Golden Age Comedy Hall of Fame (1952-1976)

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Women will be your undoing, Pépé



Charade

Reggie Lampert: Of course, you won't be able to lie on your back for a while but then you can lie from any position, can't you?

I've read a few reviews disputing whether or not this should be here or if it is more suspense than comedy.

Well, I have found, for me, it's both.
Comedy and Suspense very nicely married. If it was entirely one or the other, I don't think it'd be as enjoyable a film.

Hepburn, along with her conversations with Grant, carries nearly all of the comedy and the bad guys truly excel as bad guys. Not foibles, or bumbling villains, but all-out bad guys.
Kennedy and Coburn do what they do best and do an excellent job here. And with that, we get a wonderful balance between the light-hearted scenarios between Grant and Hepburn. More so when Hepburn reacts to trying desperately to get through the mystery she has been dropped in the midst of. Then, figuring out the players WITHOUT any kind of concrete assistance.
She is beyond adorable. Her reactions are gems and the banter between. . . well, actually, everyone, is rather spot on.
And before I forget, I MUST include Matthau and his manipulations and attempts to steer Hepburn's character to where he needs her to be.

Together as a comedy AND suspense, we have a more complete and very lovely film. One I am truly happy to have finally come around and watched.
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A Shot in the Dark (1964)

This is the second installment of the “Pink Panther” series, and Peter Sellers’ second of five portrayals of the bumbling
French Inspector Jacques Clouseau (surely a pun on the marine scientist’s name, Jacques Cousteau). Sellers’ role in the initial The Pink Panther went over so famously that the David Niven character of Sir Charles Lytton, an upper crust jewlel thief, was in subsequent sequels discarded in order to star Sellers’ Clouseau exclusively.

And star, he did. There was never a funnier character to fracture an accent, misunderstand a situation, show such false bravura, or bumble so hilariously as did Sellers’ Clouseau.

The initial murder of the chauffeur, and the ensuing plot by itself might have been confusing enough to stand alone as a mystery, but with all the shenanigans and side stories, along with Sellers’ continual gags, the story weaves a near perfect narrative building to a tidy conclusion.

In many of the funniest scenes Benjamin Ballon (George Sanders) plays a millionaire straight man to Sellers’ antics. The billiard room
fumbling gags are some of the funniest in the film. And what would a Clouseau story be without the aide and interference of his faithful manservant Cato Fong (Burt Kwouk). The running joke of Cato’s attacks on Clouseau at inconvenient times in order to test Jacques’ alertness and prowess is durable enough to remain fresh and riotous throughout the entire series.

And too, Herbert Lom’s Commissioner Dreyfus is a witty adversarial story that
has Dreyfus deteriorate throughout the film, and feels fresh and funny. Unfortunately in later remakes that particular story line became over-used and too ludicrous.

This is my favorite of the Clouseau “Pink Panther” movies. Spoonerisms, such as, “He flew into a jealous Rit of Fage” are peppered throughout Clouseu’s dialogue. Sometimes the joke goes by, and
on into the next line before one realizes what he meant to say. Reviewing this particular film causes me to want to go back and watch the other films in the series. But this particular movie is among the funniest gems of the 1960s.

~Doc



Singin’ in the Rain (1952)

Stars Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, Debbie Reynolds, and Jean Hagen

One of the greatest and well loved of the MGM musicals, this musical comedy features a breath-taking display of physical comedy and popular songs. Long overshadowed by the previous year’s An American in Paris, “SITR” has gradually replaced the earlier film in the hearts and minds of the public.

It’s a cute plot, set in the era straddling the end of the silent films and the beginning of the talkies. A silent screen star Don (Kelly) must make a talkie with his promoted paramour Lina (Hagen), but Lina has a horrible NYC accent. So Don and his best friend Cosmo (O’Connor) enlist the aid of a chorus girl Kathy (Reynolds) to dub Lina’s voice. Naturally everything gets exposed, and Don & Kathy ultimately prevail as heroes and lovers.

The big number is, of course, Kelly’s magnificent “Singin’ in the Rain”. Who could forget his luminous happiness and total involvement in this iconic dance and song sequence? The number actually took several days and a few edits to complete, but it moves along effortlessly.

But yet two other numbers are some of the cutest and most athletically demanding in musical comedy. The first is the phenomenal physical comedy of Donald O’Connor in “Make ‘em Laugh”. His Buster Keaton type pratfalls, and slapstick gyrations make the routine a near monumental feat. Considered by some to be the dance equal or even superior of Gene Kelly’s, the routine had few, if any, edits. Reportedly after a perfect take, due to a technical film error, he had to turn around and do the entire scene over again. He’s rumored to have spent several days in bed recuperating following the physically exhausting experience. The music itself was a "shameless plagiarism" of Cole Porter's "Be a Clown", but Porter allowed it in gratitude for composer Arthur Freed's historical support of Porter.

