How sad is this?

Good movie but grossly overrated

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

"The Miracle of Morgan's Creek" is a first-rate comedy from Director Preston Sturges... it's the story of a girl named Trudy (Betty Hutton) who gets drunk, married & pregnant by a GI who ships off to war the next morning. The problem: she can't even remember his name & now has to face her over-protective cop Father and the judgments of her small-town neighbors.Enter Eddie Bracken as Norval Jones, the goodhearted schlub unfit for military detail who's been in love with Trudy as long as he can remember. The comedy that follows is often hilarious, sometimes repetitive, and only occasionally flat. Great moments include Trudy picking up Norval after her wild night, Norval with Mr. Kockenlocker on the front porch, and Norval's "escape" from prison.This was a very good movie and Eddie Bracken really walked the fine line between comedy and genuine sympathy... my only complaint was that it ran too long, and as a result took one too many plot twists. Otherwise a classy comedy...GRADE: B-

I am astonished every time I see this film that it was ever released, despite the prestige of Preston Sturges as its director. The very notion that a comedy could be made in the war-time forties about a woman who may ---or may not--- be legally married to a soldier whose name she can't remember after an evening of dancing and "lemonade" and who becomes exceptionally pregnant as a consequence is mind-boggling. But, we should be grateful that it slipped under the censors' noses because it is still as smart and subversive now as it was then. Even the cameo appearances of Donleavy and Tamiroff are a witty commentary on Sturges's earlier political satire, the Great McGinty.A great movie, to be seen more than once and savored, particularly for how it bloomed in an era that might have been inclined to suppress it.

Preston Sturges, who wrote and directed this headlong parody of small-town life and war-time patriotism, was a man of multiple talents. Take his direction, for example. He pulls of this outrageous stunt without any razzle dazzle at all. Any modern comedy would blast us with funny music and shots that last about as long as a lightning strike. But Sturges' takes tend to be long, though not in the least leisurely. A contentious couple walking down the street may be followed in one take for half a block, turn a corner, and be followed for another half block.The story concerns mainly Trudy Kockenlocker (a tempestuous Betty Hutton) and her suitor, the good-hearted but goofy Norval Jones (Eddie Bracken). Norval has been in love with Trudy for years, even taking the same high school classes so he could be near her. "I didn't mind the cooking," he explains, "but the sewing...." Norval would be in the army himself but every time he tries to enlist he becomes so nervous that he stutters and shakes, his blood pressure soars, and he sees black spots in front of his eyes.After a wild night on the town with some soldiers about to be shipped out, Trudy sobers up the next morning to find herself married but unable to remember the name she used or the soldier she married. As always, Betty Hutton brings to the part the energy of a gamma ray burst. Pregnancy adds to the problem. Her young sister, Diana Lynn, advises her that she needs a husband -- fast. There's always Norval, ready to do anything for her. She prompts the innocent, unknowing Norval into a proposal, which takes him several minutes to sputter out. She accepts of course after several agonizing minutes ("Oh, Norval, this is so SUDDEN!") But compelled by her conscience, Trudy tries gently to spill the beans. She really shouldn't marry him, she tells Norval, because she made a big mistake the night of the dance. "What mistake? I thought you had a lot of fun!" Trudy: "Well, I did -- in a way -- but some kinds of fun last longer than others, if you know what I mean." The censors must have been visited by an incubus. The more Trudy explains, the more excited and frightened Neurotic Norval becomes. He stutters to the point of unintelligibility, occasionally interrupting himself to slam a fist into his palm and shout, "The SPOTS!" She and Norval decide to plunge ahead with the marriage anyway. They visit the Justice of the Peace in a nearby town and Norval poses as the soldier husband that Trudy can't remember. Norval is outfitted in the only army uniform available, a left-over deal from World War I. His collar insignia show the Marine Corps on one side and the Cavalry on the other. They must make up a name for him -- Ignatz Raskywasky -- which neither can pronounce. It ends with Norval in jail.I don't want to run out of space but this is one hilarious skewering of ordinary middle American life. The dialog is often corrosive."Daughters!", Trudy's father (William Demarest) complains. "They hang around the house like Spanish moss until they shame you into an early grave." Norval's lawyer. "Norval, I'm a lawyer. I WORK as a lawyer. I'm ready to sue anybody, anywhere, at any time." And, "You haven't asked my advice, and I'm not going to give any. But if I were you I'd get out of town fast and hide someplace." Trudy's sister (Diana Lynn) tells Demarest: "Can't you think of something? You're always having bright ideas." Demarest: "Listen, Zipperpuss, some day they're going to find your hair ribbon and an ax someplace, and that's all." One of the most mirthful movies of its decade.

A real rouser for war-time audiences with its frenzied pace, sprightly dialogue, and naughty innuendo. Between whirlwind director Sturges and combustible Betty Hutton, I half expected the screen would explode, but Hutton manages uncharacteristic restraint when needed. Her miming in the record shop of a basso voice from a deep well remains a real hoot and a charming use of her bubbly high-spirits. Not to forget poor Eddie Bracken as the hapless, love-struck schlemiel. I love his line that goes something like-- I was born ugly and thought I would grow out of it. But I didn't. I just got uglier! Now, how many of today's big-headed male leads would take on such a line. I hope they paid him a bundle. And, of course, there's roughneck daddy William Demarest and teen sister Diana Lynn who nevertheless looks at least 20. The scenes between pistol-packin' Demarest and comically cringing Bracken are priceless and every boyfriend's worst nightmare.The fact that the cast works so well is testament to Sturges's talent for orchestrating these frenzied farces. I expect it was that very rapid-fire dialogue that got wedlock babies and unmarried mothers past the public watchdogs. By Code standards, these were taboo topics, and notice that not once is the obviously relevant word "pregnant" spoken. Just why that marvelous life-affirming term should be banned alongside real profanity needs some explaining. Note too, how fast and loose the governor (Brian Donlevy) plays with the rules in finessing possible embarrassment. Sturges always liked to poke fun at these political types. However not everything is roses. The "jail-break" scene goes on too long, while the final few scenes barely escape the soggy hanky. And probably some of the humor is lost to changing times. Nonetheless, enough of the crackling dialogue and up-tempo pacing remains to keep viewers awake and chuckling.