The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (1944)
Directed by Preston Sturges
Sturges was in the middle of one of the hottest winning streaks of any director in Hollywood history when he put it all on red with The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek. It’s the deliciously unpatriotic tale of small town girl Trudy Kockenlocker (Jesus wept…) who, after a night of drunken carousing, wakes up pregnant and married to one of a dozen soldiers. All possible candidates run off to WWII before patronage can be determined. Trudi’s hapless childhood sweetheart tries to help and then the trouble really starts. Would you believe this heart-stoppingly bitter pill is pound-for-pound Sturges’s funniest film? His Shakespearian gift for inventing words (“…you talk as if I were swaffled or something!”) and utterly preposterous names (Trudi’s mystery spouse might be Private Ratzkiwatzki but she can’t quite remember) duke it out with the crepitating dialogue, endlessly game performances and precision slapstick for most winsome piece of the puzzle. Scout Tafoya (April 19, 1:10pm, 5:10pm, 9:10pm; Apr 20, 12:30pm, 4:30pm, 9:45pm; Apr 23, 9:30pm at Film Forum’s “Strictly Sturges” as part of a double feature with Hail the Conquering Hero except for the final two screenings)