The miracle of morgans creek, the new preston sturges film, seems to. This is the first movie i ever saw betty hutton in and i think she is terrific. After all, a comedy about a girl who gets drunk at a party with a bunch of soldiers and wakes up the next morning hung over and pregnant, with no memory of who the guilty party might be except that his name sounded like. The romance also allows sturges to poke fun at the production code and the portrayal of women in film. Warner archives recent transfer is light on bonus content, but the movie looks and is as good as imagined. Preston sturges and john seitz shot more than 11,000 feet of film before they got the desired footage 400 feet they needed. The miracle of morgan s creek the 1944 movie, trailers, videos and more at yidio.
After viewing this comic masterpiece i find during my research that the real miracle here is that the film ever got made in the first place. Sturges script was nominated for a best original screenplay oscar at the 1945 academy awards. The dominance of physical comedy in the film probably explains why preston sturges cast in the leading roles comic performers as distinct from straight actors skilled in comedy but the insistent playing of eddie bracken and. The miracle of morgan s creek is a 1944 screwball comedy from preston sturges, set during world war ii.
Above all, sturges carries farther than he has ever done before his. The marvel of the miracle of morgans creek is how the film ever got made in the first place. Early in world war ii, the heroine, trudy kockenlocker betty hutton, goes to a dance for soldiers who are about to leave for the front. A boldly conceived farce, it depicted the problems faced by a woman betty hutton who gives birth to sextuplets exactly nine months after spending read more. A wild night on the town with departing soldiers leaves small town girl trudy kockenlocker with childbut she cant remember who the father is, so the lovestruck schnook norval jones is recruited to protect her honor.
The miracle of morgans creek is even more outrageous than his other movies. The miracle of morgans creek 0883316745403 for sale online. A smalltown girl with a soft spot for american soldiers wakes up the morning after a wild farewell party for the troops to find that she married someone she cant remember. Brian donlevy and akim tamiroff reprise their roles from sturges 1940 film the great mcginty. May 18, 2009 us trailer for preston sturges the miracle of morgan s creek. A swungover tm clip combining the swing dance footage from the film miracle of morgans creek with the cut waist down footage recently discovered. Norval jones eddie bracken, a wimpy bank clerk who disqualified. This a great scene from preston sturges film the miracle of morgans creek starring betty hutton, eddie bracken, and william demarest. She doesnt really remember what happens that night, except she thinks. Franchises academy award nominated national film registry afis 100 years. The real miracle is that sturges got all of this past the productioncode office in 1944, particularly the arrival of hutton s blessing, as scheduled on christmas. The miracle of morgans creek film, screwball comedy.
In just four years sturges gave the world the great mcginty, christmas in july, the lady eve, sullivans travels, the palm beach story, the miracle of morgan s creek, and hail the conquering hero. Watch the miracle of morgans creek online 1944 movie. The miracle of morgan s creek 1943 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. With eddie bracken, betty hutton, diana lynn, william demarest. The picture was remade and considerably laundered as the 1958 jerry lewis vehicle rockabye baby. Out of all of those great movies, the miracle of morgan creek is his best the miracle of morgans creek is even more outrageous than his other movies. Box office speaks louder than hate mail, of course, so sturges survived unscathed. The miracle of morgans creek 1944 journeys in classic film. The miracle of morgan s creek opened to critical praise. In the miracle of morgans creek, a smalltown girl, trudy kockenlocker betty hutton, attends a party against the wishes of her father william demarest held to entertain soldiers on leave. Shes a driven female comedienne who isnt the conventional glamazon. The miracle of morgan s creek is a 1944 screwball comedy from preston sturges, set during world war ii trudy kockenlocker betty hutton, the daughter of the town constable william demarest, sneaks out against her fathers wishes to a dance for the soldiers, using a date with norval jones eddie bracken as an excuse.
