The Miracle Of Morgan's Creek (1944)

Good intentions don't always produce good results, but they do count for something in the end. Preston Sturges' "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek" follows small-town girl Trudy Kockenlocker (Betty Hutton), who wakes up after a wild all-night send-off for departing soldiers to discover she's married - to a GI whose name she can barely remember, something like "Ratzkiwatzki" - and soon, that she's expecting. Her faithful admirer Norval Jones (Eddie Bracken), rejected by the Army because he gets the jitters and sees spots when he's nervous, and hopelessly devoted to her, rushes in to help. Their plan is for Norval to marry Trudy under the soldier's name. But his heroics only make matters worse, especially once Trudy's hot-tempered constable father (William Demarest) gets involved. Diana Lynn steals scenes as Trudy's wisecracking younger sister, Emmy, and Brian Donlevy and Akim Tamiroff reprise their roles from Sturges' "The Great McGinty." Before long, poor Norval is facing a laundry list of criminal charges. Made in 1942 but held back until early 1944, the film somehow slipped its racy premise past the censors, leaving critics astonished that the Hays Office had approved it. Sturges earned an Oscar nomination for his screenplay. You won't see the ending coming.