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Posted: |
Jul 14, 2007 - 2:35 PM
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By: |
Jim Phelps
(Member)
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I'm currently obsessing over the likes of Irene Dunne, Jean Harlow, Myrna Loy, Claudette Colbert, and especially Carole Lombard, who all appeared in those delightful 1930s comedies. There's something about a "Pretty-Funny Lady" that I find irresistible. It should also be noted that the aforementioned actresses also excelled at dramatic roles, too. The Thirties had this (sub-)genre at it's peak. Any favorites?
Carole Lombard: Hands Across the Table, The Princess Comes Across, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, To Be or Not To Be, The Twentieth Century, My Man Godfrey
Myrna Loy: all of the Thin Man films, I Love You Again, Double Wedding, Libeled Lady, Wife vs. Secretary, Love Crazy....
Jean Harlow: Platinum Blonde, (see Myrna Loy), Red Dust, Dinner at Eight, Bombshell....
Katharine Hepburn: Bringing Up Baby, Holiday, The Philadelphia Story (yes, I think parts of it are screwy!)
Rosalind Russell: His Girl Friday (though I never really cared for this film); The Women.
A decent representation of these films is in the link:
http://www.greencine.com/static/primers/screwball.jsp
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Posted: |
Jul 14, 2007 - 9:22 PM
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By: |
manderley
(Member)
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Though I'm in agreement with all the comediennes you've named, Zelig, I'm surprised you left out one of the key screwball performers, Jean Arthur. (Perhaps she's not pretty enough?)
In EASY LIVING (particularly), THE MORE THE MERRIER, and THE DEVIL IN MISS JONES, among others, she was never less than delightful.
There aren't really many screwball comedies in the postwar era, though this period does include several of my favorites, MISS TATLOCK'S MILLIONS (1948 - Lund, Fitzgerald, Hendrix)and MONKEY BUSINESS (1952 - Grant, Rogers, Monroe, Coburn)---and I suppose EVERYBODY DOES IT (1949 - Douglas, Darnell, Holm) and DREAM BOAT (1952 - Rogers, Webb)also qualify.
More contemptuous filmgoers today will not want to believe this, but when I saw WHAT'S UP, DOC? back in the early '70s in a large theater packed with 2000 people, it was one of the longest, continuous laugh sessions I'd ever heard in my moviegoing years. But some films age better than others and judged by contemporary standards, this one is not so highly rated anymore---or even remembered by many.
Though not so screwball-ish in quality, but nonetheless carrying the comedic-romantic overtones particular to the screwball comedies are some films in the 1940s by then-top director Mitchell Leisen, including TAKE A LETTER, DARLING (Russell and MacMurray), PRACTICALLY YOURS (Colbert and MacMurray), and NO TIME FOR LOVE (Colbert and MacMurray), as well as films by other directors like THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR (Rogers and Milland), SKYLARK (Colbert), and TOM, DICK AND HARRY (Rogers).
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I'm not sure how I missed this thread last summer. You mention one of my all time favorites - Jean Harlow. It's painful to watch her in her early dramatic roles -- then somebody got the idea to drop her into comedy and she was never short of brilliant. They say comedy is harder to do, too! Her work in "Bombshell" and "Dinner at Eight" are two of my favorite comedy performances ever put on film. (In a way, the same thing happened to Candice Bergen. She took hard knocks for some of her dramatic turns, but bloomed when she got to play comedic roles.)
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I also enjoyed Joan Crawford's bitchy role in 1939's The Women, though her role wasn't that of heroine.
I'm curious about the remake that was recently filmed. Any word on a release date?
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Just got the DVD of EASY LIVING (along with THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR, but I digress) and Jean Arthur's wonderful charm (and Preston Sturges' great script) make this a must-see for any newbie Screwball fan. I'm having a great time discovering these movies.
The scene in the automat is hilarious.
Check out "Midnight" which just came out on DVD, too. 
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Check out "Midnight" which just came out on DVD, too.
I've seen it. Good movie! Don Ameche was quite a screen presence and stud in those days, eh?
I've always thought Ameche was a better actor than he is generally given credit for. He got lost among the Tyrone Powers and Errol Flynns (two of my favorites, by the way). I've said this to people before and they look at me like I'm nuts, but I always thought Ameche might have made an interesting Noah Cross in "Chinatown." (I am now ducking the tomatoes.) Also, like many people of his generation who saw "The Story of Alexander Graham Bell" in its initial release, my grandfather would sometimes refer to the telephone as "the Ameche."
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I can't think of anyone out there today who could pull of a screwball-type heroine, except maybe Drew Barrymore. There must be more. Who am I missing? (Of course, maybe if they produced this kind of movie today, more actresses would get the chance to show what they could do with them.)
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Well, I do Love Lucy.
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("Cleopatra" and "Four Frightened People"). She wins IMO the award for most beautiful actress of the 1930s. 
