The Lady Eve (1941)
This is an amazing movie, one of my all time favorites. Barbara Stanwyck is a con artist and card shark, trained by her father to rob rich guys out of their money. She targets adorably naive and gullible Henry Fonda for her next scam, and ends up falling for him for real. Writer-director Preston Sturges only did a handful of movies in the 40's, over a span of 5 years. He burned out quick and died penniless, but the films he left behind showcase what a true talent he was. The screenplay is perfection, with an absolutely perfect semi-twist ending that i NEVER saw coming.
His Girl Friday (1940)
Probably the fastest spoken dialogue in the history of movies, it still amazes me to see how they did it. It's hard to pick between this and The Lady Eve for my favorite, but i'd have to say this one is probably funnier but less romantic (hence, why Eve just edges it out for me). Still, this movie is HILARIOUS, i don't think i stopped laughing the entire way through it. Cary Grant has his funniest role ever here, as a newspaper editor who tricks his ex-wife Rosalind Russell into sticking around for a murder case story in order to stop her from getting remarried. Love this one.
It Happened One Night (1934)
One of the earliest screwball comedies ever made, and one of the best. I think it's actually Frank Capra's least sentimental work as well. Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert are on the road, running from society girl Colbert's father, who's forcing her to marry a guy she doesn't love. Gable is secretly a journalist out for the story (kind of a precursor to Roman Holiday). This also has one of the most famous and influential runaway bride scenes of all time, you'll know it when you see it. Swept the Oscars in 1934, winning Best Picture, Director, Actor and Actress.
Bringing Up Baby (1938)
This is usually the one people reference when they're trying to come up with an example for the definition of a "screwball comedy." Ridiculous plot, rapid-fire dialogue, absurd situations, fast pace, etc. In my opinion it's not as funny as His Girl Friday, but you should definitely see it anyway. Cary Grant is lampooning Harold Lloyd with his nerdy paleontologist, and this is definitely one of Katharine Hepburn's best and most different performances.
My Man Godfrey (1936)
Starring William Powell (from The Thin Man, one of my favorite movies ever) and Carole Lombard (one of the few star comediennes in all of film history), this is a great one just as much for its snapshot of America right in the midst of the Great Depression. Carole Lombard is a rich airhead who picks up a homeless bum to come home and be the butler for her insane family. There are quite a few movies in the 30's that loved making fun of the wealthy, showing them off as buffoons and crooks who don't deserve what they have. (It's a theme that's brought up in The Lady Eve as well).
No comments:
Post a Comment