The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1943)

The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1943). 1h 38m | Approved

“Preston Sturges is often referred to as u0026quot;the king of the screwball comedy,u0026quot; the acknowledged master of writing and directing this tricky variant combining rapid-fire repartee dialogue with the occasional slapstick pratfall. A lot easier to describe in words than to execute on a movie screen. Equally interesting is what Hollywood and the Hays Code allowed him to get away with, as in this above-average example starring Betty Hutton, Eddie Bracken, Diana Lynn as Bettyu0026#39;s sister, u0026amp; William Demarest as her cantankerous dad. Against her fatheru0026#39;s wishes, and w/enabling assistance from Bracken and Lynn, Hutton goes to a send off for departing soldiers, accidentally gets drunk, is married to one of the soldiers in an impromptu ceremony, and then promptly forgets which soldier was the groom. But the more scandalous part back in 1943, when this movie was made, was the revelation that this single-night soirée has resulted in Huttonu0026#39;s pregnancy. Yowza! The best aspects of the story here are 1) that nobody thinks of Huttonu0026#39;s character as a tramp or floozy, and 2) that the whole situation in which she finds herself is just considered wacky and doesnu0026#39;t change Brackenu0026#39;s genuine and long-standing love and admiration for her. I canu0026#39;t believe this plotline got to theater screens virtually unchanged from Sturges original screenplay, which went on to be nominated for an Oscar. Like so many of Preston Sturgesu0026#39; screwball comedies, this oneu0026#39;s right in there over home plate. 8/10.”