i thought there was already a thread for him, but i cant find it so i'm making one. i just watched my first preston sturges movie tonite, Sullivan's Travels. and i liked it quite a bit. the lead Joel McCrea really reminded me of William Holden. the story was interesting because it was about a director of comedies who wants to make a serious picture about the troubles of man. but since he doesnt know anything about that, since he has always been spoiled and rich, he sets out to be a hobo on a journey across the country. along the way he meets veronica lake and tons of wackiness ensues. the first hour of the movie is hilarious.
and then at about the one hour mark it gets kind of serious for about 20 minutes and turns into kind of a grapes of wrath type thing. which i'm not sure i liked, because i would have rather it stayed funny, and seen more with him and veronica lake. however, in doing so, the movie becomes precisely what it set out to be. and it works a little bit like 'adaptation' in the way that, the director who wants to make a serious movie realizes that troubled people dont want to see that, they want to see comedies. in the same way, that i the viewer, in watching the movie realize that same thing. so it was actually very clever in that way. and i think i will have to buy this now.
If you enjoyed "Sullivan's Travels," definitely pick up the Criterion disc. There's really nothing more to add. You hit the nail on the head about what the film is all about, modernage. You should also check out Sturges's "The Lady Eve" too.
I liked Sullivan's Travels a lot. The ironic turn of the film into seriousness was pretty sophisticated for it's time. Sturges had a cameo as a movie director. The DVD features a PBS documentary on his life, among other extras.
Official Website (http://www.prestonsturges.com/main.html)
Pauline Kael said in I Lost It At The Movies that Preston Sturges re-invented film comedy in the 40s with his "verbal slapstick." If you think about it, there's nobody really working in film today that does that. Most of the verbal slapstick we see (hear) is on television shows, or movies such as Down With Love that are throwbacks to that era. The Coen Bros. may be an exception.
Uh, disregard what I said about Down With Love in the above post.
I watched the first half of Sullivan's Travels in a screenwriting class yesterday. So I can only write half of a po...
Christmas in July is superb.
I love the two that Criterion has put out, as well.
i wonder why there are only 3 movies of his on dvd. i'm seriously considering going out to rent some tapes because i really loved sullivans travels (and have since bought that and lady eve). i'll take cinephile and godardians suggestions for what to see first.
for anyone else intersted Turner Classic Movies is showing 2 Sturges films not on DVD (since almost none are), since i am.
Miracle of Morgan's Creek, The / 1944
CAST: Eddie Bracken, Betty Hutton, William Demarest.
During World War II, a 4F tries to help the woman he loves cover up a surprise pregnancy. BW 98m. CC
Comedy. D: Preston Sturges.
PLAYING ON TCM: 01/11/2005 03:15 AM
PLAYING ON TCM: 02/14/2005 04:30 PM
PLAYING ON TCM: 03/06/2005 06:00 PM
PLAYING ON TCM: 03/05/2005 08:00 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Palm Beach Story, The / 1942
CAST: Claudette Colbert, Joel McCrea, Mary Astor.
To finance her husband's career, a married woman courts an eccentric millionaire. BW 88m. CC
Comedy. D: Preston Sturges.
PLAYING ON TCM: 01/11/2005 02:30 PM
PLAYING ON TCM: 03/21/2005 08:00 PM
PLAYING ON TCM: 01/16/2005 01:30 AM
I loved Barbra Stanwyck in Lady Eve. She is simply amazing in this film and beautiful. But, I must say I didn't care for Henry Fonda's character in this film. I don't think it was his fault why I didn't like it either. I just think the film had a poor script.
Spoiler:
I mean how could you not know that Jean and Lady Eve are the same person? Surely Fonda slept with her both times. I don't know I guess that I just found it to be contrived in a sense with the screen play. His character was idoitic, heartless, and mean. If I was fucking/dating him I would surely pull the same "gag" that Stanwyck pulls.
End Spolier:
Did I miss the point of the film? Am I dumb for not liking this?
But, it certainly was funny. It is a great fun comedy, but not a great film, (I'm not implying comedies are not good films - so don't think that kids). This film didn't impress me. I want to see Sullivan's Travels though and many other Sturges films.
Quote from: themodernage02for anyone else intersted Turner Classic Movies is showing 2 Sturges films not on DVD (since almost none are), since i am.
Miracle of Morgan's Creek, The / 1944
CAST: Eddie Bracken, Betty Hutton, William Demarest.
During World War II, a 4F tries to help the woman he loves cover up a surprise pregnancy. BW 98m. CC
Comedy. D: Preston Sturges.
PLAYING ON TCM: 01/11/2005 03:15 AM
PLAYING ON TCM: 02/14/2005 04:30 PM
PLAYING ON TCM: 03/06/2005 06:00 PM
PLAYING ON TCM: 03/05/2005 08:00 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Palm Beach Story, The / 1942
CAST: Claudette Colbert, Joel McCrea, Mary Astor.
To finance her husband's career, a married woman courts an eccentric millionaire. BW 88m. CC
Comedy. D: Preston Sturges.
PLAYING ON TCM: 01/11/2005 02:30 PM
PLAYING ON TCM: 03/21/2005 08:00 PM
PLAYING ON TCM: 01/16/2005 01:30 AM
Thanks for the info, mod! I've been trying to get a friend of mine to see Miracle of Morgan's Creek for forever and I never remember to check TCM for it.
