Christmas in July (film) Christmas in July (film) Christmas in July is a 1940 comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges based on his 1931 play "A Cup of Coffee". It was Sturges' second film as writer-director, after "The Great McGinty", and stars Dick Powell and Ellen Drew. Dr. Maxford (Raymond Walburn) is thoroughly exasperated. He is supposed to announce on national radio the winners of a slogan contest for his Maxford House Coffee; the first prize is $25,000. Maxford's jury is deadlocked by the stubborn Mr. Bildocker (William Demarest). As a result, the program ends without an announcement. One of millions of
Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 75 based on six reviews. Richard Gere was praised by both "Variety" and "The Guardian" for his "strong performance" portraying a "Court Jew" archetype. Indeed, Cedar's fictional character 'Norman Oppenheimer' was inspired in part by the real life court Jew Joseph Süß Oppenheimer, whose life in turn inspired the 1934 British film Jew Süss, as well as the 1940 Nazi propaganda film Jud Süß. Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer