#ThePalmBeachStory

William Demarest appeared in eight Preston Sturges films. He recalled that Sturges knew his dialogue so precisely that he immediately caught actors whenever they changed a word. #TCMParty #ThePalmBeachStory ^JW #SummerUnderTheStars

Paramount executives resisted casting Rudy Vallee because his earlier movies had flopped. Sturges won the argument—and J.D. Hackensacker III became one of Vallee’s signature comic roles. #TCMParty #ThePalmBeachStory ^JW #SummerUnderTheStars

Claudette Colbert received $150,000 to play Gerry. Joel McCrea earned $60,000. Colbert was one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, and her salary alone represented a sizable chunk of the budget. #TCMParty #ThePalmBeachStory ^JW #SummerUnderTheStars

Astor struggled with Sturges’s direction. He wanted the Princess played as a rapid-fire, high-pitched caricature of an eccentric society woman—far removed from Astor’s usual dramatic roles. #TCMParty #ThePalmBeachStory ^JW #SummerUnderTheStars

Not ready to leave Gerry and Hackensacker? In 1943, Claudette Colbert and Rudy Vallee reprised their roles in a 30-minute radio adaptation of The Palm Beach Story for The Screen Guild Theatre. #TCMParty #ThePalmBeachStory ^JW #SummerUnderTheStars

Meet the Ale and Quail Club—one of the greatest concentrations of Preston Sturges character actors in one place: William Demarest, Jimmy Conlin, Robert Greig, Roscoe Ates, Chester Conklin and more. #TCMParty #ThePalmBeachStory ^JW #SummerUnderTheStars

Watch Hackensacker’s yacht: it’s called THE ERL KING. Another possible Rockefeller joke lurking underneath the literary name: Rockefeller was known as the “Oil King.” #TCMParty #ThePalmBeachStory ^JW #SummerUnderTheStars

The Palm Beach Story began filming Nov. 24, 1941—just 13 days before Pearl Harbor. It was released in 1942, when its delirious escapism offered audiences a break from wartime reality. #TCMParty #ThePalmBeachStory ^JW #SummerUnderTheStars

Sturges drew on a childhood experience for the train sequence. During European travels, his railway car was accidentally uncoupled and left behind while he and his mother were elsewhere on the train. #TCMParty #ThePalmBeachStory ^JW #SummerUnderTheStars

In honor of Dolly, Colbert's outfit is somewhat of a 'coat of many colors' #TCMParty #ThePalmBeachStory ^JW #SummerUnderTheStars

At about $950,000, The Palm Beach Story was Sturges’s most expensive film yet. Star salaries and elaborate sets helped push the budget upward. #TCMParty #ThePalmBeachStory ^JW #SummerUnderTheStars

Joel McCrea had just starred for Sturges in Sullivan’s Travels. Sturges specifically planned The Palm Beach Story’s male lead for him after their successful collaboration. #TCMParty #ThePalmBeachStory ^JW #SummerUnderTheStars