Love is fickle! Love is blind! She runs 'round the country...with him behind!
A New York inventor, Tom Jeffers, needs cash to develop his big idea, so his adoring wife, Gerry, decides to raise it by divorcing him and marrying an eccentric Florida millionaire, J. D. Hackensacker III.
The Palm Beach Story (1942) is a comedy and romance film directed by Preston Sturges, released on August 28, 1942 with a runtime of 1h 28m. It stars Claudette Colbert, Joel McCrea, Mary Astor and Rudy Vallee. Viewers rate it 7.0 out of 10 across 213 ratings.
Watch the official trailer for The Palm Beach Story before you stream it.
Official trailers, teasers, clips and featurettes for The Palm Beach Story.
Trailer
Trailer
Featurette
Featurette
Claudette Colbert
as Geraldine 'Gerry' Jeffers
Joel McCrea
as Tom Jeffers
Mary Astor
as The Princess Centimillia
Rudy Vallee
as John D. Hackensacker III
Sig Arno
as Toto
Robert Warwick
as Mr. Hinch
Arthur Stuart Hull
as Mr. Osmond
Torben Meyer
as Dr. Kluck
Jimmy Conlin
as Mr. Asweld
Victor Potel
as Mr. McKeewie
William Demarest
as First Member Ale and Quail Club
Jack Norton
as Second Member Ale and Quail Club
Directed by Preston Sturges, written by Preston Sturges.
Average viewer score of 7.0/10 from 213 ratings.
A woman leaves her inventor husband, believing that it would be better for him if she were gone. She heads to Palm Beach to get a divorce, and meets kind billionaire John D. Hackensacker the III during crazy train ride there. The energy is bursting in every scene thanks to film's great, seasoned cast. Watch for early scenes with the endearing, little old "Wienie King". The film is a wonderful, joyfully hilarious…
Reviewed on October 4, 2019
“Men don’t get smarter as they get older, they just lose their hair”! That’s the view of “Gerry” (Claudette Colbert) who is married to frustrated designer “Tom” (Joel McCrea). He needs $90,000 to build a state of the art airport but all of the traditional investment sources have politely declined. She decides that he would do better on his own, or better yet - she could divorce him the go marry a millionaire and…
Reviewed on June 5, 2025
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The Palm Beach Story (1942) is available to stream on YouTube TV, and to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube and Fandango At Home. Streaming availability is checked against JustWatch data and can change by region.
The main cast of The Palm Beach Story (1942) includes Claudette Colbert, Joel McCrea, Mary Astor, Rudy Vallee and Sig Arno. The film was directed by Preston Sturges. You can see the full cast and crew list, with character names, further up this page.
The Palm Beach Story was released on August 28, 1942 and runs for 1h 28m.
The Palm Beach Story (1942) holds an average rating of 7.0 out of 10 from 213 viewer votes, and is a good pick if you enjoy comedy and romance films. Read the viewer reviews on this page to decide for yourself.
Yes. The official The Palm Beach Story trailer is embedded in the trailer section of this page and plays instantly, no download or sign-up required.
