The Films Of Preston Sturges

[Small Man Big Horse]

Previously on CookdandBombd:

The Palm Beach Story (1942) - Preston Sturges directed this fast talking rom-com where Gerry (Claudette Colbert) wants to divorce her husband Tom (Joel McCrea) because they're so poor, and she thinks he'll find success if he doesn't have to pay for her upkeep. When she heads off to Palm Beach to get divorced she meets millionaire J.D. Hackensacker III (Rudy Vallee) and his crazy sister Maud (Mary Astor), who's easily the best character in the piece, and hijinks ensue. It starts off well, and the sequence on the train with the gun toting millionaires is fantastic, but it sags around the half way point and though it picks up towards the end despite being very likeable it's not a movie I love, quite possibly as Joel McCrea is so bloody drab in it. 6.5/10

Sullivan's Travels (1941) - Two thirds a screwball comedy where a film director heads out in to the world with only ten cents to see what it's like to experience being poor, and one third an

Spoiler alert

oh fuck, this is bleak as he's mugged, everyone think he's dead, and he suffers greatly. This wasn't what I was expecting at all but it is a fascinating work, carefully never romanticising poverty,

[close]

while Veronica Lake makes for a great female foil to Joel McCrea's surly lead. 7.7/10

Sturges seems to have a trend of making two films in one. Very interesting

I caught this a few years ago after picking it up in an Arrow Video/Academy sale and really liked it too. As you say it tackles the issues well in that it never romanticises the "other side of the tracks", but keeps an admirably light touch. I think what's great is that it feels genuinely hopeful about the human spirit without coming across as patronising and naive. I should really seek out more Sturges.

I've only seen The Palm Beach Story but that's also quite episodic, though the tone is more consistent in it.

I'm starting to work my way through his films this year, as mentioned above I've so far only seen this and TPBS, the latter of which I quite liked but didn't love, oddly enough because Joel McCrea annoyed me in it whereas he's great in Sullivan's Travels.

The Miracle Of Morgan's Creek (1943) - Trudy (Betty Hutton) goes dancing with some soldiers who are heading off to war the next day, but then after drinking a glass of lemonade can't remember anything until the morning, where she realises she's married and pregnant, with no idea who the father is. So, um, yeah, this is a very weird set up where someone is date raped but it's kind of ignored and the rest of the movie's played for laughs as her friend Norval (Eddie Bracken), who has been in love with his entire life, promises to marry her so she can live a respectable life. Doing so is complicated and convoluted b

Spoiler alert

ut eventually there's a happy ending, even if it's a film which is built on a very dodgy premise indeed

[close]

. I've no idea what director Preston Sturges was thinking, but, um, ignoring the elephant in the room it's otherwise an enjoyable affair, it lags a bit in the middle but is otherwise often quite funny. 7.2/10

from Preston Sturges, I'd also recommend Hail the Conquering Hero and Unfaithfully Yours. very enjoyable comedies

Christmas in July (1940) - Jimmy (Dick Powell) is tricked by three work colleagues in to thinking he's won a competition to come up with a slogan for a coffee company, even though said slogan "If you can't sleep at night, it isn't the coffee - it's the bunk" is clearly a shit one which people only pretend to understand / agree with. Due to a poorly run company the winning cheque is issued, and Jimmy goes on a shopping spree, but of course soon it's discovered that he didn't win, and chaos ensues. A tight 67 minutes, this is an amiable enough effort from Preston Sturges though it's the flimsiest film of his that I've seen so far, the first half takes too long to get going, and it only becomes really enjoyable in the second part. I wasn't that taken with Dick Powell's surly lead either, though Ellen Drew as the romantic interest is decent at least. 6.4/10

I love most of his work, but Unfaithfully Yours is one of my favourites. The tonal shifts in his earlier work are nothing compared to this! It's wonderfully deranged and it's a surprise he got away with some of it (though at this stage of his career it wasn't much of a surprise that it flopped and he never made a decent film again - his final two movies are best avoided).

