The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944) Review

Title: The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
Year: 1944
Director: Preston Sturges
Country: US
Language: English

Preston Sturges had a surge of successful films in the 1940's, beginning with The Great McGinty (1941). Famously, he sold the story to Paramount for $1 in order to have the opportunity to direct the film. Winning Best Original Screenplay at that years Oscars, Sturges is considered one of the first screenwriters to successfully transition into directing his own scripts. A temperamental talent, he often clashed with studio heads who demanded a lot of revisions to his works. Thankfully, Miracle of Morgan's Creek was released with only minor changes. 

After an all-night send-off party for the troops, a small-town girl (Betty Hutton) wakes up to find herself married and pregnant, but with no memory of her husband's identity.

With this most screwball of screwball comedies,  Miracle of Morgan's Creek turns our Leave it to Beaver Capra-eque vision of America right on its head. Sturges dissects the so-called small town "values" of the time & mocks puritan society in a way that still resonates to this day. Full of racy plot points & scandalous dialogue, one would think its a miracle that the film remained intact after viewing from the censors. 

Betty Hutton plays Trudy, a character who plays opposite of the oppressing social attitudes towards women at the time. Her comedic acting skills shine a bright light on this remarkable film. Eddie Bracken plays a huge nerd who, surprisingly, makes us connect and sympathize with his plight. The rest of the supporting cast is memorable; all adding their part to some eyebrow raising moments throughout the picture. 

Another reason The Miracle of Morgan's Creek works so will is because Sturges is remarkably nonjudgmental about these characters & their circumstances. I feel like a lesser director would have hit us over the head about puritan morality. While it's not my favourite film in his filmography, I must admit I was quite impressed by this picture & would recommend it to most audiences to see.