Preston Sturges

Library Journal

It can be argued that the films Preston Sturges wrote and directed from 1940 through 1944 (including Sullivan's Travels and The Miracle of Morgan's Creek ) constitute the best comedies in the history of film; certainly they are the best of the 1940s. Sturges died largely forgotten and in greatly reduced circumstances in 1959. His unfinished autobiography and other private papers have been adapted and edited by his widow for this book. Parts of the material have previously appeared in other biographies, and film fans will be initially disappointed to find that the movies are mentioned only in rather cursory fashion in the last quarter of this work. More than a film biography, however, this is valuable as an account of life among the rich bohemian set in the early part of this century. As in Sturges's films, the tone here is simultaneously cynical and warm. The same talent that made most of his films brilliant makes this an excellent book.--John Smothers, Monmouth Cty. Lib., Manalapan, N.J.