PRESTON STURGES BY PRESTON STURGES

by Preston Sturges ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 13, 1990

Here at last, the mother lode of filmmaker Sturges' unpublished memoirs--from which have been drawn three limply written biographies (for the most recent, see Donald Spore's Madcap, p. 251). As adapted and edited by Sandy Sturges, the final Mrs. Sturges, these memoirs take on an unexpected shine--unexpected because earlier Sturges biographers have demeaned these pages as a mess written in an alcoholic haze. However true that may have been, today the memoirs sparkle and move with a lilt from first word to last. What's more, Sturges covers his life from birth to death (1898-1958), his last page--with typical Sturges wit--coming from beyond the grave. One could call this a sad story, though Sturges doesn't. In fact, he sees his life as resplendent with fame, luck, love, and money; their reverse--disrepute, bad luck, and debt--never flattened him quite as hopelessly as some writer-directors were flattened. His story is sheer legend, beginning with his mother being Isadora Duncan's best friend and carting him around the Continent wherever Isadora danced. Young Preston follows his mother into the perfume business, at 16 takes over her Manhattan store when she impulsively jumps aboard ship to support Isadora on her return to Europe. We are three quarters of the way through his memoir before his first success as a playwright: ""I went to bed owing six months rent, having had my last meal on the cuff, and woke up earning fifteen hundred dollars a week."" When Broadway success fades, he moves to Hollywood, works his way up for six years as a writer before being allowed to become the first modern writer, director. Then come the classics, The Lady Eve, The Miracle at Morgan's Creek, Hail the Conquering Hero. To Sturges' horror, he becomes the third highest-salaried man in America while drowning in debt and being pursued by the IRS. Sturges tells us little about the mechanics of filmmaking, or even his theories, but is savage about his flops. A film book classic.

Pub Date: Sept. 13, 1990

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1990

Categories: NONFICTION