Don't miss The Lady Eve either SMBH! Henry Fonda doing painful looking pratfalls that make my ankles wince every time I watch it is enough of a reason to catch it, but it has plenty of other stuff going for it too. Glad you're enjoying his stuff.

The Lady Eve may well be the perfect movie. I love all of Sturges' Paramount work, but that is a cut above. I envy you your first viewing.

I have seen Unfaithfully Yours, but it was about thirty odd years ago, as my sister was absolutely obsessed with Dudley Moore at one point and watched the remake over and over again, so I thought I should see what the original was like. I've fond memories too, though very vague fond memories, so will definitely rewatch it soon.

Re: The Lady Eve - I watched it today and did enjoy it a lot, for the first 45 minutes I was thinking yeah, this is fun, a really smart enjoyable comedy but nothing that special, but the second half ups it's game an amazing amount, to the extent that it's now a movie I'm a huge fan of, Stanwyck as Eve is just ridiculously funny and I love how it ended too. 8.1/10

Unfaithfully Yours (1948) - Considered to be the last, great Preston Sturges film, it's a very funny but very twisted piece as composer Sir Alfred (Rex Harrison, magnificent) suspects that his wife Daphne (Linda Darnell, adorable) has been cheating on him, and so we bear witness to three possible scenarios

Spoiler alert

where he either becomes murderous, charitable or all kinds of pissy and up for a game of Russian Roulette. He finally decides he does want to kill her but the reality of such a thing ends up with him prat falling all over the place, and luckily he finally discovers that she didn't' cheat on him after all. The scenes of him committing murder sees him laughing like a maniac, while the Russian Roulette game backfires in a horrendous manner

[close]

, and it contains scenes of really black humour that took me quite by surprise given that it's Sturges / shot in the 40's, and because of all of the above it's my favourite film of his so far. 8.1/10

And now:

The Great McGinty (1940) - Sturges is best known for producing a variety of highly praised and fairly varied comedies in the thirties and forties, but his directorial debut, which he also wrote, is really quite different from the majority of his work. It is a film which contains a lot of political satire but it also borders on melodrama at times, and the ending is a rare example where Sturges offers up a quite pessimistic view of the way of the world. Some of the satire's a little on the nose too, but mostly this is enjoyable material, if not the best Sturges had to offer. 7.3/10

As I've mostly loved what I've seen so far I've now decided to watch everything the man directed, even though I know there's the odd weaker film towards the end, hence the thread. And I'll probably give the best rated films that he just scripted a shot too, though I ain't promising anything. Or am I? I just don't know anymore.

[Absorb the anus burn]

Yeah, love his films. I saw Sullivan's Travels on Moviedrome years back and worked my way through his whole filmography. The Great McGinty is not one of my favourites, but I remember it getting a standing ovation at the National Film Theatre during a Sturges retrospective.

[Sin Agog]

Might be worth checking out some of his earlier movies he did screenplays for when you're done, like The Good Fairy, Easy Living and Twentieth Century (only a rewrite, but it's such a charismatic movie that it shouldn't be missed, like a screwball The Red Shoes on a train).

[Egyptian Feast]

Easy Living is on YouTube and is a lot of fun (the automat sequence is a slapstick masterpiece). Sturges apparently wasn't happy with Mitchell Leisen's direction of this and Remember The Night (very good, but not as much fun) which made him determined to direct his own screenplays in future. I'm glad he did, but Leisen was a better director than he gave him credit for.

I think another early screenplay The Power and The Glory is also on YouTube, but I haven't seen that one.

Christmas In July may be one of his slightest pictures, but on my last viewing I found Raymond Walburn's Dr Maxford an absolute hoot, so would add a point to your score just for him. Shame he wasn't a more regular member of Sturges' stock company. I don't think he's in another one until Hail The Conquering Hero (which is excellent) and The Sin Of Harold Diddlebock, which is sadly not very good (although he's great in it).

