I'm stuck. I want to say that Scorsese or Elia Kazan are my favorite directors, but it's Kubrick's great, diverse body of work (i cluding gems like Strangelove) that perhaps gives him the dark horse lead. And the prize? I'll write kind shit about him on Flixster when I should actually be getting some work done.
Again, Preston Sturges: exceedingly smart and witty. Barbara Stanwyck is both sexy and sufficiently silly in this great movie. Henry Fonda is hilarious as the "aw shucks" target of her con.