{"product_id":"crooked-but-never-common-9780231207287","title":"Crooked but Never Common","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eCrooked, but Never Common\u003c\/i\u003e, Stuart Klawans combines a critic’s insight and a fan’s enthusiasm to offer deeper ways to think about and enjoy Preston Sturges’s work. He provides an in-depth appreciation of all ten of the writer-director’s major movies.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom one of our finest critics, an elegant and deftly argued contribution to our appreciation of the great and glorious Preston Sturges. Stuart 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\u003cbr\u003eStuart Klawans has extended and upended the field with takes that are as witty and audacious as his subject. One has only to read his wry unpacking of the contradictions in \u003ci\u003eSullivan’s Travels\u003c\/i\u003e or his sympathetic dissections of my own favorites, \u003ci\u003eThe Lady Eve\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eUnfaithfully Yours\u003c\/i\u003e. 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 \u003ci\u003eTotally, Tenderly, Tragically\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eStuart Klawans’s deep dive into the films of Preston Sturges is a gift for cinephiles. Whether providing context or close analysis, his tone is witty and accessible as well as erudite and profound. -- Annette Insdorf, author of \u003ci\u003eCinematic Overtures: How to Read Opening Scenes\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNobody wrote better screenplays than Preston Sturges, whose dialogue remains among the most sparkling ever committed to the screen. Yet, until now, his achievements as a visual artist have been overlooked. Klawans’s wonderful new study has finally remedied that, demonstrating that Sturges was an artist as skilled with the camera as he was with a typewriter. -- Richard Peña, director emeritus, New York Film Festival, and professor of film and media studies, Columbia University\u003cbr\u003e[A] portrait of a director with a gift for character development and 'head-spinning dialogue executed at high speed' by an author with a keen  critical eye and plenty of flair in his own writing. Film buffs will  relish this. * Publishers Weekly *\u003cbr\u003eIt’s obvious Klawans has pored over Sturges’s films. After reading his  thoughtful analyses, film buffs will want to rewatch them, armed with  new insights. * Library Journal, starred review *\u003cbr\u003e[Klawans] carefully shows how these complicated comedies work, exploring what one might call Sturges’s ‘moral universe,’ which can be more unforgiving toward 1940s America than the surface froth suggests. . . The author deserves admiration for taking Sturges’s comedy seriously. * Wall Street Journal *\u003cbr\u003eA perceptive, exceptionally well-composed and earnest evaluation. * Film International *\u003cbr\u003e[An] incisive, compelling, and spirited analysis of the screwball maestro’s life and oeuvre. * The Arts Fuse *\u003cbr\u003eThe book is both a compelling biography of Sturges and a close read of his films, and Klawans writes with great wit and insight. * The Film Stage *\u003cbr\u003eAn invaluable, in-depth examination of the style and substance of 10 of Sturges' finest films. * Pop Culture Classics *\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eCrooked, but Never Common\u003c\/i\u003e brings new perspective to old movies that are in many minds better remembered for their motley assortments of expertly deployed character actors—among them William Demarest, Franklin Pangborn, Jimmy Conlin, and Eugene Pallette—than for their depth and magnificent construction. * Air Mail *\u003cbr\u003eA well-argued read for Sturges connoisseurs. * Total Film *\u003cbr\u003eA fine book by one of the best critics in the country. -- Antonio Monda * La Repubblica *\u003cbr\u003e[Klawans's] prose positively sizzles at every turn, in what is sure to be a defining study of Sturges’s films. * Times Literary Supplement *\u003cbr\u003eKlawans is a virtuoso writer and a savvy political thinker . . . Sturges's  personal dilemmas flicker within an entertainment that becomes even more  complex and stylish when we detect their traces. * Cineaste *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e1. Instead of an Introduction: A Rhetoric of Preston Sturges\u003cbr\u003e2. Ya Can’t Get Away from Arithmetic: \u003ci\u003eThe Great McGinty\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e3. He Thinks He Has Ideas: \u003ci\u003eChristmas in July\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e4. I’m Not a Poet, I’m an Ophiologist: \u003ci\u003eThe Lady Eve\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e5. As You Are, So Shall You Remain: \u003ci\u003eSullivan’s Travels\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e6. Topic A: \u003ci\u003eThe Palm Beach Story\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e7. Homo Sapiens, the Wise Guy: \u003ci\u003eTriumph Over Pain\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e8. Psycholology: \u003ci\u003eThe Miracle of Morgan’s Creek\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e9. That’s All You Know How to Hurt: \u003ci\u003eHail the Conquering Hero\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e10. You Arouse the Artist in Me: \u003ci\u003eThe Sin of Harold Diddlebock\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e11. Every Emotion Was Exaggerated: \u003ci\u003eUnfaithfully Yours\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e12. Instead of a Conclusion: A Genealogy of Preston Sturges\u003cbr\u003eAcknowledgments\u003cbr\u003eBibliography\u003cbr\u003eIndex","brand":"Columbia University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49400371315031,"sku":"9780231207287","price":82.8,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780231207287.jpg?v=1730470525","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/crooked-but-never-common-9780231207287","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}