[Twonty Gostelow]

There was a season of Sturges movies on BBC2 years ago, which had Python Terry Jones doing an introduction to each one. The BBC also broadcast a documentary called Rise and Fall of an American Dreamer (aka Prince of the Blood). Used to be on youtube but seems to be gone now.

I picked up the DVD box set when it was going cheap, but it's way too expensive now. No extras on it and for some reason no Miracle of Morgan's Creek.

Like others here, The Lady Eve is my favourite. Egyptian Feast mentions Fonda's pratfalls in it, which reminded me that William Demarest does some great physical comedy in Sturges's films too.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Yeah, love his films. I saw Sullivan's Travels on Moviedrome years back and worked my way through his whole filmography. The Great McGinty is not one of my favourites, but I remember it getting a standing ovation at the National Film Theatre during a Sturges retrospective.

I liked McGinty, but it's a surprisingly serious films at times (though the shift isn't as tonally strange as Sullivan's Travels), and so far the only film of Sturges to have a downbeat ending.

Might be worth checking out some of his earlier movies he did screenplays for when you're done, like The Good Fairy, Easy Living and Twentieth Century (only a rewrite, but it's such a charismatic movie that it shouldn't be missed, like a screwball The Red Shoes on a train).

Thanks for the recommendations, I'll definitely add those to my list.

Easy Living is on YouTube and is a lot of fun (the automat sequence is a slapstick masterpiece). Sturges apparently wasn't happy with Mitchell Leisen's direction of this and Remember The Night (very good, but not as much fun) which made him determined to direct his own screenplays in future. I'm glad he did, but Leisen was a better director than he gave him credit for.

I think another early screenplay The Power and The Glory is also on YouTube, but I haven't seen that one.

Christmas In July may be one of his slightest pictures, but on my last viewing I found Raymond Walburn's Dr Maxford an absolute hoot, so would add a point to your score just for him. Shame he wasn't a more regular member of Sturges' stock company. I don't think he's in another one until Hail The Conquering Hero (which is excellent) and The Sin Of Harold Diddlebock, which is sadly not very good (although he's great in it).

Cool, I shall check those out, thank you too, and I was fond of Walburn's quite sarcastic and frustrated Dr Maxford too, and would have rated the film higher if he'd been it in more. I've not yet see Conquering Hero of Harold Diddlebock, but do have both downloaded so shall do so soon.

There was a season of Sturges movies on BBC2 years ago, which had Python Terry Jones doing an introduction to each one. The BBC also broadcast a documentary called Rise and Fall of an American Dreamer (aka Prince of the Blood). Used to be on youtube but seems to be gone now.

I picked up the DVD box set when it was going cheap, but it's way too expensive now. No extras on it and for some reason no Miracle of Morgan's Creek.

Like others here, The Lady Eve is my favourite. Egyptian Feast mentions Fonda's pratfalls in it, which reminded me that William Demarest does some great physical comedy in Sturges's films too.

I've become very fond of Demarest, his abusive father in The Miracle Of Morgan's Creek is a bit of a dodgy character and it's lucky he falls over instead of actually kicking the younger daughter each time, but he's great elsewhere, and I think he's particularly strong as Muggsy in The Lady Eve.

[Twonty Gostelow]

I've become very fond of Demarest, his abusive father in The Miracle Of Morgan's Creek is a bit of a dodgy character and it's lucky he falls over instead of actually kicking the younger daughter each time

One missed kick and fall in that is particularly spectacular - he was in his fifties at the time!

[Egyptian Feast]

I've become very fond of Demarest, his abusive father in The Miracle Of Morgan's Creek is a bit of a dodgy character and it's lucky he falls over instead of actually kicking the younger daughter each time, but he's great elsewhere, and I think he's particularly strong as Muggsy in The Lady Eve.

