11 Rules for Box-Office Appeal

In 1941, a year after his movie, The Great McGinty, won the first ever Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, celebrated screenwriter/director and "father of the screwball comedy," Preston Sturges, drew up the following "eleven rules for box-office appeal."

(Source: The Cinema of Preston Sturges: A Critical Study; Image: Preston Sturges, via PBS.)

• A pretty girl is better than an ugly one.
• A leg is better than an arm.
• A bedroom is better than a living room.
• An arrival is better than a departure.
• A birth is better than a death.
• A chase is better than a chat.
• A dog is better than a landscape.
• A kitten is better than a dog.
• A baby is better than a kitten.
• A kiss is better than a baby.
• A pratfall is better than anything.

Also see: Movie trends for 2013 @ guardian.co.uk