Directed by:
Preston SturgesCinematography:
Victor MilnerCast:
Dick Powell, Ellen Drew, Raymond Walburn, William Demarest, Ernest Truex, Franklin Pangborn, Rod Cameron, Adrian Morris, Harry Rosenthal, Ferike Boros (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
In Preston Sturges' second film, CHRISTMAS IN JULY, a practical joke propels a hard-working New York couple into a financial and ideological fiasco that challenges the concepts of talent, destiny, and the value of validation. The simple yet soon-to-be-complicated plot sees two lovers sitting on the roof on a hot New York City night, arguing about money. The beautiful girl, Betty (Ellen Drew), attempts to sell her grumpy and hardscrabble fiancé Jimmy (Dick Powell) on the merits of a one-room apartment, when all the while he is desperately attempting to hear the radio, which promises to announce the $25,000 winner of a slogan contest for a local coffee company. The next day when a trio of prankster coworkers forge a telegraph telling him that he has won, Jimmy and Betty are swept into a changed world, one in which long-suffering struggles are validated and self-doubts are dispelled. Jimmy finds himself respected by his boss, placated by his peers, and the landscape of New York City is transformed from an obstacle course to a land of opportunity, only to be thrust back into bleak reality when the hoax is revealed. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
![Dick Powell](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/164/734/164734565_2fe6c6.jpg)
Dick Powell
USA
Best movies:
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935)
The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
The Tall Target (1951)
![Ellen Drew](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/505/505389_25a2da.jpg)
Ellen Drew
USA
Best movies:
If I Were King (1938)
Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)
Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938)
![Raymond Walburn](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/343/160343467_9e5d01.jpg)
Raymond Walburn
USA
Best movies:
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
State of the Union (1948)
![William Demarest](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/496/496828_42ab7f.jpg)
William Demarest
USA
Best movies:
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
The Mountain (1956)
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
![Ernest Truex](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/217/160217074_3c44df.jpg)
Ernest Truex
USA
Best movies:
Producers' Showcase (1954) (series)
It's a Wonderful World (1939)
His Girl Friday (1940)
![Franklin Pangborn](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/147/172/147172593_11e1e9.jpg)
Franklin Pangborn
USA
Best movies:
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
Carefree (1938)
Stage Door (1937)
![Rod Cameron](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/274/274721_ea7f78.jpg)
Rod Cameron
Canada
Best movies:
North West Mounted Police (1940)
Christmas in July (1940)
Commandos Strike at Dawn (1942)
![Adrian Morris](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/726/159726555_a8a36b.jpg)
Adrian Morris
USA
Best movies:
Gone with the Wind (1939)
Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)
If I Were King (1938)
![Harry Rosenthal](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/878/160878265_0c8e92.jpg)
Harry Rosenthal
USA
Best movies:
Birth of the Blues (1941)
The Big Clock (1948)
The Lady Eve (1941)
![Ferike Boros](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/448/160448453_73f540.jpg)
Ferike Boros
Austria-Hungary
Best movies:
The Talk of the Town (1942)
Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)
Black Fury (1935)
![Preston Sturges](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/272/272387_9ff5a5.jpg)
Preston Sturges
USA
Best movies:
Sullivan's Travels (1941)
Christmas in July (1940)
Paris Holiday (1958)
![Robert Warwick](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/000/159000170_4f6a45.jpg)
Robert Warwick
USA
Best movies:
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)
The Power and the Glory (1933)
In a Lonely Place (1950)
Frank Mills
USA
Best movies:
The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima (1952)
Limelight (1952)
Fury (1936)
![Al Bridge](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/365/161365665_e1caf5.jpg)
Al Bridge
USA
Best movies:
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Lucille Ward
USA
Best movies:
It Started with Eve (1941)
After the Thin Man (1936)
The Song of Bernadette (1943)
![Sam Ash](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/789/159789781_d8507f.jpg)
Sam Ash
USA
Best movies:
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Citizen Kane (1941)
![Jimmy Conlin](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/478/159478804_97fe53.jpg)
Jimmy Conlin
USA
Best movies:
Edison, the Man (1940)
Captains Courageous (1937)
Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
![Harry Hayden](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/480/159480941_f58ec9.jpg)
Harry Hayden
Canada
Best movies:
Fury (1936)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
The Thin Man Goes Home (1945)
![Arthur Hoyt](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/162/098/162098724_c45998.jpg)
Arthur Hoyt
USA
Best movies:
Fury (1936)
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
It Happened One Night (1934)
Larry Steers
USA
Best movies:
The Gold Rush (1925)
Love Crazy (1941)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)