The FINALS - Screwball Comedy

[knitwit45]

Just because you didn't vote in the primary doesn't mean you can't vote in the general election (provided, ofcourse, you would vote for My Man Godfrey )

[ChiO]

The People have laffed and guffawed that MY MAN GODFREY is the SSO Favorite Screwball Comedy for 2011.

Thanks to all screwballs who participated.

[knitwit45]

yay! but I don't want to 'rub it in'.....YAY!!!!

[Dewey1960]

A great poll, yer honor!

[ChiO]

Thanks. My only regret is that I didn't get the Fix in on time.

[charliechaplinfan]

A fun poll, thank you ChiO.

[moira finnie]

Thanks for the trip through Screwball Alley, ChiO!

All the polls leading up to this moment can be seen in the Archive section found here:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/viewforum.php?f=81

[klondike]

I considered demanding a recount, but ChiO would no doubt need to call his ALDERMAN for a board review first!

[ChiO]

I ain't callin' my Alderman fer nuttin'.

The class I'm taking on Screwball Comedy is organized around actresses. The instructor had asked me for organizational ideas and I, of course, replied: Focus on the directors. You know, Hawks, Sturges and three other guys. Ergo, it is organized around actresses.

Session 1: It Happened One Night -- For me, it doesn't improve with repeated viewings.
Session 2: My Man Godfrey -- I'm sorry, but it just ain't funny to me. Class conflict? It is the antithesis of class conflict. It is a smug and condescending one-sided attack on the working class. But, more importantly, it just ain't funny to me. Sour grapes, anyone? Yum.
Session 3 (last night): Easy Living -- Ahh, finally, Heaven. As if Sturges and Leisen aren't enough, we get the Screwball Angel, Jean Arthur. Life -- and Living -- is good, even if not Easy.
Session 4 (upcoming): The Awful Truth

[kingrat]

ChiO, please keep us posted on the screwball comedy class. It would be interesting to hear the reactions of the students, and definitely we want to hear if another viewing of these classics has changed or reinforced your opinions. Sounds like it's the latter so far.

The "Hawks, Sturges, and three other guys" approach would definitely work as an organizing principle. On the other hand, some (Raymond Durgnat, for instance) have argued that screwball comedy basically depends on the stars. Question: are there successful screwball comedies without A List stars? You could point to successfuls noirs with lesser actors, but is the same true for screwball comedy?

[jdb1]

ChiO, please keep us posted on the screwball comedy class. It would be interesting to hear the reactions of the students, and definitely we want to hear if another viewing of these classics has changed or reinforced your opinions. Sounds like it's the latter so far.

The "Hawks, Sturges, and three other guys" approach would definitely work as an organizing principle. On the other hand, some (Raymond Durgnat, for instance) have argued that screwball comedy basically depends on the stars. Question: are there successful screwball comedies without A List stars? You could point to successfuls noirs with lesser actors, but is the same true for screwball comedy?

I'd say absolutely. What's needed are good comedic actors, and not necessarily big stars. I can think of several right off the bat that had lesser stars but lots of screwiness: Turnabout, Merrily We Live, and Remember Last Night ? I suppose all of those have some stars who are sometimes A-listers, but none has stars of the Lombard-Powell-Colbert-Gable-Grant-Hepburn level.

[JackFavell]

What about Midnight? Up until a year or so ago, it was considered a lesser picture, but now I think of it as a really high caliber screwball...I guess Colbert, Barrymore and Astor are not to be sneezed at. For me, the writing has a huge part in the success of a really great screwball.

[Dewey1960]

MIDNIGHT was an all-but-forgotten film until it was finally released onto DVD a few years back. That's when its stock shot way up. It also benefitted from showings on TCM once the network formulated a licensing arrangement with Universal. Personally, it's my favorite screwball comedy. I was disappointed to see it leave the competition so quickly!

[ChiO]

kingrat wrote:
ChiO, please keep us posted on the screwball comedy class. It would be interesting to hear the reactions of the students, and definitely we want to hear if another viewing of these classics has changed or reinforced your opinions. Sounds like it's the latter so far.

The class is about 25 persons or so. Probably half (maybe more) are 25 and under. The class is at a community college and the professor gives extra credit to his students (he's an English prof who just got his Ph.D. in English with a focus on Shakespeare's poetry -- hmmm, wonder what gave me the idea of Fave Bard Movies?) who show up at 3 of the 5 classes.

I've been stunned by the reaction to the movies. In almost all of the previous courses -- film noir, musicals, gangster, Sturges, 1939, horror, and others -- there is always a sizable segment who comment on how "old" the movies seem. I expected even more of that in this course. Once again, I was just out and out wrong. No such comments and lots of laughter...especially with My Man Godfrey (there's no accounting for taste, I guess). But Easy Living was very well received, too, and It Happened One Night, though probably #3 on the laugh-o-meter, got lots of yuks. And this from a crowd who, for the most part, had never heard of any of the actors with the exception of Clark Gable. Which leads to the question...

If one likes Screwball Comedies that have Big Stars, but one doesn't know they are Big Stars, is the presence of Big Stars important?

[movieman1957]

if one likes Screwball Comedies that have Big Stars, but one doesn't know they are Big Stars, is the presence of Big Stars important?

No. It just matters if its funny. I love to introduce "Easy Living" to people. They really enjoy it.