The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944)

Knocked Up

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy The Miracle of Morgan's Creek on DVD.

One of Preston Sturges' zanier films, The Miracle of Morgan's Creek begs the question: how did he get away with this? The very premise must have sent the censors into fits. After a drunken night out with a group of sailors, Trudy Kockenlocker (Betty Hutton) wakes up to the realization that she's married and pregnant but doesn't know who the man is, nor where he's gone. Nervous, good-hearted Norval Jones (Eddie Bracken) -- with a medical condition that keeps him out of the military -- tries to help in every way he can, even attempting to marry her under the name she thinks she remembers: Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki. What Sturges got away with is all the more remarkable when you consider that even saying the word "pregnant" on film was forbidden at the time, not to mention showing a pregnant woman. Yet even with all his wits working at full-steam, Sturges is unable to keep this premise going at full speed for a full 98 minutes, and it hits some dead spots. William Demarest gives a terrifically cranky performance as Trudy's policeman father, and Brian Donlevy reprises his title character from Sturges' earlier film The Great McGinty (1940).

DVD Details: Paramount's 2005 DVD comes with a couple of behind-the-scenes featurettes.

Starring: Eddie Bracken, Betty Hutton, Diana Lynn, William Demarest, Porter Hall, Emory Parnell, Al Bridge, Julius Tannen, Victor Potel, Brian Donlevy, Akim Tamiroff
Written by: Preston Sturges
Directed by: Preston Sturges
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Running Time: 98 minutes
Date: November 29, 2005