CHRISTMAS IN JULY

Dick Powell, Ellen Drew

Universal; Directed by Preston Sturges

Black and White; Not Rated; 67 minutes; 1940

Christmas in July is the most unjustly neglected of Sturges' masterpieces, being his purest exposition of overnight success. A radio contest to find a promotional jingle for a coffee company turns into a corporate nervous breakdown when one obstinate judge (William Demarest) deadlocks the whole works. By an absurd fluke, the prize is prematurely awarded to a company clerk (Dick Powell), whose entry was "If you can't sleep at night, it's not the coffee, it's the bunk." From then on the film builds up to a wild, slapstick street riot.