Preston Sturges was in the midst of an unmatchable comic peak when he made this small town story about a GI loving young girl who ends up in a family way and has no idea who the dad is. Cleverly circumventing censors he once again delivered a comically satiric jab at society in the middle of WW2, providing a much needed distraction if only briefly to a war weary audience.
Norval Jones (Eddie Bracken) loves Trudy Kockenlocker (Betty Hutton) but she has this thing for soldiers and feels it is her patriotic duty to show them a good time before going off to war. Too good it turns out for one who leaves her with child, after properly marrying her but neglecting to leave a name.
Hutton and Bracken as a couple lack chemistry but as a team jell perfectly especially in long impressive tracking shots where they flesh themselves out to the audience but not to each other. Bracken has the born to be schlub look down pat and carries his yearning frustration well. Hutton as free spirit Trudy is shrill in moments but a perfect foil to Bracken's frustration. Taciturn Demarest suffers in all ways as the dad while Diana Lynn as the younger sister is a spry voice of reason.
Sturgis takes his serious and racy subject and turns it on its ear with a raucous response by all involved from dad (William Demarest) to the governor (Brian Donlevy's, McGinty in a cameo). Populating Morgan's Creek with his troupe of scene stealers, serving up non-sequitur and pratfalls while making pointed observations about societal hypocrisy Miracle follows the comic path from start to finish.
Norval Jones (Eddie Bracken) loves Trudy Kockenlocker (Betty Hutton) but she has this thing for soldiers and feels it is her patriotic duty to show them a good time before going off to war. Too good it turns out for one who leaves her with child, after properly marrying her but neglecting to leave a name.
Hutton and Bracken as a couple lack chemistry but as a team jell perfectly especially in long impressive tracking shots where they flesh themselves out to the audience but not to each other. Bracken has the born to be schlub look down pat and carries his yearning frustration well. Hutton as free spirit Trudy is shrill in moments but a perfect foil to Bracken's frustration. Taciturn Demarest suffers in all ways as the dad while Diana Lynn as the younger sister is a spry voice of reason.
Sturgis takes his serious and racy subject and turns it on its ear with a raucous response by all involved from dad (William Demarest) to the governor (Brian Donlevy's, McGinty in a cameo). Populating Morgan's Creek with his troupe of scene stealers, serving up non-sequitur and pratfalls while making pointed observations about societal hypocrisy Miracle follows the comic path from start to finish.