This romantic comedy from 1945, is very middle of the road. It isn’t manic or silly enough to be truly funny. It’s romantic couple don’t have much heat or chemistry. What really makes it stand out is the supporting players. Sydney Greenstreet and S.Z. Sakall are so charming and fun that I’d watch this mediocre movie again just for them.

Barbra Stanwick plays Elizabeth Laine a city woman who writes a column for a women’s magazine in which she pretends to be wife and mother on a farm in Connecticut. She gets all her recipes and cooking advice from her friend Felix, played with effervescent charm by S.Z. Sakall. Her Publisher Alexander Yardley, played with delightful verve by Sydney Greenstreet, concocts a plan to have Elizabeth Laine host a returning war hero at her Connecticut home for Christmas. Elizabeth has to fake the home, family, and cooking skills she been writing about for years in order to keep her job.

The premise is made for a screwball comedy. Elizabeth has written about her baby, so she “borrows” a baby from a local woman who works during the day. However, when a different woman brings her baby the next day Elizabeth has to explain why her daughter is now a son. It’s a great set up for some madcap antics. And there are some funny bits with it, but it generates smiles not laughs. In the hands of a director like Howard Hawks, it would be madcap nonstop laughs. With Leo McCarey, the film would have an easy charm and elegant silliness. Here, it feels like a screwball comedy in slow motion.

The main couple is also a problem. Barbra Stanwick’s Elizabeth never feels like shes in real trouble. If she loses her job, she’ll just quit and marry this wealthy architect who wants to be with her. When she falls in love with the war hero, played by Dennis Morgan, there’s never any real impediment to them getting together. She doesn’t need to do any of this. There’s no real stakes through the movie, so it was hard for me to invest in the goings on when the story is an inconvenience more than a real catastrophe.

Now on to what I loved, S.Z. Sakall and Sydney Greenstreet are wonderful! I wish the movie was just these two. Greenstreet is known for playing villains. He was the overweight menace in the Maltese Falcon, and the greedy rival to Rick in Casabalanca. He didn’t get to play light comedic roles like this very often, and we all missed out. He has the lightest comedic touch in this movie. The way he describes the turnip whip that his doctor has recommended he eat is delightful. The moment that makes me laugh out loud every time is toward the end. He is storming out in a fury. He stops mid sentence, sniffs the air and says “I’m hungry” drops his bags and walks into the kitchen. His timing and delivery are absolutely hilarious.

S.Z. Sakall was a Hungarian actor who was a major star in his homeland before coming to America and charming audiences across the nation. He is so fun and delightful here. In the beginning he learns a new word and uses throughout the film “Catastrophe!” He pulls all the strings and is the major force behind all the antics in the film. He is looking after his friends and trying to make sure everyone is happy. He cooks and plots his way through the movie with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. The final scene between him and Sydney Greenstreet in which he witholds the food he’s making in order to negotiate a better contract for Elizabeth is truly wonderful. It’s my favorite part of the movie.

I wish I loved this movie. I just couldn’t shake the feeling while watching it that it could have been better. I wish I cared more about the characters and what they’re up to. I wish the whole movie was Greenstreet and Sakall talking about food. I won’t add this one to my favorite Christmas classics, but it has its moments.

It’s a half cup of tea for me. B