My two favourite Demarest performances there. I loved Muggsy so much I went by that name for a while on Twitter. "Gimme a spoonful of milk, a raw pigeon's egg, and four houseflies. If you can't catch any, I'll settle for a cockroach."

He's definitely my favourite Sturges regular (and I miss him in the post-Paramount films), but they're all such a joy to watch, especially anyone who plays a wealthy patriarch given to blustering outbursts (Walburn, Edward Arnold, Eugene Pallette). They make his movies endlessly rewatchable for me.

[Egyptian Feast]

One missed kick and fall in that is particularly spectacular - he was in his fifties at the time!

Ouch, that fucking hurts every time I see it! Sturges' pratfalls truly are spectacular.

[Small Man Big Horse]

One missed kick and fall in that is particularly spectacular - he was in his fifties at the time!

It really is, and I did laugh, but then felt a bit guilty for doing so!

Hail The Conquering Hero (1944) - Woodrow (Eddie Bracken) returns home after being kicked out of the marines before even seeing any action as he's got hayfever, though some friendly soldiers organise it so that he can return home to his dead old mama without seeming like a disappointment. The whole thing spirals out of control though as the entire town gathers to welcome him, and soon they want him to run for mayor, he's desperate to tell the truth but the others won't let him. Seeing Bracken being increasingly nervous and frustrated was a highlight, and Demarest is superb in this, as is Walburn as the major, but they stretch the concept a little too thinly and it probably could have done with being 20 minutes shorter. 7.3/10

[Sin Agog]

Rewatched The Lady Eve again as it used to be a fave when I was a teen but I hadn't seen it since then.  Great fun of course, but it's odd how so many Stanwyck movies totally simped over her ankles.  I s'pose, in ostensibly less prurient times, ankles must've been the stuck stepsister pr0n of their day.  Wonder what the atmosphere must've been like on set, as Fonda was a fairly right-on democrat sort, and Stanwyck was a bootstraps-conservative and a key player in the blacklist.  Nevertheless, her character was infinitely more empowered and in control in Lady Eve than Fonda's moon-eyed naif.

[zomgmouse]

Probably been pointed out but Sullivan's Travels is where the Coens got the title for O Brother, Where Art Thou?

[Small Man Big Horse]

The Sin Of Harold Diddlebock, which is sadly not very good (although he's great in it).

I quite liked this, though I think going in with lowered expectations definitely helped. That it opens with a really fun clip from 1925's The Freshman and then continues that story appealed, and Diddlebock's squeal and all round bolshiness when drunk made me laugh. It is uneven, and I can't help but feel that poor old Jackie The Lion probably had a miserable time of it, but overall it's a film I enjoyed watching. 7.1/10

[Egyptian Feast]

That poor lion! I found that whole set piece pretty interminable when I last watched it and it soured my opinion of the whole film. Despite some great sequences, there's something that doesn't feel quite right about the film to me. It sounded from some accounts like a very troubled & unhappy production and I do get that vibe from it. I hope you found a decent print. Every version I've seen has been very public domain, which probably hasn't helped.

If you're planning to do his remaining films as director, I'd keep your expectations low for The Great Moment (a fascinating mess, but one which probably wouldn't have fared that much better had the film been released as Sturges intended; Demarest provides desperately needed comedy relief) and The Beautiful Blonde From Bashful Bend (looks nice, not very funny). Few directors have flown so high and crashed so hard. I have a copy of his final film which looks like someone's wiped their arse on it and goes by the title The French They Are A Funny Race. It's a shit business.

[Small Man Big Horse]

That poor lion! I found that whole set piece pretty interminable when I last watched it and it soured my opinion of the whole film. Despite some great sequences, there's something that doesn't feel quite right about the film to me. It sounded from some accounts like a very troubled & unhappy production and I do get that vibe from it. I hope you found a decent print. Every version I've seen has been very public domain, which probably hasn't helped.

