A BAKER’S HALF-DOZEN: PRESTON STURGES, MASTER CHEF.
Oh I’m sure there are thousands of writer/directors out there who put their one-two punch & spin on things. Right now, I can only come up with Wilder. Lubitsch. Sturges. All with a scientist’s eye. They put human nature under a microscope, stare, probe and dissect it with laser beamed precision
(...mixed metaphors not withstanding). It was swell of TCM to put Sturges’ 24-karat gems on display like diamonds, rubies and emeralds laying before us like in a glass at Tiffany’s.
His observations and commentary on the human condition are incisive ( think of
V incisors
V ). The comedy might have a vinegary bite, BUT the humor is so fast and furious the medicine goes down quickly, and, hopefully, gives you food for thought later as you wrap your aching ribs.
As the evening unfolded, I smiled when I saw the same character actors used over and over and over again. I’ve got to go to IMDB and research those names. You just know they knew each other’s rhythms and timing. Oh boy, Esther Howard trying to put the moves on Joel McCrea. She kind of looks like a female Raymond Walburn
...those eyes! What I also know is
this: his “go-to” guy has got to be
WILLIAM DEMAREST. Feisty & irascible, you can put him in any role and Demarest can do ANYthing; be a father, a Marine, a bodyguard. I never fully appreciated his talent more than seeing him over and over...and over again, Saturday night, yellin’, screamin’ and scowling! He’s a human diamond in the rough. (
Bang!
Bang! ) He was born to work with Sturges. Was
he Sturges’ alter ego or were the male leads?
For me, the shock and awe of the first twenty minutes of
“Sullivan’s Travels” was worth more than the last ten years of movies. A hyperbolic claim, you say. Yeah, maybe. Sturges might’ve been a little “wham, bam...” but he’ll give you a chance to catch your breath before he makes you run the gauntlet again. Just make sure you fasten your seatbelt.
These are some of the ( very very general ) observations I noticed, but things happen too fast and furiously to give many examples of each:
( * ) He packs sight gags upon sight gags. And not only are sight gags piled one on top of another...but there’s the fast repetitive wordplay too. I’m not sure if Cagney or Roz Russell would have the delicate finesse for Sturges, but they definitely had the speed to spit out his words. Hmmmm...I wonder why Cary Grant or Lombard didn't get a Sturges shot in the arm.
One small moment stands out for me in
“The Great McGinty.” Donlevy & Tamiroff are having one of their typical all-out brawls. They cause such a commotion that they bring the governor’s (Donlevy) staff a-running. One of the characters quietly walks in the opposite direction of the brouhaha, throws his gun in the garbage and quickly walks away. Funny. (BTW, did the lead actress remind anybody else of Irene Dunne?)
( * ) There are set pieces of insanity, where the world turns topsy turvy; that wild bus ride throughout the countryside...the entire neighborhood community turns on the merchants who wants their gifts returned. Oh, and turning the Club Car into a shooting gallery in “
The Palm Beach Story” to name a few.
I usually cringe when I see the “feets-do-yo-stuff” type schtick given to Black performers back then. But when I saw the cook in the kitchen during that bus ride flailing and falling and pots and pans and flour going every which way, I roared. I saw that he was just part of the madness just like everyone else. When Demarest and his buddy start using live ammo in the club car and shot out the window, my jaw dropped. How absurd & insane to start shooting in close proximity. Again, I couldn’t help laughing. And who doesn’t laugh at a little comedic anarchy?? I also appreciated that Sturges had to spend time doing each set-piece and give it his whole attention...so it could really stand alone. It wasn't just slopped together. Thought. Preparation.
( * ) Everybody gets a chance to get into the act and be nonsensical from the leads down to the bit players, and non-sensical surnames.
The train porter in “The Palm Beach Story” gets to tell how the rich guy only gave him a dime tip from NY to Florida. The crinkling sound Rudy Vallee’s glasses made ev’ry time they broke.
Darn it, I fell asleep on
“Hail The Conquering Hero” but only b’cuz it was two in the morning. I got my second wind at 4:AM with
“The Palm Beach Story.” But I saw enough to know that if Sturges was involved in the casting ( I’ve got to read up on him ) he did an excellent job. His leads have great chemistry with each other.
Joel McCrea / Veronica Lake......... “Sullivan’s Travel”
Brian Donlevy / Akim Tamiroff..... “The Great McGinty”
Dick Powell / Ellen Drew............... “Christmas in July”
Stanwyck / Fonda......................... “The Lady Eve”
Eddie Bracken / Ella Raines........... “Hail the Conquering Hero”
Joel McCrea / Claudette Colbert.... “The Palm Beach Story”
They really do fit each other like a glove. Craziness surrounds them and events grow out of control.
I've seen all of these movies at least once or in pieces some time or another. But this past Saturday, I left a friend's barbecue early to get home in time to see the Sturges festival. Who needs bbq hamburger or chicken when you can have steak...or diamonds.