Of all the comedies made in the 1940s by writer-director Preston Sturges, 1943's The Miracle of Morgan's Creek is likely the funniest, a rib-tickling romp from first frame to last, loaded with dazzling wordplay and dizzying slapstick. Betty Hutton plays a small-town girl who does her patriotic duty by entertaining visiting soldiers during World War II. After getting drunk at an all-night party, she wakes up unable to remember anything—except that she and one of the just-departed G.I.s, in the enthusiasm of the moment, got married under assumed names. Before long she learns that she's pregnant, which further complicates matters. Eddie Bracken plays her rescuer, a longtime admirer stuck in Morgan's Creek during the war because he's 4-F, while William Demarest has a showy supporting role as the girl's perpetually apoplectic father (and he takes some bone-crunching pratfalls to punctuate Sturges' gags). This 1944 movie was rather daring for its day, as Hutton's plight—while hardly extraordinary in real-life America at the time—was not exactly the stuff of mainstream Hollywood comedies. Today, of course, it all seems relatively tame—the subject matter that is, not the humor, which is zany and raucous, especially as the story draws nearer its wildly improbable (but somehow fitting) conclusion. Presented with a pristine DVD transfer, extras include two featurettes on Sturges and the Hollywood Production Code. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (E. Hulse)
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
Paramount, 98 min., not rated, DVD: $14.98 Volume 20, Issue 6
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
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