Preston Sturges and four by Elliott J. Clawson.) Though he had a thirty-year Hollywood career, Sturges' greatest comedies were filmed in a furious five-year burst of activity from 1939 to 1944, during which he turned out "The Great McGinty", "Christmas in July", "The Lady Eve", "Sullivan's Travels", "The Palm Beach Story", "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek" and "Hail the Conquering Hero". Half a century later, four of these – "The Lady Eve", "Sullivan's Travels", "The Palm Beach Story" and "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek" – were chosen by the American Film Institute as being among the 100 funniest American films. The film
Christmas in July (film) work to assign him, including doctoring the script of "Diamond Jim". Once that task was completed, Sturges' mentor at the studio, producer Henry Henigson, left, leaving nobody at Universal to champion Sturges' film. Once Sturges himself moved to Paramount, he made a deal with the studio to buy the script for $6,000. William Holden and Betty Fields were to have played the leads, with Arthur Hornblow Jr. as producer. Production on "Christmas in July" began on June 1st, 1940 and continued through June 29th. According to author Donald Spoto in his book "Madcap: The Life of Preston Sturges", Sturges directed