I struggled with it too, and despite knowing that they weren't high up just felt anxious for everyone involved rather than finding it amusing. Wormy smashing a couple of windows led to a smile, but the rest of it was a bit of a slog to get through. The quality of the video (which I got via the pirate bay) wasn't high either, if it had been any worse I'd have skipped it but it was just about watchable.

If you're planning to do his remaining films as director, I'd keep your expectations low for The Great Moment (a fascinating mess, but one which probably wouldn't have fared that much better had the film been released as Sturges intended; Demarest provides desperately needed comedy relief) and The Beautiful Blonde From Bashful Bend (looks nice, not very funny). Few directors have flown so high and crashed so hard. I have a copy of his final film which looks like someone's wiped their arse on it and goes by the title The French They Are A Funny Race. It's a shit business.

I'm definitely going to watch the final three now, but I'm deliberately keeping some of the recommendations for his best scripted work to watch afterwards so that this doesn't all end on a sour note. I've so far obtained The French They Are A Funny Race and The Great Moment, but The Beautiful Blonde is unseeded everywhere I'm a member of so I might even have to pay money to see it, somewhat shockingly!

[Egyptian Feast]

I've so far obtained The French They Are A Funny Race and The Great Moment, but The Beautiful Blonde is unseeded everywhere I'm a member of so I might even have to pay money to see it, somewhat shockingly!

No need for that, I can help you out there. I acquired that when I was doing the rewatch earlier this year and it's a really nice print, much better than the fuzzy bootleg I bought from eBay years back, which really wasn't worth it.

[Egyptian Feast]

I've been meaning to post this in the shit book covers thread for ages, but seeing as it's relevant here, look at this stinker!* It's based on a couple of photos in the picture section and, well, it doesn't really do them justice. The book itself isn't bad, but it's surprisingly dull considering it's about a man who already has a fascinating history by the time he becomes famous. He deserves a more substantial biography, written by someone who has at least a fraction of the wit & sparkle of the subject (if one doesn't already exist).



_{*Poorly cropped photo, soz. The book is by James Curtis.}

[Small Man Big Horse]

No need for that, I can help you out there. I acquired that when I was doing the rewatch earlier this year and it's a really nice print, much better than the fuzzy bootleg I bought from eBay years back, which really wasn't worth it.

First off, I have to say how much I appreciate your making this available to me, and I am glad I've seen it. But wow, what a mess, and it is all kinds of problematic. There's some really dodgy racism when it comes to Conchita and the way the townsfolk treat her when they think she's an native american indian, and though it was nice to see El Brendel again (whose 1930 film Just Imagine I'm a big fan of) he's treated quite poorly too. Then there's the Basserman Brothers who are clearly learning disabled but also the subject of much mockery, and it's all very dodgy indeed. There were some cute moments, I liked the friendship between Freddie and Conchita, and the way the former bickers with Blackie (The Batman tv series' Cesar Romero) but it's not enough to save this from being at the very best a misjudged curiousity. 5.4/10

[Small Man Big Horse]

I've been meaning to post this in the shit book covers thread for ages, but seeing as it's relevant here, look at this stinker!* It's based on a couple of photos in the picture section and, well, it doesn't really do them justice. The book itself isn't bad, but it's surprisingly dull considering it's about a man who already has a fascinating history by the time he becomes famous. He deserves a more substantial biography, written by someone who has at least a fraction of the wit & sparkle of the subject (if one doesn't already exist).



_{*Poorly cropped photo, soz. The book is by James Curtis.}

That really does look like someone was drawing Sturges after having met him only the once several years prior, and it's a shame the book itself is so average too. Apparently Sturges' son co-wrote a book about his father which came out last year though and it seems to have garnered mostly positive reviews, so I'll try and track that down at some point.

[Twonty Gostelow]

I have Sturges on Sturges, an excellent primer edited by his widow, and Christmas in July, also very good. I took a punt on the latter because I already had the author's biography of Woody Allen and liked the blurb, knowing next to nothing about Sturges at the time.

