Category Archives: dig the critics

Here’s an seemingly rare favorable review for the last film that the great Preston Sturges directed, Les Carnets du Major Thompson aka The Diary of Major Thompson aka The French, They Are a Funny Race (you know, the more titles a film has, the better it generally is). By 1955, the year of this film’s release in France, Sturges was living in greatly reduced circumstances (compared to his Hollywood heyday) in Paris where someone (I forget the particulars but I’ll sort them out and add an update) allowed him to direct this film. It did nothing to restore his career. This surprisingly kind review appeared in the January 1958 issue of Films and Filming. Sturges fan that I am, I am somewhat embarrassed to report that this is his one film that I have not yet been able to see (if anyone out there knows how I can check this one out please make me aware), but it is usually dismissed as an unfortunate final act to an otherwise (more or less) great career.