The Stone Farmhouse in “Christmas in Connecticut”

I love old black and white movies. Especially romantic comedies. And if there’s a little Christmas thrown into the storyline, all the better!  One of my favorites to watch at this time of year is Christmas in Connecticut with Barbara Stanwyck.

I’ve been in love with the stone farmhouse that it takes place in ever since I saw it as a girl. I love the vaulted ceilings, the walls of windows, the built-in bookshelves, and the big stone fireplace in the living room.

Elizabeth Lane (Barbara Stanwyck) writes a popular column in Smart Housekeeping, describing her daily life as a wife and mother, an accomplished cook and home decorator, on a farm in Connecticut. But the truth is, Elizabeth is a single woman living in NYC who needs a recipe to boil water.

Her uncle Felix, who runs a successful restaurant, is the one providing her with the recipes, and the farmhouse is based on one built by her architect boyfriend.

When her boss, Alexander Yardley, invites himself to Christmas dinner and wants to bring along war hero Jefferson Jones as a sort of publicity stunt, Elizabeth and her boyfriend–now fiance–have to pretend to be married.

She brings Felix along to the farmhouse to cook, and they borrow a neighbor’s baby to play the part of baby Roberta. But then Elizabeth meets Jefferson, sparks fly, and complications ensue.

War hero Jefferson Jones shows up at the farmhouse, and Elizabeth is immediately smitten. Maybe she won’t marry John Sloan after all. . .

Jefferson helps Elizabeth bathe the baby in the bathroom. “Are you sure the baby’s name is Robert?” Oops. “I mean, Roberta!”

War hero Jefferson Jones wins Elizabeth over by singing Christmas carols while she trims the tree:

According to the IMDB website, the set was the same one used in the Cary Grant-Katharine Hepburn rom-com “Bringing Up Baby” in 1938. I found that interesting because I loved that house, too. I’ve got to rent it again so I can compare the two! The exteriors were similar, as I recall, but I clearly remember the entry and staircase in “Bringing Up Baby,” and it was completely different from the one in this film. They must have changed a lot around.

Jefferson and Elizabeth in the upstairs hallway. (These are the kinds of outfits I like to hang out in when I’m in my Connecticut farmhouse, too.)

Felix teaches Elizabeth how to flip flapjacks:

Love the Dutch door in the kitchen. So does this cow, which has wandered to the house from the barn:

A shot of the pretty guest bedroom:

The war hero’s fiancee shows up to complicate things further:

But everything gets straightened out in the end and Elizabeth and Jefferson fall in love. Unfortunately, when Elizabeth chooses Jefferson, she must leave John’s farmhouse behind, so the ending isn’t a totally happy one (in my opinion!).

Elizabeth Lane’s character was based on the then-popular Family Circle magazine columnist Gladys Taber, who lived on Stillmeadow Farm in Connecticut. But unlike Elizabeth, Gladys was the real deal who wrote something like 50 books about cooking and homemaking.

Visit my TV/Movie Houses page to see more, from Gone with the Wind to Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House.

Tagged as: 1940s, Barbara Stanwyck, black and white movies, Christmas, Christmas in Connecticut, Christmas movies, classic films, entertainment, House Tour, movies, old movies, romantic comedy