[Small Man Big Horse]

I have Sturges on Sturges, an excellent primer edited by his widow, and Christmas in July, also very good. I took a punt on the latter because I already had the author's biography of Woody Allen and liked the blurb, knowing next to nothing about Sturges at the time.

Thanks for that, I've ordered Sturges On Sturges and may well pick up Christmas In July once my reading pile has reduced a bit.

The Diary Of Major Thompson aka The French, They Are A Funny Race (1955) - An unusual film for Sturges to end his career as a director on, there's not really much of a narrative to it other than the domestic squabbles between Major Thompson and his wife, and it is more a selection of sketches based on Thompson's views on the French that he hopes to publish in book form. Some of them are quite funny, and some of them are a bit weak, but I found it oddly likeable most of the time though there are definitely some sections which drag a bit. 6.2/10

[Sin Agog]

Sounds like it might be a strange sort of parallel to Powell & Pressburger's final film, They're a Weird Mob!, which is about Aussies instead of the French.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Sounds like it might be a strange sort of parallel to Powell & Pressburger's final film, They're a Weird Mob!, which is about Aussies instead of the French.

I've never seen that but am very fond of Powell & Pressburger, so definitely will at some point.

The Great Moment (1944) - More a drama with some comic moments than a comedy, despite what those bastards at imdb say, this tells the story of William Morton (Joel McCrea) the man who discovered the use of ether for general anaesthesia. What sounds like a fairly dry tale is actually quite interesting as dentists used to be greatly mocked by those in the medical profession, William Demarest as the first patient it's tested on is great value and very funny, and there's a good few amusing moments involving terrified dental patients or Morton passing out while fucking about with chemicals. It does become a little melodramatic in the final seconds of the movie, but otherwise avoids such a thing, and though a definite lesser work it's still enjoyable enough. 6.5/10

So that's it on the directed by Sturges front (as I'm not counting Vendetta, which appears to be a gigantic mess with five directors involved in total) but I definitely will check out a good few of the films he wrote the screenplay for. It's been ages since I've set myself a project like this to watch everything by a director, but one I've really enjoyed and I'll miss it when it's over with.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Easy Living (1937) - Mitchell Leisen directed this script from Preston Sturges which sees banker Mr Ball (Edward Arnold) argue with his wife and throw her expensive fur coat off of the roof, and when it lands on Mary Smith (Jean Arthur) her life is changed forever more. That's mainly because hotelier Louis Louis (Luis Alberni) believes she's having an affair with Mr Ball and so lets her stay in the Imperial Suite, and quite by chance she unknowingly begins romancing Ball's son John Jr (Ray Milland) who's decided to try and make his own way in the world away from his father. It's a farcical situation as Mary is increasingly given all manner of things for free,

Spoiler alert

and though it almost ends in disaster for all, it of course has a happy ending

[close]

. It's perhaps occasionally a little broad, but both Arnold and Arthur make for great leads, the script is full of memorable dialogue, and there's some great slapstick too, making this a very likeable piece. 7.0/10

[Small Man Big Horse]

Never Say Die (1939) - Bob Hope's a hypochondriac and the target of black widow Mrs Marko (Gale Sondergaard), but when a medical test is accidentally mixed up with a dog's he thinks he's only got 30 days to live and so agrees to marry Mickey (Martha Raye) so that she doesn't have to marry the evil Prince Smirnov. Lots of slapstick, a bit of bear kissing and some bedsharing with a loudmouth Texan man follow, in this incredibly charming and lovably daft affair, it moves at an impressive pace, has lots of fun set pieces, and for me is right up there with Sturges' best. 8.0/10

[Egyptian Feast]

Fuck my hat, I hadn't heard of that one! Sounds wonderful. It's jumped straight to the top of my must see list (says the guy who hasn't watched a movie in months).

Remember The Night would be a good one to watch this week. I saw someone name it as their favourite Christmas film on Twitter the other day. I wouldn't go quite that far, but it's one of the best at least.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Fuck my hat, I hadn't heard of that one! Sounds wonderful. It's jumped straight to the top of my must see list (says the guy who hasn't watched a movie in months).

