D: Jean Yarbrough. Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Dorothy Ford, Barbara Brown, Buddy Baer. A&C version of fairy tale OK for kids, but not as funny as their earlier films. Begins in sepiatone, then changes to color, like THE WIZARD OF OZ.

D: Preston Sturges. Joel McCrea, Veronica Lake, Robert Warwick, William Demarest, Margaret Hayes, Porter Hall, Eric Blore, Robert Greig, Jimmy Conlin, Al Bridge, Franklin Pangborn. Tired of making fluff, movie director McCrea decides to do a "serious" film; to research it, he sets out with 10 in his pocket to experience life in "the real world." Slapstick and sorrow blend seamlessly in this landmark Hollywood satire, which grows more pertinent with each passing year. A unique achievement for writer-director Sturges.

D: Preston Sturges. Dick Powell, Ellen Drew, Raymond Walburn, William Demarest, Ernest Truex, Franklin Pangborn. Top Sturges comedy about Powell going on shopping spree after mistakenly believing he has won big contest. Walburn and Demarest are at their best.

D: Preston Sturges. Brian Donlevy, Muriel Angelus, Akim Tamiroff, Allyn Joslyn, William Demarest, Louis Jean Heydt, Arthur Hoyt. Sturges' directorial debut (and Oscar-winning screenplay) isn't up to his later comedy classics, but Donlevy is excellent as bum who is manipulated into governor's chair by crooked political machine--then blows it all when he tries to be honest. Typically sharp dialogue, plus fine work by Sturges' stock company of character actors. Donlevy and Tamiroff reprised their roles as a gag in Sturges' THE MIRACLE OF MORGAN'S CREEK.

D: Preston Sturges. Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Charles Coburn, Eugene Pallette, William Demarest, Eric Blore, Melville Cooper. Stanwyck is a con artist who sets her eyes on wealthy Fonda--the dolt to end all dolts, who proclaims "snakes are my life.'' Sometimes silly and strident, this film grows funnier with each viewing-- thanks to Sturges' script, breathless pace, and two incomparable stars. Remade as THE BIRDS AND THE BEES.

D: Preston Sturges. Eddie Bracken, Ella Raines, Raymond Walburn, William Demarest, Bill Edwards, Elizabeth Patterson, Jimmy Conlin, Franklin Pangborn, Jack Norton, Paul Porcasi, Al Bridge. Frail Bracken, rejected by Marine Corps, is mistaken for war hero by home town. Satirical Sturges at his best, with Demarest and Pangborn stealing much of the crazed proceedings.

D: Preston Sturges. Claudette Colbert, Joel McCrea, Rudy Vallee, Mary Astor, Sig Arno, Robert Dudley, William Demarest, Jack Norton, Franklin Pangborn, Jimmy Conlin. Hilarious screwball comedy with Claudette running away from hubby McCrea, landing in Palm Beach with nutty millionairess Astor and her bumbling brother Vallee; overflowing with Sturges madness-- from the mystifying title sequence to the arrival of the Ale & Quail Club (not to mention the Wienie King!).