Preston Sturges: The PurPOLL one, with the pluuuuuuuuuuuumes at the hips.

No one played patrician exasperation better than hardcore conservative Pallette.

you can see the steam coming out of his ears

"Standard for its time" sure but I do think Sturges is amongst the auteurs least shy about having these comedy black characters; don't see as many of them in Hawks and Wilder. Which doesn't necc mean he was worse - erasure is as insulting as caricature, at least he got some black actors paid - but yeah, more uncomfortable moments for sure.

Xposts

Should I buy Stuart Klawans’s book, I wonder.

Spending money stimulates the economy and creates JOBS!

What Would the Weenie King Do?

I’m generally not a fan of screwball comedy, but I tried The Palm Beach Story since it’s leaving Criterion, and enjoyed most of it. But man, that scene with simultaneous firearms, piano pounding and dogs barking is everything I dislike about the genre, confusing loud and frantic for funny.

Finally watched EASY LIVING for the first time a few weeks ago, hadn’t even realized it was leaving until yesterday. Maybe y’all saw me live blogging it up thread. Both Preston Sturges and Billy Wilder and no doubt Andrew Sarris as well badmouthed Mitchell Leisen so much I used to steer clear of him but he has several classics under his belt, minor or otherwise.

Hmm. Sarris filed him under Likely Likeable and was a pretty big fan of EASY LIVING.

https://bampfa.org/event/easy-living-6

As Andrew Sarris notes: “Curiously, Easy Living is the only film with which Sturges the writer was associated in the thirties that may be reasonably preferred to any of his own forties films. Not only is Easy Living funny and gracious and generous in the best Sturges tradition: it is velvety smooth and comfortably movieish in a way no Sturges-directed film ever was.”

Don’t know if this has been linked yet.
https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2022/cteq/some-enchanted-evening-mitchell-lesien-and-preston-sturges-remember-the-night-1940/

You're up late!

Saw Sullivan's Travels again last week. I forgot how broad the slapstick is! The smart in Sturges is really smart, but the stupid is really stupid. As a director he doesn't seem to have much of an idea how to shoot pratfalls, even though there are a LOT of them.

I think a lot of the directors Sarris lowballed in the '60s he ultimately came around on when the '90s rolled around

That's probably true, but I get the feeling that many people weren't paying close attention by that time and still live by the sacred text that is The American Cinema.

Just saw The Lady Eve for the first time (actually caught the last 3/4 then watched the entire thing with my wife.

"I need him like the ax needs the turkey."

What a great movie! One thing that was incredible watching it the second time was how so much happens in the last 20 minutes (the whole second relationship).

I just rewatched a few weeks ago for the umpteenth time and was also amazed when I noted how short that section is time-wise.