Topic: Favorite Preston Sturges-directed film?

[falsealarms]

From 1940-1944, he was the king of feature-length comedy with films like THE LADY EVE, THE PALM BEACH STORY, CHRISTMAS IN JULY, HAIL THE CONQUERING HERO, THE GREAT MCGINTY, THE MIRACLE OF MORGAN'S CREEK, and SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS.

Ask me tonight, I'd probably go with CHRISTMAS IN JULY, but it's a hard call.

It isn't a be-all-end-all, but look at the IMDB ratings:

Travels... 8.2/10
Eve ... 8.1
Morgan's Creek ... 7.9
Palm Beach Story .. 7.9
July ... 7.5
Hero ... 7.8
Ginty ... 7.5

And I have to say, William Demarest, who was in several Sturges-directed films, is easily one of the best character actors I've ever seen.

I didn't make the connection at first, but Eddie Bracken, who starred in a few Sturges-directed films, is better known to people my age for being the toy store owner in the 1992 film HOME ALONE 2.

This is from a series a college did a few years ago:

[youtube=425,350]YGQem7F_FAg[/youtube]

[metaldams]

Oh man, I've seen 'em all at one point, but it's been a while, perhaps I'm due to revisit these films.

They're all good from what I remember, but THE LADY EVE is one of my favorite movies ever, so I'll give that one the nod now.  Just an awesome comedy about love, sex, and money. Barbara Stanwyck is at her flirtatious best.

Also don't forget Harold Lloyd's last film, THE SIN OF HAROLD DIDDLEBOCK or UNFAITHFULLY YOURS for the sake of this discussion.

Should throw in the last Paramount film, THE GREAT MOMENT as well, but I remember finding the ending unsatisfying on that one.  I thought of that movie when I got my wisdom teeth pulled this past October.  See the movie and you'll easily figure out why.

[falsealarms]

I have to agree about Stanwyck in THE LADY EVE. Henry Fonda also gave a good performance in that movie, as did Charles Coburn, though I preferred him in THE MORE THE MERRIER.

CHRISTMAS IN JULY was only 67 minutes, but it was tightly directed with no wasted moments. Powell and Ellen Drew made their characters believable and people who you could root for. It's a story that still works today.

There isn't a dull moment in SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS and plenty of unexpected plot twists. The early chase scene is especially good. Co-star Veronica Lake met a sad end in real life and her ashes reportedly turned up in a Catskill, NY antique store in 2004... 31 years after she died.

This is an especially good scene from THE GREAT MCGINTY -

[youtube=425,350]bnWn59wDvSg[/youtube]