Comedy

  • Vera Chytilova – Hra o jablko aka The Apple Game (1976)

    1971-1980ComedyCzech RepublicDramaVera Chytilová

    Since he works many hours in the maternity ward of a Czech hospital, the comic couplings of a young doctor take place in whatever out-of-the way spots he can find. Sometimes he has a few free hours, and he takes his women to a secluded spot. Some of these spots have become legends: once he took his girl to a junkyard, and their lovemaking became the object of attention of a horde of workers poised on cranes in any spot they could find. His two primary loves are the wife of the head of the clinic and one of the nurses there. When he discovers that he is falling in love with the nurse, he proposes marriage, but she is much too independent to put up with the likes of him for long – even if she is pregnant with his child.Read More »

  • Henry Kaplan – The Girl on the Boat (1962)

    1961-1970ClassicsComedyHenry KaplanUnited Kingdom

    Set during the 1920s, two English cousins, Samuel (Wisdom) and Eustace (Briers), are returning home from New York aboard a transatlantic liner. Whilst a seasick Eustace is laid-up ill in bed, Samuel falls in love with his cousin’s ex-fiancée Billie (Martin), and attempts to woo her into accepting his marriage proposal. Complications on the journey ensue further when Eustace becomes the target of Jane’s (Hancock) affections; a plain woman who is also coincidently Billie’s cabin mate. When Samuel lands back in Southampton, he mimics his Aunt Hignett’s (Athene Seyler) voice on the phone and manages to deceive Billie, her latest fiancé Bream (Philip Locke) and his father J.P Mortimer, into believing they can rent his aunt’s empty cottage for the summer. Read More »

  • Alan Dossor – Star Quality (1985)

    1981-1990Alan DossorBBCComedyDramaUnited Kingdom

    Part of the Noel Coward collection. In 1940’s England, a young playwright is getting his first play produced by an important director. But the director wants to get a temperamental actress for the lead. And when Lorraine Barry arrives at the first reading, the battle is begun between director and star, with the poor playwright caught in the middle.Read More »

  • Sacha Guitry – Je l’ai été 3 fois! AKA I Was It Three Times (1952)

    1951-1960ClassicsComedyFranceSacha Guitry

    Jean Renneval, a mature and attractive stage actor, seduces Thérèse Verdier, a beautiful woman whom he notices attending the play one evening. Henri Verdier, her husband, is about to leave in a business appointment, but he makes arrangements with Henriette – Thérèse’s friend – to stay at his place, and sleep there after dinner. He has learned from his first two earlier wives: Lucie cuckoo-ed him with Hector van Broken, his look-a-like; and Juliette with the sultan Hammanlif. His friend Marinier goes with him in the car to the railway station, and during their conversation, Verdier decides to return home – only to find he has been betrayed a third time. Renneval leaves the bedroom already dressed and composed with his costume of cardinal, and with his rhetoric convinces Verdier to accept his fate.Read More »

  • René Clément – Soigne ton gauche AKA Watch Your Left (1936)

    1931-1940ComedyFranceRené ClémentShort Film

    A boxer is out in the country with his entourage, training for his next fight. Meanwhile, on the farm nearby, Roger is neglecting his chores. As he watches the boxer and his sparring partners at work, Roger starts to fantasize about being a boxer himself. Then, when none of the boxer’s sparring partners can continue, he is asked to fill in, although he doesn’t know anything about how to box.Read More »

  • Cedric Messina & Noel Coward – Hay Fever (1984)

    1981-1990BBCCedric MessinaComedyNoel CowardUnited Kingdom

    BBC Two England, 26 December 1984 19.25
    Synopsis
    by NOEL COWARD

    It is a warm Saturday afternoon in Cookham. The Bliss family is settling down to a quiet weekend. It is a weekend which turns out to be anything but quiet.Read More »

  • Jacques Tati – L’école des facteurs AKA The School for Postmen (1947)

    1941-1950ComedyFranceJacques TatiShort Film

    Synopsis:
    School for Postmen (French: L’École des facteurs) is a short film directed by Jacques Tati in 1947. Tati plays a French postman adamant to prove he can be just as fast as American postmen at delivering mail. The film includes several sight gags that involve his bicycle. He replicated most of the action here in his first major feature film, Jour de fête, released two years later.Read More »

  • John Paddy Carstairs – One Good Turn (1955)

    1951-1960ClassicsComedyJohn Paddy CarstairsUnited Kingdom

    Synopsis:
    Norman is the oldest orphan at Greenwood Children’s Home and now acts as their caretaker. All the orphans are very happy and well cared for. The adventures start when a nasty property developer (boo hiss) who is also the chairman of the orphanage board wants to close the orphanage and build a factory on the site. The children are sent to Brighton for the day and Norman is very excited because he’s “Never seen the Sea”. When they get back they discover the plan to close the orphanage and have to decide what to do.Read More »

  • Sébastien Betbeder – 2 automnes 3 hivers AKA 2 Autumns, 3 Winters (2013)

    2011-2020ComedyFranceSébastien Betbeder

    Synopsis:
    Arman is 33 and ready to make a change, starting with a run in the park. When he literally bumps into Amélie – slightly cynical but nevertheless lovely – on the jogging path, he’s dead-set on making a connection with her. As a bit of contrived fate brings them together, Arman’s best friend Benjamin suffers an unexpected stroke, relegating him to the hospital for weeks where he falls for his doting young physical therapist. Over the course of two autumns and three winters, Arman, Amélie and Benjamin share the incidental moments, unexpected accidents, unconventional love stories and unforgettable memories that will define who they are.Read More »

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