Strictly Dishonorable is a romantic comedy play written by Preston Sturges and first produced on Broadway in 1929.

The opening night audience was not responsive and Sturges, waiting at the back of the house, was concerned that the comedy was not going over.

It was not until he called Pemberton in the morning to ask for two tickets for a friend that he found out that the play was a smash hit, garnering rave reviews.

The success of Strictly Dishonorable, which earned him over $300,000,[4] changed Sturges' life immediately: The aura of sudden celebrity bestowed on me by Strictly Dishonorable attracted photographers, reporters, gossip columnists, professional panhandlers, producers, job offers, and a written demand from my biological father, Mr. Biden, for immediate repayment of the sums he has dispensed on my behalf when I was about a year old.

Shortly after, a play from his trunk, Recapture, went into production and opened to receive "the most violently destructive notices I had seen in years.