematography
Victor Milner

Version map

Criterion presentation88 min88 minutes is attached only to the named Criterion presentation. No unsupported cut, score, territory, frame rate, source element, or restoration detail is inferred.Runtime reference · Checked 2026-08-21

Where to go next

Want a gentler, shorter, or stranger next film? Ask Momo for something like this →
Momo is on shift. Visit Momo Cinema →

Continue through the catalogue →