Preston Sturges

Nick Smedley is the author of A Divided World: Hollywood Cinema and Emigre Directors in the Era of Roosevelt and Hitler and The Roots of Modern Hollywood. He taught an MA module in recent Hollywood history at Birkbeck College, London, in 2008. Since then, he has been a freelance lecturer at film societies and cinemas in Chichester, the New Forest, Wimbledon and Central London.Tom Sturges is the son of Preston Sturges and the author of three books: Parking Lot Rules, Grow The Tree You Got and Every Idea Is a Good Idea, all published with Penguin Random House. He teaches music business at UCLA and is both an artist manager and consultant. He has been widely recognized for mentoring at-risk, inner-city children and is the father of three sons.

• Foreword by Peter BogdanovichPreface by Nick Smedley  Part IThe Preludes: The Brilliant Career of Preston Sturges, 1940–1949 — A Critical Survey of His Hollywood Films1. Beginnings2. The Emergence of a Genius3. Sturges Triumphant4. A Sputtering Flame: The Final Hollywood Films5. Conclusion: The Brilliant Career of Preston Sturges Part IIThe Last Years of Preston Sturges, 1949–1959Chapter 1: A Fallen Giant: Adjusting to the New, 1949–1950Chapter 2: Back to the Future: Broadway and Paramount, 1951–1952Chapter 3: Sturges’ Travels: Farewell to America, 1953Chapter 4: The Millionairess and the Major: Sturges Returns to Paris, 1954Chapter 5: Americans in Paris: Filming Major Thompson, 1955Chapter 6: American Gangster: The Trials and Tribulations of Independent Film Production, 1956–1957Chapter 7: Farcical Manoeuvres, 1957–1958 Chapter 8: New York, New York: Public Hopes, Private Griefs, 1957Chapter 9: For Better or For Worse: Marital Tensions, 1957–1958Chapter 10: Sliding Towards the Brink, January–July 1958Chapter 11: The Road to Despair, July–December 1958Chapter 12: The Conquering Hero: Return to New York, January–March 1959Chapter 13: Triumph over Pain: The Last Happy Months of Preston Sturges, March–August 1959Chapter 14: The Events Have Led Up to His Death, August 1959  Afterword by P. G. SturgesAppendix 1: Fabulous Inventions Appendix 2: Story Ideas

‘A fascinating account of Preston Sturges, who wrote and directed some of the great treasures of cinema and has remained as mysterious as his God-given talent.’