Crooked, but Never Common
The Films of Preston Sturges
by Stuart Klawans
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app
1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date Jan 10 2023 | Archive Date Apr 19 2023
Talking about this book? Use #ColumbiaUP #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!
Description
In Crooked, but Never Common, Stuart Klawans combines a critic’s insight and a fan’s enthusiasm to offer deeper ways to think about and enjoy Sturges’s work. He provides an in-depth appreciation of all ten of the writer-director’s major movies, presenting Sturges as a filmmaker whose work balanced slapstick and social critique, American and European traditions, and cynicism and affection for his characters. Tugging at loose threads—discontinuities, puzzles, and allusions that have dangled in plain sight—and putting the films into a broader cultural context, Klawans reveals structures, motives, and meanings underlying the uproarious pleasures of Sturges’s movies. In this new light, Sturges emerges at last as one of the truly great filmmakers—and funnier than ever.
Advance Praise
"From one of our finest critics, an elegant and deftly argued contribution to our appreciation of the great and glorious Preston Sturges. Klawans teases out inspired connections in the culture surrounding the director—the books, paintings and legends that fed the artistry of a man who refused to call himself an artist. The kind of book that makes you want to dive back into the films for fresh stimulation and delight."
—Molly Haskell, film critic and author
"Coming late to the party of Sturgesologists, Stuart Klawans has extended and upended the field with his takes that are as witty and audacious as his subject. One has only to read his wry unpacking of the contradictions in Sullivan's Travels, or his sympathetic dissections of my own favorites, The Lady Eve and Unfaithfully Yours. Klawans really knows these films, has a nuanced understanding of cinema in general, writes beautifully, and is the best, most trustworthy guide imaginable to the genius of Preston Sturges. A triumph."
—Phillip Lopate, author of Totally, Tenderly, Tragically
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9780231207294 |
| PRICE | $28.00 (USD) |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
jean luc e, Librarian
A magnificent introduction and analysis of the works of one of the most talented filmmakers in Hollywood history.
Preston Sturges was a genius when it came to comedies and this delightful monograph allowed me to rewatch 10 priceless jewels from the mid 20th century. An absolute must for all the movie buffs out there. It was simply a fabulous read!
Many thanks to Netgalley and CU for this terrific ARC
Reviewer 485643
Preston Sturges is a Hollywood icon. In "Crooked, but Never Common," Stuart Klawans offers an in-depth examination of Sturges' work. This is a fascinating work of film criticism which will introduce Sturges to a whole new audience. A must read for fans of film.
Ann M, Reviewer
As the author says at the outset, this book is not meant to be an overview or biography of Preston Sturges' life. However, he does a great job weaving aspects about his personal and professional challenges as he dissects each of his films. In the descriptions of each of the films, Klawans gives an incredibly detailed description of what we seen on screen as well as the motivations and drama behind-the-scenes. I now am inspired to watch these films again (I had seen many of them over the years) or for the first time. This book will be a great companion to really seeing what is happening in these films. I recommend this book.
Thank you to Netgalley and Columbia University Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Readers who liked this book also liked:
Georgina Ferry, Katalin Kariko, Mary Lou Jepsen, Sheri Graner Ray, Amalia Ballarino, Anna Oliveira, Anaïs Engelmann and Meghan Hale, Anda Waluyo Sapardan, Anna Lukasson-Herzig, Brenda Romero, Clarice Phelps, Claudia Brind -Woody, Coty Craven, Emily Holmes, Erica Kang, Gretchen Andrew, Ida Tin, Kasia Gora, Maria Carolina Fujihara, Marita Cheng, Mary Agbesanwa, Morenike Fajemisin, Rumman Chowdhury, Stephanie Willerth, Tan Le, Yewande Akinola
Biographies & Memoirs, Computers & Technology, Science
Kenneth Womack; Kenneth L. Campbell
Arts & Photography, Entertainment & Pop Culture, Reference
