Screwball genius

Manohla Dargis discusses Preston Sturges, director of some of my favorite movies, on the occasion of a Film Forum series honoring Sturges. Dargis quotes his 11 rules for the box office:

1. A pretty girl is better than an ugly one.
2. A leg is better than an arm.
3. A bedroom is better than a living room.
4. An arrival is better than a departure.
5. A birth is better than a death.
6. A chase is better than a chat.
7. A dog is better than a landscape.
8. A kitten is better than a dog.
9. A baby is better than a kitten.
10. A kiss is better than a baby.
11. A pratfall is better than anything.