the preston sturges appreciation thread

[solgroupie]

over the last couple of years i have become better acquainted with some of the great films of preston sturges, thanks to callipygias. i taped the miracle of morgan's creek sometime last summer and that was all it took.



made in 1944, i thought it was quite a daring comedy for its time. the leading lady, betty hutton, who plays trudy kockenlocker, wakes up after a night of partying with some soldiers on their way overseas to find herself married and pregnant, but with no recollection of whom she married. her best friend, norval, (eddie bracken and his bow tie) becomes her partner in trying to make an honest woman out of her. it's a really funny movie filled with memorable characters. two of the best ones -



- emmy and carl kockenblocker (diana lynn and william demarest), trudy's sister and father. they are the scene stealers of this movie. sturges was well known for using the same stable of actors for his films, which makes them more endearing for me. william demarest is hilarious and though i haven't yet seen all of the sturges films, this one (for me) is his funniest.

calli sent me three sturges movies - the palm beach story, the lady eve and sullivan's travels.

first i watched the palm beach story (1942)


joel mccrea, mary astor, claudette colbert and rudy vallee

i was never really aware of claudette colbert's beauty and talent until callipygias, but he is right. she is formidable. she and mccrea had great chemistry together and the wackiness of the story kept up a great pace through the whole film. i love how claudette, who played gerry jeffers (sturges used awesome names for his characters) just takes it upon herself to offer a divorce from her husband (mccrea) and gets a ride to florida, just on her looks and personality.

then came the lady eve (1941)

a fast paced story about con artist jean (played beautifully by barbara stanwyck) who seduces, loses and eventually wins the rich but very naive charles (henry fonda). i love the beautiful but tough and ballsy broads of the '40's, and barbara stanwyck was the queen. surrounded by a great supporting (and familiar) cast, it's funny and keeps moving until the very end.


barbara stanwyck and henry fonda

last night i watched sullivan's travels (1941). this could be my favorite. i swear, veronica lake is the reason why the expression va-va-voom! was invented. and as gorgeous as she was, i had no idea of how funny she could be. the dialog between her character and joel mccrea's sullivan was so natural and just funny. a really good story for its times, and i loved the bits in sullivan's travels used by the coen brothers for their remake of the ladykillers.


joel mccrea and veronica lake

there were a lot of movies back in the thirties and forties that attempted that shotgun fast dialog and no one pulled it off better than sturges. it was quick, funny and very ahead of its times. i can definitely see why he was voted 28th greatest director of all time by entertainment weekly. i look forward to watching the rest of his work.

[Shep]

I'm a huge fan. "The Great McGinty," "Miracle At Morgan's Creek" and "Sullivan's Travels" are all favorite films of mine. The energy in those movies, both in the direction and in the dialogue, is incredible.

And yes, William Demarest was absolutely wonderful in those Sturges films, too (most viewers probably know him best as the grouchy Uncle Charley from "My Three Sons.") One of my favorite character actors.

[stevehadcrackers]

"Sullivan's Travels" is one of my favorite movies ever. There's not really much I can say about it that hasn't already been said. It holds a special place in my heart because it was the first Veronica Lake movie I'd ever seen, and she's my favorite actress of all time.
"The Lady Eve" is one of the best screwball comedies. I remember seeing it for the first time and being surprised at some of the raunchier stuff they got away with in that movie. I think it's the only time I've ever seen Henry Fonda in a comedy.

[Mighty Jack]

Sturges had a great wit, he was one of the best dialog men ever.

Sullivan's Travels is also one of my all time favorites. I've always loved Veronica Lake (If you can find them, watch the films with her and Alan Ladd. (The Coen's "Miller's Crossing" is a nod to their "Glass Key")