Christmas in July was the first Preston Sturges film I ever saw. By that time I had seen many of the other canonical comedies of the time and had read a lot about Sturges. But the film flummoxed me. What on earth? I laughed a lot but couldn’t get a handle on what I wasContinue reading “Christmas in July (1940)”
Category Archives: Preston Sturges
The Palm Beach Story (1942)
Preston Sturges was the only true comic genius of classic Hollywood comedy. He was the most artistically ambitious comic director of his time. He wanted to do everything better than anyone else around him. He wanted to be the best screenwriter, the best director, the best synthesizer of comic styles — not just of filmContinue reading “The Palm Beach Story (1942)”
“Who’s Lubitsch?” — Ninotchka (1939):: Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
Until recently, Lubitsch was rarely mentioned as one of the great Hollywood auteurs. Maybe it was because his bailiwick was comedy. Maybe it was because of his self-effacing mien. Even now, when no one would contest his place in the Hollywood pantheon, he’s rarely discussed as a reflective artist capable of making “meta-comedies,” like VictorContinue reading ““Who’s Lubitsch?” — Ninotchka (1939):: Sullivan’s Travels (1941)”
Easy Living (1937)
Easy Living figures in everyone’s canon of classic Hollywood comedies. With a screenplay by Preston Sturges, a luminous performance by Jean Arthur, and one of the looniest farcical premises in the whole genre (not the looniest — that would be Christmas in July), it seems to stand alone. The brilliant script includes some of theContinue reading “Easy Living (1937)”
The Lady Eve (1941)
The Lady Eve is the Sistine Chapel of screwball comedies. A lot has been written about it, but somehow it eludes analysis. When I taught courses on film comedy, I’d warn my students: don’t ever think you’re smarter than Preston Sturges, don’t ever think to yourself “I’ve got this all figured out.” On a thirdContinue reading “The Lady Eve (1941)”
Remember the Night (1940)
Remember the Night should have been a great comedy. It was written by Preston Sturges and directed by Mitchell Leisen. Three years earlier they had collaborated on Easy Living, one of the classics of the period. But this one is a mess. There’s hardly a trace of Sturges’s sophisticated wit and cynicism, and Leisen’s directingContinue reading “Remember the Night (1940)”
The Good Fairy (1934) – 1.
The Good Fairy is one of the great film comedies of the period. And an anomaly. It’s perfect on its own terms – hilarious, warm, with fantastically good performances. It stars Margaret Sullavan at her most luminous in her best comic role. It was directed by William Wyler, who did not direct a lot ofContinue reading “The Good Fairy (1934) – 1.”
Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (1943)
Of all of Preston Sturges’s films, and maybe of all the comedies of this period, this may be my favorite. The comic pitch, the impossibility of separating satire from comedy, the nonstop 5-dimensional humor, the physical clowning in perfect sync with verbal pyrotechnics, the total commitment of the ensemble to absolute craziness, and the demolitionContinue reading “Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (1943)”