Preston Sturges

Few directors of the 1930s and 40s were as distinctive and popular as Preston Sturges, whose whipsmart comedies have entertained audiences for decades. This book offers a new critical appreciation of Sturges’ whole oeuvre, incorporating a detailed study of the last ten years of his life from new primary sources. 

Few directors of the 1930s and 40s were as distinctive and popular as Preston Sturges, whose whipsmart comedies have entertained audiences for decades. This book offers a new critical appreciation of Sturges' whole oeuvre, incorporating a detailed study of the last ten years of his life from new primary sources. Preston Sturges details the many unfinished projects of Sturges' last decade, including films, plays, TV series and his autobiography. Drawing on diaries, sketchbooks, correspondence, unpublished screenplays and more, Nick Smedley and Tom Sturges present the writer-director's final years in more detail than we've ever seen, showing a master still at work – even if very little of that work ultimately made it to the screen or stage. 

Foreword by Peter Bogdanovich

Preface by Nick Smedley 

Part I

The Preludes: The Brilliant Career of Preston Sturges, 1940–1949 — A Critical Survey of His Hollywood Films

1. Beginnings

2. The Emergence of a Genius

3. Sturges Triumphant

4. A Sputtering Flame: The Final Hollywood Films

5. Conclusion: The Brilliant Career of Preston Sturges

Part II

The Last Years of Preston Sturges, 1949–1959

Chapter 1: A Fallen Giant: Adjusting to the New, 1949–1950

Chapter 2: Back to the Future: Broadway and Paramount, 1951–1952

Chapter 3: Sturges’ Travels: Farewell to America, 1953

Chapter 4: The Millionairess and the Major: Sturges Returns to Paris, 1954

Chapter 5: Americans in Paris: Filming Major Thompson, 1955

Chapter 6: American Gangster: The Trials and Tribulations of Independent Film Production, 1956–1957

Chapter 7: Farcical Manoeuvres, 1957–1958 

Chapter 8: New York, New York: Public Hopes, Private Griefs, 1957

Chapter 9: For Better or For Worse: Marital Tensions, 1957–1958

Chapter 10: Sliding Towards the Brink, January–July 1958

Chapter 11: The Road to Despair, July–December 1958

Chapter 12: The Conquering Hero: Return to New York, January–March 1959

Chapter 13: Triumph over Pain: The Last Happy Months of Preston Sturges, March–August 1959

Chapter 14: The Events Have Led Up to His Death, August 1959 

Afterword by P. G. Sturges

Appendix 1: Fabulous Inventions 

Appendix 2: Story Ideas