Film Forum

“THE MOST BRILLIANT AND BIZARRE BURSTS OF CREATION IN CINEMA HISTORY!”
– Andrew Sarris

“Arguably the funniest writer-director ever to come out of Tinseltown, Preston Sturges made textbook examples of screwball-comedy perfection. WE CAN’T THINK OF A FINER WAY TO STEP INTO SPRING THAN FILM FORUM’S DELIGHTFUL RETROSPECTIVE!”
– Time Out New York

As a child, he cavorted in toga and sandals with Isadora Duncan. Later, he invented kissproof lipstick and introduced the club sandwich to Germany. He was once the toast of Broadway and his elopement with an heiress made the Times front page. But writer/director PRESTON STURGES (1898-1959) will forever be remembered for a dizzying, golden run of early 40s comedies. With The Great McGinty, Sturges rose overnight from screenwriting serf to “prince of the blood” — his own definition of a director — and soon became one of the directing elite. But Sturges was the first director to write his own scripts without collaborators — his example inspired others, like Billy Wilder and John Huston, to follow in his footsteps. This series includes all of his Hollywood work as director and no-less-important films he wrote but didn’t direct.

SERIES PROGRAMMED BY BRUCE GOLDSTEIN

Films in this Series