Cast Your Vote for Your Favorite Screwball Comedy
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MissGoddess
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pktrekgirl
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Well, we really should begin one...it's tradition, at this point.
But seriously...we can't really put it in Westerns...and we can't really put it in "Production Code Era". And we can't really put it in "Silents and Precodes'
So what to do with poor Coop?
Good thing I'm not drunk with administrative power, or he'd have his own FORUM by now.
Really...maybe we need to make a forum for The Stars....
But seriously...we can't really put it in Westerns...and we can't really put it in "Production Code Era". And we can't really put it in "Silents and Precodes'
So what to do with poor Coop?
Good thing I'm not drunk with administrative power, or he'd have his own FORUM by now.
Really...maybe we need to make a forum for The Stars....
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MissGoddess
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My two favorite "Screwball" comedies
Good evening everyone,
My two favorite comedies are both the product of one twisted mind. One, which airs on TCM periodically is probably already considered a classic and the other will no doubt be considered among the best ever made once it has a few more years under its' belt. I'm sure it's already considered by many to be a "modern" classic. What films am I speaking of pray tell? None other than "The Producers" and "Young Frankenstein" which both were brought to us by Mel Brooks, a comedic genius with few rivals in the modern era. The double entendres, sight gags and pure slapstick used to perfection in both films makes them both as funny as funny gets, although some might argue that "Blazing Saddles," another Mel Brooks movie, deserves equal consideration. There's no doubt that "Harvey", "You Can't Take it With You", "Arsenic and Old Lace", "My Man Godfrey", "Ball of Fire", "The Lady Eve" and almost all of the "Thin Man" series deserve a special place in the pantheon of great comedies brought to the screen, and deservedly so. There are literally too many to mention from Hollywood's "Golden Age" alone, but for laugh out loud hysterics, I really can't think of any others that bring about the kind of response that these two get no matter how often you see them. They say that in comedy, everything takes a backseat to timing, even the delivery. In my opinion, not since the days of the Marx Brothers have any other films been so perfectly paced and as full of laughs as these two. They're pure escapist productions that can bring you out of the doldrums in a heartbeat. Everybody has a favorite line from both movies, not coincidentally both starring Gene Wilder and Kenneth Mars. Whether it's from Marty Feldman, Harvey Korman, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman or Teri Garr, they're all set up and delivered with precise comedic timing and it's almost impossible to stop laughing between them. Peter Boyle as "The Monster!" Talk about a brilliant piece of casting! Who would have thought of him in this type of role after seeing him as Sen. Joseph McCarthy in "Tail Gunner Joe?" I could go on and on and I apologize for rambling but I love these movies. Wake up at 3am to find either one on and you can practically guarantee you won't be going back to sleep until they're over. I just think Mel Brooks is a genius (he did marry Anne Bancroft, didn't he?) and his work shows it. I honestly think that if he had been born in the age of Preston Sturges or Frank Capra, he would have given them both a run for their money! Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!
Thanks all and please forgive the verbosity (but that's just me)
Hollis
My two favorite comedies are both the product of one twisted mind. One, which airs on TCM periodically is probably already considered a classic and the other will no doubt be considered among the best ever made once it has a few more years under its' belt. I'm sure it's already considered by many to be a "modern" classic. What films am I speaking of pray tell? None other than "The Producers" and "Young Frankenstein" which both were brought to us by Mel Brooks, a comedic genius with few rivals in the modern era. The double entendres, sight gags and pure slapstick used to perfection in both films makes them both as funny as funny gets, although some might argue that "Blazing Saddles," another Mel Brooks movie, deserves equal consideration. There's no doubt that "Harvey", "You Can't Take it With You", "Arsenic and Old Lace", "My Man Godfrey", "Ball of Fire", "The Lady Eve" and almost all of the "Thin Man" series deserve a special place in the pantheon of great comedies brought to the screen, and deservedly so. There are literally too many to mention from Hollywood's "Golden Age" alone, but for laugh out loud hysterics, I really can't think of any others that bring about the kind of response that these two get no matter how often you see them. They say that in comedy, everything takes a backseat to timing, even the delivery. In my opinion, not since the days of the Marx Brothers have any other films been so perfectly paced and as full of laughs as these two. They're pure escapist productions that can bring you out of the doldrums in a heartbeat. Everybody has a favorite line from both movies, not coincidentally both starring Gene Wilder and Kenneth Mars. Whether it's from Marty Feldman, Harvey Korman, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman or Teri Garr, they're all set up and delivered with precise comedic timing and it's almost impossible to stop laughing between them. Peter Boyle as "The Monster!" Talk about a brilliant piece of casting! Who would have thought of him in this type of role after seeing him as Sen. Joseph McCarthy in "Tail Gunner Joe?" I could go on and on and I apologize for rambling but I love these movies. Wake up at 3am to find either one on and you can practically guarantee you won't be going back to sleep until they're over. I just think Mel Brooks is a genius (he did marry Anne Bancroft, didn't he?) and his work shows it. I honestly think that if he had been born in the age of Preston Sturges or Frank Capra, he would have given them both a run for their money! Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!
