From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Preston Sturges (29 August 1898 – 6 August 1959), originally Edmund Preston Biden, was a celebrated playwright, screenwriter and film director born in Chicago, Illinois. In 1941 he won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the film The Great McGinty. Sturges took the screwball comedy format of the 1930s to another level, writing dialogue that, heard today, is often surprisingly naturalistic, mature, and ahead of its time, despite the farcical situations. In recent years, film scholars such as Alessandro Pirolini have also argued that Sturges' cinema anticipated more experimental narratives by contemporary directors such as Joel and Ethan Coen, Robert Zemeckis, and Woody Allen, along with prolific The Simpsons writer John Swartzwelder: "Many of [Sturges'] movies and screenplays reveal a restless and impatient attempt to escape codified rules and narrative schemata, and to push the mechanisms and conventions of their genre to the extent of unveiling them to the spectator. [See for example] the disruption of standardized timelines in films such as The Power and the Glory and The Great McGinty [or the way] an apparently classical comedy such as Unfaithfully Yours (1948) shifts into the realm of multiple and hypothetical narratives. Prior to Sturges, other figures in Hollywood (such as Charlie Chaplin, D.W. Griffith, and Frank Capra) had directed films from their own scripts. However, Sturges is often regarded as the first Hollywood figure to be initially mainly successfully established as a screenwriter and then to subsequently move into directing his own scripts, at a time when those roles were mostly entrenched and separate. Famously, Sturges sold the story for The Great McGinty to Paramount Pictures for $1, in return for being allowed to direct the film; the sum was quietly raised to $10 by the studio for legal reasons. Description above from the Wikipedia article Preston Sturges, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- August 29, 1898
- August 6, 1959 (aged 60)
- Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Writer, director and producer
- 23 on MovieCove · 42 credits in all
What are Preston Sturges' films like?
Across their 23 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 2 · Wry 4 · Earnest 14
Light 19 · Serious 2 · Dark 2
Grounded 9 · Stylized 9 · Heightened 5
A split, not a type: Gentle 12 · Charged 10 · Intense 1
A split, not a type: Steady 12 · Shifting 9 · Whiplash 2
Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 16
Slow burn 6 · Even-paced 15 · Relentless 2
Casual 17 · Engaged 6 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 19 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 3
Resolved 21 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy14
- Bittersweet8
- Ambiguous1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Preston Sturges' films?
As of October 24, 2026, 6 of their 23 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (4).
Subscription and free streaming for Preston Sturges' titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
42 credits, 23 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Unfaithfully Yours(1984)
Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films
Rock-a-Bye Baby(1958)
Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films
Paris Holiday (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)
The Birds and the Bees (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)
The French, They Are a Funny Race (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)
Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films
Unfaithfully Yours(1948)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films
I'll Be Yours (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1947)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
Hail the Conquering Hero(1944)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
The Great Moment (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1944)
I Married a Witch(1942)
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films
The Palm Beach Story(1942)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
Star Spangled Rhythm (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)
Safeguarding Military Information (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)
Sullivan's Travels(1941)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
The Lady Eve(1941)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
Christmas in July(1940)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
The Great McGinty(1940)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
Remember the Night(1939)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
Broadway Melody of 1940(1940)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
Never Say Die (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)
If I Were King(1938)
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films
Port of Seven Seas (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)
College Swing (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)
Easy Living(1937)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
Hotel Haywire (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)
Love Before Breakfast (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1936)
Next Time We Love(1936)
Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films
Diamond Jim (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1935)
The Good Fairy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1935)
We Live Again(1934)
Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films
Thirty Day Princess (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)
Twentieth Century(1934)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
Imitation of Life(1934)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
The Power and the Glory (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)
Child of Manhattan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)
They Just Had to Get Married (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)
Strictly Dishonorable (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)
The Big Pond(1930)
Midcredits score: 28th percentile of all films
Fast and Loose(1930)
Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films
Career shape
A full career of 38 titles from 1930 to 1984.
Biggest box office
Unfaithfully Yours (1984)
Highest rated
Sullivan's Travels (1941)
Most popular right now
I Married a Witch (1942)
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Preston Sturges' films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 86th percentile, the median of all 23; across their 23 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 82nd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up15
- 50th to 74th4
- 25th to 49th4
Shape of the crowd
None of their 23 titles divides audiences: 10 are Universally Loved.
- Universally Loved10
- Crowd Pleaser8
- Broadly Agreed2
- Mixed3
Reviewers score the dialogue 71/100 and the plot and story 53/100 in their films, across 23 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Preston Sturges' work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Preston Sturges work with?
People who share at least 2 of Preston Sturges' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; William Demarest shares the most, 7.
Directors
- Mitchell LeisenShared titles: Remember the Night (1939), Easy Living (1937)See all 2 shared titles with Mitchell Leisen
Writers
- Doris AndersonShared titles: Next Time We Love (1936), Fast and Loose (1930)See all 2 shared titles with Doris Anderson
Actors
- William DemarestShared titles: Hail the Conquering Hero (1944), The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1943), Sullivan's Travels (1941), The Lady Eve (1941), Christmas in July (1940), The Great McGinty (1940), Easy Living (1937)See all 7 shared titles with William Demarest
- Franklin PangbornShared titles: The Sin of Harold Diddlebock (1947), Hail the Conquering Hero (1944), Sullivan's Travels (1941), Christmas in July (1940), Easy Living (1937)See all 5 shared titles with Franklin Pangborn
- Al BridgeShared titles: The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend (1949), Unfaithfully Yours (1948), Hail the Conquering Hero (1944), The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1943)See all 4 shared titles with Al Bridge
- Rudy ValleeShared titles: The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend (1949), Unfaithfully Yours (1948), The Sin of Harold Diddlebock (1947), The Palm Beach Story (1942)See all 4 shared titles with Rudy Vallee
Cinematographers and editors
- Stuart GilmoreShared titles: Unfaithfully Yours (1948), Hail the Conquering Hero (1944), The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1943), The Palm Beach Story (1942), Sullivan's Travels (1941)See all 5 shared titles with Stuart Gilmore
- Victor MilnerShared titles: Unfaithfully Yours (1948), The Palm Beach Story (1942), Christmas in July (1940)See all 3 shared titles with Victor Milner
- John F. SeitzShared titles: Hail the Conquering Hero (1944), The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1943), Sullivan's Travels (1941)See all 3 shared titles with John F. Seitz
- Ted TetzlaffShared titles: I Married a Witch (1942), Remember the Night (1939), Easy Living (1937)See all 3 shared titles with Ted Tetzlaff
Producers
- Buddy G. DeSylvaShared titles: Hail the Conquering Hero (1944), The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1943), I Married a Witch (1942), The Palm Beach Story (1942), The Lady Eve (1941), Christmas in July (1940), The Great McGinty (1940)See all 7 shared titles with Buddy G. DeSylva
- William LeBaronShared titles: The Lady Eve (1941), Christmas in July (1940), The Great McGinty (1940), Remember the Night (1939), If I Were King (1938), Easy Living (1937)See all 6 shared titles with William LeBaron
- Paul JonesShared titles: The Palm Beach Story (1942), The Lady Eve (1941), Christmas in July (1940), The Great McGinty (1940)See all 4 shared titles with Paul Jones