Making Movies is Easy

Preston Sturges wrote up a list in 1941:

Rules for Box Office Appeal


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.