According to its opening voiceover, Neptune's Daughter is "a story about a guy, a girl, and a bathing suit." Oh, but it's so much more than that. Esther Williams plays Eve, a (surprise!) swimming champion who gives up her amateur status to design and model swimwear. She also plays chaperone to her boy-crazy sister Betty, who is determined to meet Jose (Ricardo Montalban), the captain of the ...
Writer-director Preston Sturges's third feature, 1941's Sullivan's Travels, remains the antic auteur's most ambitious screen effort. Having added the producer's stripe to his duties, Sturges combines breezy romantic comedy, arch Hollywood satire, and social essay into a single, screwball story line. The titular pilgrim is John L. Sullivan (Joel McCrea), an Ivy League grad who's enjoyed ...