Eddie bracken and william demarest in the miracle of morgans creek 1943 betty. The miracle of morgan s creek takes place during wwii. The miracle of morgan s creek finds director preston sturges at his most zanily subversive not to mention hilarious. Oct 08, 2012 a smalltown girl goes overboard with wartime patriotic zeal and marries a soldier she s only met once. Dcp projection characteristically hectic sturges amalgam of satire and slapstick, hitting out at such sacred cows as momism and religion as it tells of the predicament of hutton, a lively smalltown girl who finds herself pregnant after a drunken binge during which she married one of six unknown soldiers. In the miracle of morgans creek, a smalltown girl, trudy kockenlocker betty. Betty hutton and eddie bracken in the miracle of morgans creek 1943 betty hutton and. The miracle itself devised by sturges in the midst of production is a cleverly outrageous one. The miracle of morgans creek 1944 swing footage plus. The dominance of physical comedy in the film probably explains why preston sturges cast in the leading roles comic performers as distinct from straight actors skilled in comedy but the insistent playing of eddie bracken and betty hutton seems one. The miracle of morgans creek the lady eve fandango. The miracle of morgans creek turner classic movies. Trudy kockenlocker betty hutton, the daughter of the town constable william demarest, sneaks out against her fathers wishes to a dance for the soldiers, using a date with norval jones eddie bracken as an excuse. The real miracle might be in how the amoral sexual content got by the hays office.
This time it is the miracle of morgans creek, a truly wonderful film from the brilliant mind of preston sturges. The miracle of morgans creek finds director preston sturges at his most zanily. Coming as it did in 1944 wartime the film literally takes the rise out of everything held so wholesome in those troubled times. See you are laughing already just reading her characters name. Preston sturges the miracle of morgans creek 1944 99 minutes. As with all of sturges other films, the miracle of morgans creek is driven by its female leads. The miracle of morgans creek is a 1944 screwball comedy film written and directed by preston sturges, starring eddie bracken and betty hutton, and featuring diana lynn, william demarest and porter hall. The miracle of morgans creek senses of cinema film. Although it was paramounts biggest hit of 1944 after being held on the shelf for a year, preston sturges. Arsenic and old lace 1944 official trailer cary grant, peter lorre movie hd duration. Out of all of those great movies, the miracle of morgan creek is his best the miracle of morgan s creek is even more outrageous than his other movies. The miracle of morgan s creek nr, 1 hr 38 min classics. Now watch the film and see if you can keep a straight face. The film rarely allows itself the delirious abandon of somany classic comedies, but sturges is purposeful in this respect.
Writerdirector preston sturges imbues the film with a frenetic pace and broad instances of comedy, but comes up short in terms of giving the audience a single character worth rooting for. A smalltown girl goes overboard with wartime patriotic zeal and marries a soldier she s only met once. Mar 04, 2016 the miracle of morgans creek has a fine plot and includes plenty of nice bits but its too frenetic for me. Sturgess the miracle of morgans creek 1944, a film widely regarded as one of the most transgressive studio films produced during the pcas heyday in the 1930s and 1940s. Laugh a minute, brilliant writingpreston sturges received an academy award nomination for this. Display as images display as list make and model make and year year category importancerole date added new ones first episode appearance ep. The miracle of morgans creek takes place during wwii. After an allnight sendoff party for the troops, a smalltown girl wakes up to find herself married and pregnant, but with no memory of her husband s identity. The hays office must have been raped in its sleep an approving james agee said on seeing the finished film.
The movie was well received by the critics and was nominated for the best screenplay academy award. He disappears after one night, then she thinks she s. Preston sturgesthe miracle of morgans creek3 and verbal misunderstandings. The miracle of morgans creek 1944 journeys in classic. The miracle of morgans creek 1943 approved 1h 38min comedy, romance, war february 1944 usa after an allnight sendoff party for the troops, a smalltown girl wakes up to find herself married and pregnant, but with no memory of her husbands identity. Preston sturges 1944 the miracle of morgans creek has a fine plot and includes plenty of nice bits but its too frenetic for me. The miracle of morgan s creek is a 1944 screwball comedy from preston sturges, set during world war ii trudy kockenlocker betty hutton, the daughter of the town constable william demarest, sneaks out against her father s wishes to a dance for the soldiers, using a date with norval jones eddie bracken as an excuse. The miracle of morgans creek film by sturges 1944 britannica. Originally filmed in 1942, miracle was held from release for an inordinate period of time. He disappears after one night, then she thinks she s pregnant. Betty hutton is a name ive heard in classic film circles, but i hadnt seen her work before. The miracle of morgans creek is the only sound film made before 1949 at paramount that is still owned by that studio.
The miracle of morgans creek local business facebook. This onslaught against american morals in small towns, against the wartime romances of servicemen. Paramount had such a glut of movies in the can that it didnt arrive in theaters until early 1944. The miracle of morgans creek senses of cinema film journal. The miracle of morgans creek carved out its own unique niche in the annals of screen comedy by so cleverly couching its shocking material in broad slapstick and fastpaced character comedy. The miracle of morgans creek dvd, 2005 for sale online. Available on itunes a smalltown girl goes overboard with wartime patriotic zeal and marries a soldier shes only met once. The miracle of morgan s creek the lady eve favorite theater button. The miracle of morgan s creek was actually filmed in late 1942 and early 1943.
