The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944): Three perspectives on Preston Sturges and the Production Code

Glitre, Kathrina; Gibbs, John; Pye, Douglas

Abstract

In this hybrid article, the authors examine Preston Sturges’s ability to outmanoeuvre the Production Code Administration (PCA), specifically in relation to the handling of sex, pregnancy and childbirth in The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek. Our approach is intersubjective, fitting the Special Issue’s interest in the relationship between “history” and “criticism”, with each author using different methods to explore (and even experiment with) the different forms such criticism can take: Glitre closely compares PCA correspondence, the script and the finished film, to analyse Sturges’s creative strategies of substitution, omission and elision; Gibbs employs videographic approaches to address the complexity of Sturges’s long takes and how their varied and pervasive use relates to the constraints of the Production Code; Pye investigates questions of intent and the self-conscious decisions that shape the film’s extraordinary ending. Each develops critical understanding of specific filmmaking decisions and their ramifications, particularly in relation to performance, framing, movement and editing. Ultimately, the combination of sustained close textual analysis with archival research reveals the intrinsically dynamic process that underpinned the PCA’s regulation of content, and the importance of irony and pace to Sturges’s creative approach.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 24, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Jan 3, 2025
• Publication Date: Jan 3, 2025
• Deposit Date: Sep 30, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 6, 2025
• Print ISSN: 1050-9208
• Electronic ISSN: 1543-5326
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 42
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 96-123
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10509208.2024.2410530
• Keywords: The Production Code Administration; Preston Sturges; performance; long take; irony
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/13210042