Top 10 Alternative Christmas Films: 3. "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek"

December 16, 11:20 AMClassic TV ExaminerDoug Krentzlin

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Classic TV Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

 

Everyone knows the big 3 of Christmas films: “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “Miracle on 34th Street” and “A Christmas Carol” (Alistair Sim). For those of you who would like to view something different for the holidays, here is the third of ten recommendations of alternative Christmas films (to be presented in chronological order).

3. "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek"

Nobody in Hollywood made funnier movies in the 1940s than Preston Sturges and “The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek” may be his most hilarious film.

The movie’s real-life miracle is that it managed to get past the 1944 censors. “The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek” tells the story of small-town gal Trudy Kockenlocker (Betty Hutton) who loves to party with servicemen. After one particularly wild night, she discovers that she is pregnant and has vague memories of marrying someone whose name sounds like “Ratzywatsky.”

In need of a husband pronto, she sets her sights on local nerd Norval Jones (Eddie Bracken) who has always had a crush on her. After Trudy and Homer get in more and more trouble, the film ends with the funniest dues ex machina in the history of the movies. (I won't give away the "miracle," but it takes place appropriately on Christmas Eve.)

As usual with Sturges’ films, the supporting cast gets the biggest laughs, especially William Demarest (as Trudy’s father, town constable Officer Kockenlocker) who steals the show with a series of exquisitely executed pratfalls.