The only Sturges films I've seen besides this are Sullivan's Travels and The Lady Eve but this one is my favorite. I'm still stunned that it was actually made, given the puritanical stance on unwed mothers at the time.
so i watched and liked both films on TCM recently. apparently Palm Beach Story is coming out on dvd soon as well, which is good as i liked that one better of the two. sturges is just so fast with his dialogue, what i appreciate about his style is that where a movie like His Girl Friday which is famous for having made this screwball style popular was mainly between the leads: Grant and Russell, Sturges populates his movies with many supporting characters who all get in on the action. much like the coen bros., even the bit parts get some great dialogue and even physical bits making the films rich with comedy. good stuff. i want more.
Quote from: themodernage02apparently Palm Beach Story is coming out on dvd soon as well, which is good as i liked that one better of the two.
it just came out.
have you seen it?
of course not.
Quote from: themodernage02have you seen it?
This was in reference to Palm Beach Story and actually, I just saw this movie. Having had seen only The Lady Eve previously, I went into this one expecting to be their best because thats what I had heard. I liked it, but I kept thinking I was suppose to like it more. I really liked The Lady Eve. Thats a fun movie, but there's something more to it. I think Barbara Stanywck and Henry Fonda being in the cast is the gold mine that really made me like it so much. This is just a gut shot reaction, though. Someone challenge me to thought and I'm sure I could write some ridiciously extended sentences and paragraphs in defense.
see Sullivans Travels. thats my favorite so far, and there's a lot more to it.
Quote from: themodernage02see Sullivans Travels. thats my favorite so far, and there's a lot more to it.
That's next for me. I should see it sometime this week. And I'll see The Miracle of Morgan's Creek as well. Plus, with Unfaithfully Yours being released by Criterion this summer, I'll amass a pretty nice Sturges collection.
'Unfaithfully Yours' is amazing, just checked out the Criterion dvd. It's truly a brilliantly structured film: 30 mins. of setup, 30 mins. of fantasies skewing that setup, and 30 mins of payoffs. Rex Harrison is hysterical, and his dialogue about Russian Roulette makes me giddy just thinking about it.
It blows my mind how ahead of his time Sturges was. The filmmaking is so tight, the observations so sharp (Harrison's stroll through a hotel room is so perfectly played, it hurts). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. If I wasn't shit-ass broke, I'd buy this right now. Or maybe I'll just 'Stefen' it.
Quote from: Weak2ndActRex Harrison
I've been doing good lately in not buying Criterions, but the realization Rex Harrison is in it and excellent may make this one worth buying. Sturges just doesn't hold as much flavor with me as I'd hoped.
you're not supposed to eat him.
Just saw Sullivan's Travels, fucking hilarious. I loved it a lot. Can't wait to the other ones.
Quote from: SiliasRuby on May 03, 2006, 05:19:05 PM
Can't wait to the other ones.
what did you mean here, did you mean "Can't wait to
bump heaps of other threads for no reason"?
Miracle of Morgan's Creek is surprisingly frank for a film from the 1940s. Sturges creatively got around the Hayes Code here. The clever dialogue is relentless, and different characters often overlap each other. The climax in particular is hilarious. Sturges was ahead of his time with this film. More of his films on DVD, please.
http://homevideo.universalstudios.com/details.php?childId=36544
Preston Sturges: The Filmmaker Collection
Release Date: 11/21/2006
The films:
The Great McGinty
Christmas in July
The Lady Eve
Sullivan's Travel
The Palm Beach Story
The Great Moment
Hail the Conquering Hero
All are presented in 1.33:1 Full Frame with English Mono sound and optional English SDH and French subtitles.
wow great. i want to see mcginty and christmas. i thought criterion was doing one/both of those? these versions probably wont be the best transfers and stuff but its still better than not having them on dvd at all. lets hope they dont get pushed back a year or two like the double indemnity dvd that was on universals website forever ago and is still not quite released.
I'm currently working my way through the Preston Sturges box set.
The Great McGinty is honest about politics and corruption. The way McGinty rises to major political office is just as relevant today as it was in the days of political "bosses." Since the film starts at the end of the story, its clear that the tone is going to be cynical. McGinty is tending bar in a nightclub in some foreign country, possibly Cuba, and he tells his story in flashback. Clearly this is not a Frank Capra film with an uplifting ending. The film has some very funny moments, but overall its a mix of comedy and drama.
SPOILER
McGinty eventually tries to go honest as governor of an unnamed state, but this backfires on him and he's ruined.
END SPOILER
Christmas in July is a minor work by Sturges. Its not uproariously funny, nor is it extremely insightful. In fact its more like an episode of a sitcom. But it is a charming film nonetheless. Jimmy MacDonald pins his hopes and dreams on winning a Maxford House (yes, Maxford) slogan contest. A few of his co-workers pull a prank on him by sending him a fake telegram saying he won. Jimmy goes on a shopping spree, buying gifts for everyone in his neighborhood. Of course, we know that he really wasn't the winner. Happy ending aside, the film has themes on consumerism and capitalism. Christmas in July was released in 1940, so America was still in the throes of the Great Depression. Having nice things and being able to provide nice things for one's family and friends was quite an accomplishment. Jimmy works as an accountant(?) in a rival coffee company and is promoted to the ad department. The president of the company has a speech towards the end in which he explains that he hired Jimmy because he won the Maxford House contest and that he wouldn't have taken a chance on him without that validation.
Christmas in July is never overly sentimental but it lacks the bite of other Sturges films. The lead characters are likeable but rather bland, and the idea of someone thinking he has hit the jackpot is quite intriguing, but the film doesn't add up to much.
Sturges' sense of the ridiculous is on display in a few scenes, most notably in the Maxford House jury room where one juror holds up the "verdict" with as much passion as Henry Fonda in Twelve Angry Men. These scenes hint at what Sturges was comedically capable of.