The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944)

Preston Sturges was a revelation when I first saw Sullivan's Travels and then The Lady Eve. His scripts are always wildly hilarious and full of memorable characters whether they are headliners or just supporting the stars. The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944) was a lesser known film to me starring Eddie Bracken and Betty Hutton, but I was ready to see what this screwball could deliver.

With the start of the war there began a push on the home front to strengthen morale by throwing parties and drinking victory lemonade in honor of the boys going overseas. Young Trudy is intent on dancing the night away with a lot of soldier boys. She just wants to do her part in the war effort after all. Her grumpy and domineering daddy Mr. Kocklenlocker (William Demarest) forbade her from taking part in such a shindig.

She sullenly goes to the movies with Norval Jones (Eddie Bracken), the young man who has been infatuated with her since they were kids. However, she somehow talks Norval in letting her go off to a party and she spends the night living it up while he waits dejectedly at the theater. When she finally returns its late morning of the next day and Norval knows her father will kill him.

However, Trudy also discovers a ring on her finger signifying that she married a soldier in her wild stupor the night before. The only problem is she cannot remember who it was, there were so many soldiers that she danced with after all. On top of that add the prospect of a baby and you have a real doozy that has small town scandal written all over it.

Norval tries his best to help remedy things for Trudy only to wind up in jail with a big to do building up that even makes its way to the governor. Things don't look good for poor Norval until Trudy gives birth and it's a MIRACLE! When he finds out about what happens he has a little fainting spell.

That's the craziness that is the Miracle of Morgan's Creek thanks to the rapid fire dialogue and caricatures created by Preston Sturges. William Demarest is especially memorable as the hard apple Mr. Kocklenlocker who is always bossing his daughters around, but he's not all bad. By now Morgan's Creek looks dated, but all the same it is still a memorable piece of WWII home front cinema. Supposedly it was standing room only back in the day and honestly it's surprising that this film ever got past the censors. Bigamy, pregnancy and so much more all mentioned in a 1940s film. Who would have thought it?

4/5 Stars

The Palm Beach Story (1942)

Starring Claudette Colbert and Joel McCrea with direction by Preston Sturges, the film opens with the chaotic marriage of a couple. As the story progresses we learn they are essentially broke because the husband is a lowly architect and his wife cannot do much anything. She resolves to divorce him so that he will not have to support her. She makes her way to Palm Beach by train, using her feminine charm on many men. One such millionaire is especially smitten with her. Despite his awkwardness, she continues the relationship as she wants to send money to her husband so his airport can be built. However, things get complicated when her husband comes for her and the millionaire’s chatterbox sister comes to visit as well. In order to save face Colbert’s character introduces him as her brother. Now her husband is being pursued by another woman and she is close to being proposed to. Finally, she explains what is going on leaving the brother and sister disappointed. However, there is still hope thanks to a hilarious coincidence. The film ends with there beautiful simultaneous wedding ceremonies. Preston Sturges definitely has a knack for the quirky dialogue and situations. I have to say I personally enjoyed the Lady Eve and Sullivan’s Travels more but this film was certainly all over the place.

4/5 Stars

The Lady Eve (1941)

Starring Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck with director Preston Sturges, this screwball comedy is a good one. The supporting cast is rounded out wonderfully by Charles Coburn, Eugene Pallete, and William Demarest. The story begins on a big ocean liner where a beautiful young woman (Stanwyck) tries to pull a con on a naive, rich bachelor (Fonda). Slowly however they begin to fall in love and they plan to get married. He catches wind of her notoriety and becomes cold and that ends their relationship. In an act of revenge she poses as someone's niece, a Lady Eve, so that she can be close to him. Through a series of events he thinks she is a different person who looks similar and over time they decide to get married. When Eve tells him about all her boyfriends he feels he has made a mistake. Back on the ship he is ecstatic to see the first girl and they embrace. Fonda's character feels guilty because he is already married but then again she is too...to him. This film has a great combination of wit and slapstick which makes it an enjoyable classic.

                                                          4.5/5 Stars

Sullivan's Travels (1941)

Starring Joel McCrea and Veronica Lake, with director Preston Sturges, Sullivan's Travels is about a highly successful film director (McCrea) who wants to make a movie about the common man and suffering. However, he usually writes comedies and so he decides to go on the road as a hobo to try and understand the lifestyle. During his adventures he meets a young failed actress (Lake) who is about to leave Hollywood. Wanting to help her, Sully tells the girl what he is doing and they go off together masquerading as tramps. After taking a short respite, he goes on the road again, this time alone. Through a series of events he finds himself in a chain gang while his friends assume he is dead. Eventually he is freed but not before learning a valuable lesson. If he wants to relate with the poor he should give them laughter instead of hardship. I found this movie to be an enjoyable  light comedy (even though I had never heard of it beforehand).

                                                                5/5 Stars