Comedy

  • Joshua Logan – Bus Stop (1956)

    1951-1960ComedyJoshua LoganMarilyn MonroeRomanceUSA

    Synopsis:
    When cowboy Beau and his friend Virgil take the bus from Montana to Phoenix, Arizona, to participate in the rodeo, Beau is also hoping to find his “angel”. There, virginal Beau falls in love with cafe singer “hillbilly” Chérie performing “That Old Black Magic” and plans to take her back to Montana. The next day, he intends to marry her after the rodeo, but she escapes. She wants to go Hollywood, where she hopes to be discovered. But Beau tracks her down, and forces her on the bus back to Montana. On the way, they stop at Grace’s Diner. Read More »

  • Vojtech Jasný – Az prijde kocour AKA The Cassandra Cat (1963)

    1961-1970ComedyCzech RepublicFantasyVojtech Jasný

    Quote:
    Some people with a strange cat arrive in a small village. The cat wears glasses, and when someone takes them off, she can colour people, according to their nature and mood. The grown-ups of the village consider the cat to be dangerous, but the kids just love her…Read More »

  • Luciano Emmer – Parigi è sempre Parigi AKA Paris is Always Paris (1951)

    1951-1960ClassicsComedyItalyLuciano Emmer

    Parigi e Sempre Parigi (Paris is Always Paris) was the second feature-length effort from famed Italian documentary director Luciano Emmer. Whereas Emmer’s first feature, Domenica d’Agosto (Sunday in August) was a warm-hearted study of the Italian middle class, Parigi concentrates on a gentle cultural clash between a band of Italian sports fans and the citizenry of Paris. The hero, DeAngelis (Aldo Fabrizi), has heard so much about “naughty Paree” that he’s determined to experience that naughtiness first hand. This plot device, of course, obliges the director to introduce several delectable French mademoiselles in the proceedings. Ultimately, DeAngelis realizes that reports of French libertinism have been grossly exaggerated, but he has a high old time finding this out.Read More »

  • Irvin Kershner – The Flim-Flam Man (1967)

    1961-1970ComedyCrimeIrvin KershnerUSA

    Mordecai Jones is a rural con artist (a ‘flim-flam man’) who takes on a young army deserter; Curley as his protege, and teaches him the tricks of the trade. Sheriff Slade is in hot pursuit of the pair, and rich girl Bonnie Lee Packard becomes romantically involved with Curley, and helps the fleeing duo stay one step ahead of the sheriff.Read More »

  • Ernst Lubitsch – Die Puppe AKA The Doll (1919)

    ComedyErnst LubitschGermanySilentWeimar Republic cinema

    Quote:
    The Baron of Chanterelle (Max Kronert) demands that his nephew Lancelot (Hermann Thimig) get married to preserve the family line. A skittish and effeminate fellow, Lancelot does not wish to marry, so when his uncle presents him with 40 enthusiastic brides, he hides out with a group of monks. The gluttonous monks learn about Lancelot’s potential cash reward for his nuptials, so they cook up a plan: he can marry a doll…Read More »

  • Wen Jiang – Guizi lai le AKA Devils on the Doorstep (2000)

    1991-2000ChinaComedyFifth Generation Chinese CinemaWarWen Jiang

    Stephen Holden in the New York Times wrote:
    [The film] belongs to that rarefied breed of antiwar movie that adopts a lofty satirical distance from its characters’ plight. By turns farcical and horrifying, it scrupulously avoids plucking heartstrings to portray the soldiers and peasants alike as paranoid fools buffeted by the shifting winds of war…While acknowledging that war is hell, it goes further to suggest it is ludicrous.Read More »

  • Stephen Frears – The Van (1996)

    1991-2000ComedyDramaStephen FrearsUnited Kingdom

    Bittersweet comedy about two unemployed Dubliners who open a mobile fish and chip shop. The film is set in a working class suburb of the Irish capital against the backdrop of the 1990 World Cup, when Jackie’s army made it into the quarter finals.Read More »

  • Charles Barton – The Noose Hangs High (1948)

    1941-1950Charles BartonClassicsComedyUSA

    For their first independently-produced vehicle, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello chose to appear in a remake of the 1939 Universal programmer For Love or Money. Bud and Lou are cast as Ted and Tommy, two bumbling window washers hired by gangster Mike Craig (Joseph Calleila) to collect a $50,000 gambling debt. The boys manage to pick up the money, only to deliver it to the wrong person, a pretty private secretary named Carol (Cathy Downs). Ordered to retrieve the money within 24 hours “or else,” Ted and Tommy trace the cash to Carol, who has mistakenly distributed it amongst the entries in a mailing list. Read More »

  • Bertrand Blier – Les valseuses AKA Going Places (1974)

    1971-1980Bertrand BlierComedyCrimeFrance

    Quote:
    Two whimsical, aimless thugs harass and assault women, steal, murder, and alternately charm, fight, or sprint their way out of trouble. They take whatever the bourgeois characters value: whether it’s cars, peace of mind, or daughters. Marie-Ange, a jaded, passive hairdresser, joins them as lover, cook, and mother confessor. She’s on her own search for seemingly unattainable sexual pleasure.Read More »

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