Director: Preston Sturges
Actors: Eddie Bracken, Betty Hutton, Diana Lynn, William Demarest
Country: U.S.A.

Surprise, surprise, another post on a Preston Sturges film! I admit that I didn’t find it to be that great the first time I watched it, but the second time around, I caught a lot of the subtleties, which I appreciated, such as the sign about the lemonade and what Mr. Kockenlocker (William Demarest) says about a half a dozen of kids while complaining about daughters and children in general. I absolutely loved Emmy (Diana Lynn) because she was the voice of reason throughout the film despite being only 14 years old. I thought that Demarest’s acting was great and the way he portrayed Mr. Kockenlocker made the character likable that I even started admiring Demarest. I can honestly say that Demarest steals the show in every scene he is in and that I’ve enjoyed it whenever Mr. Kockenlocker was in the scene. Also, isn’t “Kockenlocker” a great name? *winkwink*

The way Trudy is introduced was brilliant and Betty Hutton’s exaggerated mouth movements (ref. picture 2) had me in tears because it was hilarious. I didn’t find Trudy (Hutton) to be a likable character and found her to be a bit exasperating at times. I guess it’s very similar with The Palm Beach Story in that Trudy cares a lot about Norval (Bracken) thus she does what she does, but at times, I wanted to slap her in the face for being selfish.

What I noticed about Sturges’s films is that I focus on every scene. I don’t lose track of what is happening and I pay attention as if every scene/aspect is important. A lot of films have a sub-plot with the romance but with Sturges’s film, it is all mixed up and there really isn’t a sub-plot but a main story that is told through various events. For example, with His Girl Friday, I didn’t really care much about the sub-plot but with Sturges’s film, the audience focuses only on what is happening in front of them. There are no distractions and I think I like it!

I wasn’t too impressed by this film but was more shocked watching it. I couldn’t help but wonder how in the world this film even got past the Hays Code. Watch it for yourself and wonder if this film should be considered scandalous for its times! It sure made me confused and I couldn’t help but wonder what Sturges was thinking while making this film. The ending is so outrageous that I wonder if it was a tactic to distract the censors. I know that Sturges used some tactics to beat around the bush so that this film could be released, but I really don’t understand how the script passed.

If I used the 10/10 system, I would give this about a 7.5. I recommend it for Demarest’s performance and for the crazy story!

Now this entry covers 5 out of 13 Sturges films doesn’t it? Sadly there won’t be any more Sturges post from me for awhile since this was the last Sturges film that I owned and watched. I have to get going on watching other films! Oh foreign films, how have you escaped my clutches so far? Oh wait, I watch Italian films for my Italian cinema class. I wish I could post about the films I watched for my Italian cinema class but I don’t own any of the films and I would really like to rewatch them. Also, another problem I have is that I have read analyses of the films for class and I don’t want them to affect my interpretation or thoughts on the film but on the other hand, they do help because it does get my thinking juices flowing. Funny, because it was a film I watched for that class that made me start this blog.

IMDb Link: The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek
Where to buy: Amazon.com

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 14th, 2009 at 1:34 pm and is filed under 1940s, Countries, U.S.A., Year. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.