The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (1943)

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.There were problems with the censors at the Hays Office over the film's subject matter. In October 1942, after a story conference, the office sent Paramount a seven-page letter outlining their concerns, including remarks made by the character Emmy, who is 14 years old; the potential of the film's portraying Trudy as being drunk; and reducing anything to do with Trudy's pregnancy. Of course, all these objections are part of what makes the film so darn funny, along with the screwball nature of it all. The scene where the cop tells a man over and over how to escape is just hilarious.Critic James Agee noted (not too subtly) that "the Hays office must have been raped in its sleep" to allow the film to be released. Although the Hays Office received many letters of protest because of the film's subject matter, it was Paramount's highest-grossing film of 1944, playing to standing-room-only audiences in some theaters. Such an interesting situation of humor trumping censorship... today, do we even have a censor? The MPAA is a shell of its former self.

Preston Sturges, who wrote and directed this headlong parody of small-town life and war-time patriotism, was a man of multiple talents. Take his direction, for example. He pulls of this outrageous stunt without any razzle dazzle at all. Any modern comedy would blast us with funny music and shots that last about as long as a lightning strike. But Sturges' takes tend to be long, though not in the least leisurely. A contentious couple walking down the street may be followed in one take for half a block, turn a corner, and be followed for another half block.The story concerns mainly Trudy Kockenlocker (a tempestuous Betty Hutton) and her suitor, the good-hearted but goofy Norval Jones (Eddie Bracken). Norval has been in love with Trudy for years, even taking the same high school classes so he could be near her. "I didn't mind the cooking," he explains, "but the sewing...." Norval would be in the army himself but every time he tries to enlist he becomes so nervous that he stutters and shakes, his blood pressure soars, and he sees black spots in front of his eyes.After a wild night on the town with some soldiers about to be shipped out, Trudy sobers up the next morning to find herself married but unable to remember the name she used or the soldier she married. As always, Betty Hutton brings to the part the energy of a gamma ray burst. Pregnancy adds to the problem. Her young sister, Diana Lynn, advises her that she needs a husband -- fast. There's always Norval, ready to do anything for her. She prompts the innocent, unknowing Norval into a proposal, which takes him several minutes to sputter out. She accepts of course after several agonizing minutes ("Oh, Norval, this is so SUDDEN!") But compelled by her conscience, Trudy tries gently to spill the beans. She really shouldn't marry him, she tells Norval, because she made a big mistake the night of the dance. "What mistake? I thought you had a lot of fun!" Trudy: "Well, I did -- in a way -- but some kinds of fun last longer than others, if you know what I mean." The censors must have been visited by an incubus. The more Trudy explains, the more excited and frightened Neurotic Norval becomes. He stutters to the point of unintelligibility, occasionally interrupting himself to slam a fist into his palm and shout, "The SPOTS!" She and Norval decide to plunge ahead with the marriage anyway. They visit the Justice of the Peace in a nearby town and Norval poses as the soldier husband that Trudy can't remember. Norval is outfitted in the only army uniform available, a left-over deal from World War I. His collar insignia show the Marine Corps on one side and the Cavalry on the other. They must make up a name for him -- Ignatz Raskywasky -- which neither can pronounce. It ends with Norval in jail.I don't want to run out of space but this is one hilarious skewering of ordinary middle American life. The dialog is often corrosive."Daughters!", Trudy's father (William Demarest) complains. "They hang around the house like Spanish moss until they shame you into an early grave." Norval's lawyer. "Norval, I'm a lawyer. I WORK as a lawyer. I'm ready to sue anybody, anywhere, at any time." And, "You haven't asked my advice, and I'm not going to give any. But if I were you I'd get out of town fast and hide someplace." Trudy's sister (Diana Lynn) tells Demarest: "Can't you think of something? You're always having bright ideas." Demarest: "Listen, Zipperpuss, some day they're going to find your hair ribbon and an ax someplace, and that's all." One of the most mirthful movies of its decade.

Another great Sturges comedy, though nowhere near as good as The Palm Beach Story. Betty Hutton is Trudy Kockenlocker (amusing name!), a small-town girl who feels it's her civic duty to give the boys a good time before the go off to war. But one night she gets herself married AND knocked-up, and can't remember who the father is! Interesting that this even got made in 1944, with the Production Code in force. I guess Sturges skirted around the censors by insisting Hutton drank only "victory lemonade" (yeah, right) and having her actually marry the father of the baby. Eddie Bracken is Hutton's stuttering long-time friend, who's been besotted with her forever. The guy's so in love he's willing to pretend he's the father, and the film becomes quite touching when Trudy really sees what a great guy that nerdy Norval is. Although this film didn't give me quite the laughs I was expecting, and the crazy humor seems strained at times, it's still very good. I especially liked the scenes between the precocious 14 year-old sister and her high-strung, yet caring, father.

Trudy Kockenlocker feels she is only doing her patriotic duty when she sneaks off the a farewell dance for the young men of Morgan's Creek as they mostly head off to war. However the next morning she turns up drunk and married to boot. The problem is she has no memory of doing anything or who she may have done it with and the only thing she knows for sure is that she is going to be in a lot of trouble in this small town when news gets out – not to mention the trouble in her own home. Fortunately young Norval Jones (prevented from military service due to his medical condition) is besotted by her and agrees to try and help her out. What could go wrong? This films appears to have much in common with Sturges' Hail, The Conquering Hero, not least of which is the fact that I came to both on the strength of five stars next to it in the Radio Times listings. Also in common is that I was not as impressed as I thought I should be but still enjoyed it as a "watch it once" affair. The narrative is a comedy but it is built on a foundation of showing how small town America is when it comes to certain subjects. Again it has this in common with Hail because it is clear that the film has a satirical edge to it that runs behind everything else – but both there and here the downside of this is that it is not that sharp or obvious. Indeed with modern eyes it seems very tame indeed, mainly because my cynical generation has not only gotten used to very sharp comedy but also we long since gave up on the idea that anyone was just plain good and homely! What this leaves is a perfectly fine comedy with a good mix of slapstick, screwball stylings and funny dialogue. IMDb tells me that this did show up on Premiere's list of 50 greatest comedies, but that to me smacks of them making sure they have some "classics" in there rather than them actually rolling over it. I might be wrong on that but I do know that I did not find it hilarious and only laughed out loud a couple of times. What it did do though was have me chuckling for the majority. This is driven by the material and the upbeat comic feel the delivery has but also by the cast. Bracken is enjoyable and is another link to Hail (there are many in this cast though). His shy and put upon young man is sympathetic but never pathetic – an distinction that is important for keeping the viewer on board. Hutton works really well alongside him, particularly with some fast paced dialogue. Demerest is a hoot as her father and most of my laughs were for him. Support is roundly good because mostly they match the tone of the film.I'm not sure of the relationship between Miracle of Morgan's Creek and Hail The Conquering Hero (it looks like they were made back to back) but for me they both have similar problems when watching now. The relevance and impact of the background is less important to the viewer and does feel dated. The comedy is good without being brilliant, leaving an enjoyable film that is worth seeing as long as you take the gushing praise to be more representative of the film's place in history rather than how the casual viewer will find it today.