Thanks all and please forgive the verbosity (but that's just me)
Hollis
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pktrekgirl
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Screwballs!
I'd have to list the Preston Sturges films THE LADY EVE and PALM BEACH STORY at the top, followed closely by Hawks' BRINGING UP BABY and Mitchell Leisen's MIDNIGHT starring the wonderful Claudette Colbert.
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Sue Sue Applegate
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RE:
OH, HOLLLLLLLLLLLLLIS!
Young Frankenstein and The Producers are faves at this abode....Put ZAH CANDLE BACK!!!!!!
Young Frankenstein and The Producers are faves at this abode....Put ZAH CANDLE BACK!!!!!!
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movieman1957
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Re: Screwballs!
Another "Midnight" fan. Great. Now if somebody will show it so I can get a decent copy or be good enough to release the DVD we'll be a happier bunch.Dewey1960 wrote:I'd have to list the Preston Sturges films THE LADY EVE and PALM BEACH STORY at the top, followed closely by Hawks' BRINGING UP BABY and Mitchell Leisen's MIDNIGHT starring the wonderful Claudette Colbert.
I agree with "Palm Beach Story" too.
Chris
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
Last night my family watched "Libled Lady" on VHS. That is a terrific comedy (and it is fun seeing Spencer Tracy play a heel), and I always kick myself that I never saw it on a screen at the New Mayfield when I had a chance.
Besides "Libled Lady," I adore "My Man Godfrey," "Bringing Up Baby," (which I even saw in Moscow once, with a Russian soundtrack laid over the original one), "Twentieth Century," "The Lady Eve," "Great McGinty," "Midnight," "Palm Beach Story" and (if this counts as screwball) "Hail the Conquering Hero."
Besides "Libled Lady," I adore "My Man Godfrey," "Bringing Up Baby," (which I even saw in Moscow once, with a Russian soundtrack laid over the original one), "Twentieth Century," "The Lady Eve," "Great McGinty," "Midnight," "Palm Beach Story" and (if this counts as screwball) "Hail the Conquering Hero."
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movieman1957
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MissGoddess
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Bringing Up Baby in Moscow...how cool is that! Did the audience enjoy it?MikeBSG wrote:Last night my family watched "Libled Lady" on VHS. That is a terrific comedy (and it is fun seeing Spencer Tracy play a heel), and I always kick myself that I never saw it on a screen at the New Mayfield when I had a chance.
Besides "Libled Lady," I adore "My Man Godfrey," "Bringing Up Baby," (which I even saw in Moscow once, with a Russian soundtrack laid over the original one), "Twentieth Century," "The Lady Eve," "Great McGinty," "Midnight," "Palm Beach Story" and (if this counts as screwball) "Hail the Conquering Hero."
It was July 1995 when I saw "Bringing Up Baby" in Moscow at the Iluzion Cinema. They only let you in to the auditorium five minutes before showtime, so I was in the lobby. One wall of the lobby had photos of Soviet/Russian stars, one had Soviet/Russian directors, one had international stars and the other had international directors.
(I was surprised to see that Deanna Durbin was on the wall, but then I remembered she was one of the few Hollywood stars whose movies were shown in the USSR during WWII.)
One Russian mother and daughter came in. The daughter was college aged, and she wanted her mother to show her the photo of Clark Gable.
Anyway, the audience enjoyed the film "Bringing Up baby" a great deal. However, the biggest laugh I heard came when I saw "Tootsie" at the same cinema. It was when Dustin Hoffman comes home and Bill Murray calls him a slut. I couldn't get the actual Russian term they used, but the audience exploded with laughter at that moment.
(I was surprised to see that Deanna Durbin was on the wall, but then I remembered she was one of the few Hollywood stars whose movies were shown in the USSR during WWII.)
One Russian mother and daughter came in. The daughter was college aged, and she wanted her mother to show her the photo of Clark Gable.
Anyway, the audience enjoyed the film "Bringing Up baby" a great deal. However, the biggest laugh I heard came when I saw "Tootsie" at the same cinema. It was when Dustin Hoffman comes home and Bill Murray calls him a slut. I couldn't get the actual Russian term they used, but the audience exploded with laughter at that moment.
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MissGoddess
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Garbomaniac
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Well, I have to go with Twentieth Century! Lombard and Barrymore were an unbeatable team! For screwball, it gets my vote.
One other comedy I think may fall under the category of screwball is Hollywood Hotel, with Dick Powell and two of the Lane sisters, Rosemary and Lola. Crazy about that Hollywood farce!
One other comedy I think may fall under the category of screwball is Hollywood Hotel, with Dick Powell and two of the Lane sisters, Rosemary and Lola. Crazy about that Hollywood farce!