It really is, and I'd never have seen it if it wasn't for this Sturges marathon I'm on, I've not seen much of Bob Hope's work but will definitely have to check out more of it now as he's really good in it.

Remember The Night would be a good one to watch this week. I saw someone name it as their favourite Christmas film on Twitter the other day. I wouldn't go quite that far, but it's one of the best at least.

Thanks for the recommendation, it really is a lovely christmas-y movie, with an ending

Spoiler alert

which took me by surprise and then some

[close]

. Here's the mini-review I wrote for my files:

Remember The Night (1940) - District attorney John Sargent feels sorry for Barbara Stanwyck's dodgy thief Lee Leander and so organises it so that she doesn't have to spend Christmas in jail, and she ends up with John and his family instead. This may not be Preston Sturges' funniest script but this Christmas set charmer certainly tugs at the old heart strings, especially when Lee reacts warmly to John's family's hospitality, and it's an extremely sweet natured and very appealing affair. 7.4/10

[Sin Agog]

I remember the man-servant's yes masserry being more than a bit sketchy (he also seemed to have no more than a five-second memory), but otherwise it's a surprisingly empathetic movie, which presents a pretty strong essay on moral relativism and how our upbringings shape us.  Also, I dunno if it was because she personally knew Will Hays or something, but again with a Stanwyck movie the sex is upfront and centre, when she clearly shows up at Macmurray's apartment for 'that thing.'

[Small Man Big Horse]

I remember the man-servant's yes masserry being more than a bit sketchy (he also seemed to have no more than a five-second memory), but otherwise it's a surprisingly empathetic movie, which presents a pretty strong essay on moral relativism and how our upbringings shape us.  Also, I dunno if it was because she personally knew Will Hays or something, but again with a Stanwyck movie the sex is upfront and centre, when she clearly shows up at Macmurray's apartment for 'that thing.'

The man-servant business left a nasty taste in my mouth too, though Sturges at least made up for it in Sullivan's Travels by treating black characters with respect, which is something (though not enough) I suppose. Oddly enough I watched The Good Fairy tonight which treats sex in a similar fashion, albeit with one character describing it as "a cataclysm" if Margaret Sullivan's Luisa goes to the hotel room of the very dodgy Konrad.

On that front, here's my mini-review of it:

The Good Fairy (1935) - When orphan Luisa (Margaret Sullivan) gets given a job as a cinema usherette and makes friends with a snarky waiter (Reginald Owen), he invites her to a posh party the following night so that she can see how the other half live. Unfortunately the horribly rapey Konrad (Frank Morgan) takes a fancy to her and won't take no for an answer, at least until she tells him she's married and picks a stranger out of the phone book as her supposed other half, and farce ensues. It's a very likeable comedy from Preston Sturges which has a strong performance from Margaret Sullivan, it's definitely a shame that a few of the scenes see her in a very uncomfortable situation with Konrad which she only escapes from out of pure luck, but the script is strong elsewhere, and Luisa and eventual love interest Dr Sporum (Herbert Marshall) have such fun together that I enjoyed it a great deal overall. 7.5/10

[Small Man Big Horse]

Thirty Day Princess (1934) - The King Of Taronia sends his daughter Princess Catterina (Sylvia Sidney) over to America so the country can receive fifty million dollars in a convoluted financial deal, but when Catterina falls ill with the mumps they need to find a doppelganger who they can pass off as the real Princess, which they manage to do when they find actress Nancy Lane. Cary Grant's journalist is suspicious of the whole shebang but then falls for Nancy, in this warm hearted and sweet romcom, it's lacking Sturges' usual bouts of pratfalls and slapstick daftness in general which might be because apparently the director cut a fair bit of his script out, but the dialogue is still pretty sharp and I was quite charmed by it. 6.8/10