The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend 1949  N/R, 77 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Preston Sturges
Cast: Betty Grable, Cesar Romero, Rudy Vallee, Olga San Juan, Porter Hall, Hugh Herbert, Al Bridge, Sterling Holloway, Margaret Hamilton, Emory Parnell
Saloon singer Freddie Jones (Betty Grable) hides out from the law in a Western town where she poses as the new schoolmarm.
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Christmas in July 1940  N/R, 66 min.
Genre: Comedy / Romance
Director: Preston Sturges
Cast: Dick Powell, Ellen Drew, Raymond Walburn, Alexander Carr, William Demarest, Ernest Truex, Franklin Pangborn, Harry Hayden, Rod Cameron, Harry Rosenthal, Adrian Morris, Georgia Caine, Julius Tannen, Torben Meyer, Ferike Boros
Believing he has won $10,000 in a slogan contest, a young clerk, Jimmy MacDonald (Dick Powell), tears off on a spending spree and proposes to his girlfriend, Betty Casey (Ellen Drew). When he finds out that the prize is not really his, Jimmy is faced with the consequences of his rash actions.
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The Great McGinty 1940  N/R, 81 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Preston Sturges
Cast: Brian Donlevy, Akim Tamiroff, Muriel Angelus, William Demarest, Louis Jean Heydt, Allyn Joslyn, Thurston Hall, Harry Rosenthal, Arthur Hoyt, Libby Taylor, Frank Moran, Jimmy Conlin, Dewey Robinson, Esther Howard
Preston Sturges won the Academy Award for Best Writing (original screenplay) for his work on this political satire. The story is about Dan McGinty (William Demarest) who rises to governor of his state and then lets his power slip away because he tries to be honest.
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The Great Moment 1944 N/R, 83 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Preston Sturges
Cast: Joel McCrea, Betty Field, Harry Carey, William Demarest, Louis Jean Heydt, Julius Tannen, Edwin Maxwell, Porter Hall, Franklin Pangborn, Grady Sutton, Harry Hayden, Torben Meyer, Victor Potel, Thurston Hall, J. Farrell MacDonald
This story, told through flashbacks, is the saga of the trials and tribulations of W.T.G. Morton (Joel McCrea) who, as a young oral surgeon in the 19th century worked to find a way to take the pain out of tooth extractions. Throughout his efforts, his loyal wife Elizabeth (Betty Field) stands by his side. His discovery of the use of letheon (ether) as an anesthetic marked a huge step in surgical procedures. Fame and fortune are not gained by Morton, but he does eventually become known as "the painless dentist," and Congress votes to reward him $100,000 for his efforts. But, jealous medical rivals just may stand in the way of Morton receiving that award.
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Hail the Conquering Hero 1944 N/R, 101 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Preston Sturges
Cast: Eddie Bracken, Ella Raines, Raymond Walburn, William Demarest, Franklin Pangborn, Al Bridge, Bill Edwards, Jimmie Dundee, Georgia Caine, Elizabeth Patterson, Freddie Steele, Harry Hayden, Jimmy Conlin, Chester Conklin, Esther Howard
This "hero" Woodrow Lafayette Pershing Truesmith (Eddie Bracken) is really a U.S. Marine Corps reject (he has hay fever!) who returns home to a town whose citizens think he is one of their returning soldiers and deserving of honor. Now, he finds himself running for mayor of the town and tries to explain that he did not serve in the Marine Corps, but he cannot convince his fellow citizens that his reputation is undeserved. The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
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The Lady Eve 1941  N/R, 97 min.
Genre: Comedy / Romance
Director: Preston Sturges
Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Charles Coburn, Eugene Pallette, William Demarest, Eric Blore, Melville Cooper, Martha O'Driscoll, Luis Alberni, Robert Greig, Janet Beecher, Dora Clement, Al Bridge, Eddie Hall, Bess Flowers
This not-to-be-missed comedy pits Charles Pike (Henry Fonda) and Jean Harrington (Barbara Stanwyck) as the romantic couple who meets aboard ship. Very rich Charles rejects Jean who in turn plots to get him back by posing as Lady Eve Sidwich. A fun ride.
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The Miracle of Morgan's Creek 1944 N/R, 99 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Preston Sturges
Cast: Eddie Bracken, Betty Hutton, Diana Lynn, William Demarest, Brian Donlevy, Akim Tamiroff, Porter Hall, Emory Parnell, Al Bridge, J. Farrell MacDonald, Julius Tannen, Victor Potel
This wartime comedy is about Trudy Kockenlocker (Betty Hutton) who becomes pregnant by one of the soldiers at a party–she doesn't know which one. As a solution to her dilemma, she snares Norval Jones (Eddie Bracken) who has been rejected for military service. Bold, for the 1940s, and lots of fun.
