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Preston Sturges has a great structure to The Lady Eve. The first part of the film–the majority of the runtime–has wealthy oddball Henry Fonda returning home on a ship and falling in love with Barbara Stanwyck. Makes sense, as she’s wonderful, only she (and her father, Charles Cobu read more

The Palm Beach Story is a narrative. Director Sturges opens with a rapidly cut prologue showing stars Claudette Colbert and Joel McCrea getting married, where he inserts clues for what will eventually be the film’s utterly pointless deus ex machina. Sure, Palm Beach runs less than ninety minu read more

Feb 9 Posted by aaronwest One of the many things I like about Preston Sturges is that he’s all over the place. It is not that he completely defies the Classic Hollywood conventional formula, but that he is not confined to it, and he plays with expectations. Even in the screwball comedy genre, he’s read more

Feb 9 Posted by aaronwest One of the many things I like about Preston Sturges is that he’s all over the place. It is not that he completely defies the Classic Hollywood conventional formula, but that he is not confined to it, and he plays with expectations. Even in the screwball comedy genre, he’s read more

Feb 9 Posted by aaronwest One of the many things I like about Preston Sturges is that he’s all over the place. It is not that he completely defies the Classic Hollywood conventional formula, but that he is not confined to it, and he plays with expectations. Even in the screwball comedy genre, he’s read more

Today I began a new First Fridays Film Festival series for the LearningQUEST lifetime learning program at the local library. This term we are looking at the films of Preston Sturges, the writer and director who produced classic comedies like The Great McGinty (1940), The Lady Eve (1941), and Sulliva read more

Today I began a new First Fridays Film Festival series for the LearningQUEST lifetime learning program at the local library. This term we are looking at the films of Preston Sturges, the writer and director who produced classic comedies like The Great McGinty (1940), The Lady Eve (1941), and Sulliva read more

Today I began a new First Fridays Film Festival series for the LearningQUEST lifetime learning program at the local library. This term we are looking at the films of Preston Sturges, the writer and director who produced classic comedies like The Great McGinty (1940), The Lady Eve (1941), and Sulliva read more

Turner Classic Movies began its salute to Star of the Month Joel McCrea on Wednesday, May 2, with two of his most enjoyable films - and two of the best films from writer/director Preston Sturges: Sullivan's Travels and The Palm Beach Story. Sturges was one of Hollywood's brightest lights during the read more

Turner Classic Movies began its salute to Star of the Month Joel McCrea on Wednesday, May 2, with two of his most enjoyable films - and two of the best films from writer/director Preston Sturges: Sullivan's Travels and The Palm Beach Story. Sturges was one of Hollywood's brightest lights during the read more

Turner Classic Movies began its salute to Star of the Month Joel McCrea on Wednesday, May 2, with two of his most enjoyable films - and two of the best films from writer/director Preston Sturges: Sullivan's Travels and The Palm Beach Story. Sturges was one of Hollywood's brightest lights during the read more

No film director in history had quite as deft a hand in crafting wild, outrageous comedy as Preston Sturges. The director also wrote and produced his own screenplays, in addition to dabbling in acting, songwriting, and playwriting, among other varied interests. A prototypical “Renaissance man, read more

Preston Sturges: Master of the Cockeyed Caravan, Part 3 A writer-director is born As the story goes, Sturges sold the screenplay for The Great McGinty to Paramount for $10, under the condition that he would also be allowed to direct. Since this seemed like a fairly reasonable risk for the studi read more

Preston Sturges: Master of the Cockeyed Caravan, Part 3 A writer-director is born As the story goes, Sturges sold the screenplay for The Great McGinty to Paramount for $10, under the condition that he would also be allowed to direct. Since this seemed like a fairly reasonable risk for the studi read more

Preston Sturges: Master of the Cockeyed Caravan, Part 2 Going Hollywood In 1932, Sturges went to Hollywood and signed on with Universal as a writer. From the get-go, his writing wasn’t a hit with the studio bosses and his scripts were rejected. On his own, Sturges wrote a screenplay call read more

Preston Sturges: Master of the Cockeyed Caravan, Part 2 Going Hollywood In 1932, Sturges went to Hollywood and signed on with Universal as a writer. From the get-go, his writing wasn’t a hit with the studio bosses and his scripts were rejected. On his own, Sturges wrote a screenplay call read more

Preston Sturges: Master of the Cockeyed Caravan, Part 1 Edmund Preston Biden Sturges was one of the most influential motion picture directors of the twentieth century. As a writer-director, Sturges produced seven films in three years. Of those seven films, six were box office and critical suc read more

Preston Sturges: Master of the Cockeyed Caravan, Part 1 Edmund Preston Biden Sturges was one of the most influential motion picture directors of the twentieth century. As a writer-director, Sturges produced seven films in three years. Of those seven films, six were box office and critical suc read more