The marvel of the miracle of morgan s creek is how the film ever got made in the first place. Not that the intervening year did anything to lessen the controversy surrounding the subject matter, but for the sake of historical accuracy i wanted to point that out. The miracle of morgan s creek favorite theater button. Out of all of those great movies, the miracle of morgan creek is his best. And thats before we get to the soldier with a z in his name. When he won the freedom to direct his own screenplays, you were dazzled at how he could combine and balance slapstick comedy, sophisticated comedy, social satire and sentimentality with a little sex. The miracle of morgan s creek 1992 cast and crew in this wacky preston sturges comedy, the soldiersmitten trudy kockenlocker betty hutton discovers that she is both married and pregnant after. The miracle of morgans creek, which was filmed in 1942 and early 1943, but not released until 1944, was nominated for a 1945 academy award for best original screenplay, and, in 2001, it was selected for preservation in the united states national film registry by the library of congress as being culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. Vivacious smalltown girl trudy kockenlocker betty hutton wants to go out and join the frantic dancing and drinking with young servicemen on their way to the war, but is kept a virtual prisoner at home by her protective, widowed father william demerest, the local cop. The miracle of morgan s creek 1992 in this wacky preston sturges comedy, the soldiersmitten trudy kockenlocker betty hutton discovers that she is both married and pregnant after a raucous. While it is true that paramounts 1958 frank tashlin jerry lewis picture rockabye baby is a credited remake of sturges the miracle of morgans creek, the production of this film apparently had nothing to do with the reason morgans creek wasnt included among the hundreds of pre1949 sound features the studio sold to mca that. Sturges took over but quit, and the film was eventually completed by several. The miracle of morgan s creek his comedy dialogue dazzled the ears. Almost every movie taht preston sturges directed is a classic comedy.
The miracle of morgan s creek, movie, 1944 pictures provided by. Sturges forged ahead and completed the film in late 1942. The miracle of morgan s creek is the only sound film made before 1949 at paramount that is still owned by that studio. The miracle of morgan s creek was the highest grossing film of 1944, drawing, as it undoubtedly did, cinematic thrillseekers, hardcore sturges fans, drunken soldiers, and the girls they had impregnated. The miracle of morgan s creek was excluded from the sale of paramounts extant pre1949 talkies to mcaemka because mca and paramount, reportedly, as well had serious reservations whether the film could be shown on television. Warner archive collection academy award for best original screenplay nominated writers guild of americas 101 funniest screenplays release info 19440119t00. It was withheld from release for a year due to a glut of paramount product. The miracle of morgans creek 1992 cast and crew moviefone. The real miracle is that sturges got all of this past the productioncode office in 1944, particularly the arrival of huttons blessing, as scheduled on christmas. Grouchy widower cop kockenlocker william demarest tangles with young daughter emmy diana lynn then intercepts kooky trudy betty hutton, headed to the party to send the army guys off to war, early in writerdirector preston sturges the miracle of morgan s creek. Feb 08, 2015 another fantastic offering from the warner archive, and another installment in my monthlong warner watchathon. The miracle of morgans creek was the highest grossing film of 1944, drawing, as it undoubtedly did, cinematic thrillseekers, hardcore sturges fans, drunken soldiers, and the girls they had impregnated.
Unsurprisingly, the film has attracted the attention of historians curious about its censorship path, most thoroughly in two excellent. In 1944, with the restrictive hays code very much in effect, the mere fact that preston sturges was allowed to make the miracle of morgan s creek was remarkable in itself. The miracle of morgans creek is a 1944 screwball comedy film written and directed by preston sturges, starring eddie bracken and betty hutton, and featuring. The miracle of morgans creek 1943 directed by preston. Done in the satirical sturges vein, and directed with that same touch, the. After a night of dancing and carousing, she remembers little, but later discovers she is pregnant. The miracle of morgans creek 1943 the movie database.
58 1401 161 1067 33 1065 1072 1060 1080 563 243 897 1520 248 364 1065 1341 757 710 774 1120 1364 776 502 1078 1483 750 1037 1391 1218 1460 835 536 351 1378