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The Palm Beach Story 1942 N/R, 88 min.
Genre: Comedy / Romance
Director: Preston Sturges
Cast: Claudette Colbert, Joel McCrea, Mary Astor, Rudy Vallee, William Demarest, Sig Arno, Jack Norton, Robert Warwick, Torben Meyer, Franklin Pangborn, Roscoe Ates, Dewey Robinson, Arthur Hoyt, Al Bridge, Fred "Snowflake" Toones
Gerry (Claudette Colbert) leaves her engineer husband, Tom (Joel McCrea), in New York and heads for Florida where she meets snobby John D. Hackensacker III (Rudy Vallee). Tom pursues, and comedy ensues.
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Paris Holiday 1958  N/R, 100 min.
Genre: Comedy / Action / Romance
Director: Gerd Oswald
Cast: Bob Hope, Fernandel, Anita Ekberg, Martha Hyer, Preston Sturges, Andre Morell, Maurice Teynac, Alan Gifford, Yves Brainville, Jean Murat, Irene Tunc, Marcel Peres, Hans Verner, Paul Violette, Roger Treville
Robert Hunter (Bob Hope) travels by luxury liner to France with Fernnydel (Fernandel) hoping to purchase the script for a new French play. What he doesn't know is that the script contains details about a counterfeiting ring. A member of the ring, Zara (Anita Ekberg), is aboard the ship and mistakenly believes that Robert has the script. Diplomat Ann McCall (Martha Hyer) is also on board and strikes up a friendship with Fernydel. When the counterfeiters close in, Ann arranges for Robert to be sent to an insane asylum to provide safety from them, and, later, Fernydel works to have him released. Funny chases take place–including the one when Robert is rescued from the asylum by a helicopter–in this combination of a French and American comedy.
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The Sin of Harold Diddlebock 1947 N/R, 89 min.
Genre: Comedy
aka: Mad Wednesday
Director: Preston Sturges
Cast: Harold Lloyd, Frances Ramsden, Jimmy Conlin, Raymond Walburn, Rudy Vallee, Edgar Kennedy, Arline Judge, Franklin Pangborn, Lionel Stander, Margaret Hamilton, Al Bridge, Jack Norton, Robert Dudley, Arthur Hoyt, Julius Tannen
Harold Diddlebock (Harold Lloyd) had been a successful football player, then spent 23 years as a bookkeeper, and now has been fired. He goes to a bar, orders a potent drink, and goes on a wild spree. He wakes up 48 hours later with no idea of what has happened in the interim. Later, he learns that he has bought a circus and brings a circus lion, Jackie the Lion, with him when he visits bankers offering them the chance to buy the circus.
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 Sullivan's Travels 1941 N/R, 90 min.
Genre: Comedy / Adventure / Drama / Romance
Director: Preston Sturges
Cast: Joel McCrea, Veronica Lake, Robert Warwick, William Demarest, Franklin Pangborn, Porter Hall, Byron Foulger, Margaret Hayes, Robert Greig, Eric Blore, Torben Meyer, Victor Potel, Richard Webb, Charles R. Moore, Almira Sessions
This spoof on the Hollywood scene has Joel McCrea playing movie director John L. Sullivan who wants to put meaning into his films. To that end, he sets out to meet real people, and with only 10 cents in his pocket, he begins his journey across America and into the real world.
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Unfaithfully Yours 1948 N/R, 105 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Preston Sturges
Cast: Rex Harrison, Linda Darnell, Barbara Lawrence, Rudy Vallee, Lionel Stander, Edgar Kennedy, Kurt Kreuger, Al Bridge, Julius Tannen, Torben Meyer, Robert Greig, Isabel Jewell, Georgia Caine, Evelyn Beresford, J. Farrell MacDonald
Rex Harrison is brilliant as symphony conductor Sir Alfred De Carter whose brother-in-law August (Rudy Vallee) tells him that Alfred's wife, Daphne (Linda Darnell), is having an affair. Alfred obsesses with the thought that Daphne would have another lover and even plots her demise while conducting the orchestra. As he comes up with ways to solve the problem, Alfred sets each solution to a different classical number, and options change with the mood of the music. But, later, his efforts to physically carry out those plans result in slapstick gags, which end in a fiasco. This film was remade in 1984 starring Dudley Moore as the conductor and Nastassja Kinski as the "unfaithful" wife.
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| 1. The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend (1949)
2. Christmas in July (1940)
3. The Great McGinty (1940)
4. The Great Moment (1944)
5. Hail the Conquering Hero (1944)
6. The Lady Eve (1941)
7. The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944)
8. The Palm Beach Story (1942)
9. Paris Holiday (1958)
10. The Sin of Harold Diddlebock (1947)
aka: Mad Wednesday
11. Sullivan's Travels (1941)
12. Unfaithfully Yours (1948)
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