And then there’s the “Good Morning” number featuring the 3 leads, which evidently took 40 takes to shoot the tricky final part. Dancing over those couches was very precarious, and if one fumbled, it had to be done all over again.

The ballet dream sequence must be mentioned with Kelly and the incomparable Cyd Charisse (her only part in the film). It’s both lovely and titillating in its scope. Sharp eyes have picked out a camera edit during the routine when Charisse was about to wrap her legs around Kelly’s waist. That was a no-no for the censors, despite that it’s a common ballet move. The scene would logically have been done with Reynolds, but with no ballet experience, Charisse was brought in as a second choice after Leslie Caron was busy.

Just the same, at an hour and 43 minutes, this wonderful film has plenty to offer comedy fans as well as musical and dance moviegoers.

~Doc



Women will be your undoing, Pépé



Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Major T. J. "King" Kong: Survival kit contents check. In them you'll find: one forty-five caliber automatic; two boxes of ammunition; four days' concentrated emergency rations; one drug issue containing antibiotics, morphine, vitamin pills, pep pills, sleeping pills, tranquilizer pills; one miniature combination Russian phrasebook and Bible; one hundred dollars in rubles; one hundred dollars in gold; nine packs of chewing gum; one issue of prophylactics; three lipsticks; three pair of nylon stockings. Shoot, a fella' could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff.

Had a strange reaction to this dark comedic masterpiece upon this viewing.
When I was a youngster and with what little I saw of this at the time, I thought it too outlandish and over the top to ever occur.
Now, it all seemed EXCEEDINGLY possible and this old fart was besieged with worry and concern just how easily this would all go down in a very similar route.
Making for a very intense drama, since such eccentric atrocities are now, everyday and commonplace.

Scary, scary sh#t.

Which, I would believe, at the very heart of this "biting satire" is Kubrick's agenda to warn and alert us to the nutcases running the show.
Beneath the comedy, which is very spot on, played with a seriousness that creates comedy out of a dark place with incredible design and innovation. Like with so many of his films, Kubrick should be applauded for that creative talent and insight. Even more so for doing it at such a precarious time of history as well as remaining equally poignant, over fifty years later.

Very f@ckin impressive.

A brilliant satire and an excellent film.






Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Major T. J. "King" Kong: Survival kit contents check. In them you'll find: one forty-five caliber automatic; two boxes of ammunition; four days' concentrated emergency rations; one drug issue containing antibiotics, morphine, vitamin pills, pep pills, sleeping pills, tranquilizer pills; one miniature combination Russian phrasebook and Bible; one hundred dollars in rubles; one hundred dollars in gold; nine packs of chewing gum; one issue of prophylactics; three lipsticks; three pair of nylon stockings. Shoot, a fella' could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff.

Had a strange reaction to this dark comedic masterpiece upon this viewing.
When I was a youngster and with what little I saw of this at the time, I thought it too outlandish and over the top to ever occur.
Now, it all seemed EXCEEDINGLY possible and this old fart was besieged with worry and concern just how easily this would all go down in a very similar route.
Making for a very intense drama, since such eccentric atrocities are now, everyday and commonplace.

Scary, scary sh#t.

Which, I would believe, at the very heart of this "biting satire" is Kubrick's agenda to warn and alert us to the nutcases running the show.
Beneath the comedy, which is very spot on, played with a seriousness that creates comedy out of a dark place with incredible design and innovation. Like with so many of his films, Kubrick should be applauded for that creative talent and insight. Even more so for doing it at such a precarious time of history as well as remaining equally poignant, over fifty years later.

Very f@ckin impressive.

A brilliant satire and an excellent film.
Great review...as you mentioned, this film has only gotten more timely with the passing of time.



Some Like It Hot (1959)

For some reason, the source of which has alluded me, this wonderful film always seemed to me as though it had been a relatively recent release. The feeling asserted itself in the late 1960s, and never really vanished until the turn of the 21st Century.

Be that as it may, this Billy Wilder masterpiece --based upon an early French film, Fanfare of Love-- consistently occupies the top of most lists of great comedies, as well as great films of all stripes. The casting, the story line, the dialogue, the locations, the photography-- there were really no weaknesses in this picture.

Most everyone knows the story: Set in 1929, two out of work Chicago musicians (Lemmon, Curtis) who have accidentally witnessed a gangland crime, decide to dress in drag in order to join an all female band that has a gig in Miami, so as to escape the mob’s wrath and to make some money. The band’s voluptuous singer (Monroe) becomes a love interest for Curtis, while Lemmon (as a woman) is pursued by a millionaire yachtsman (Joe E. Brown).

Transvestism, along with the hint of bisexualty, were pretty shocking and naughty subjects in 1959. So a film which lampooned these as a basis for a comedy --although upsetting to the censors-- was hilarious and well received by the public. In fact it won 3 Golden Globes, 1 Oscar, and a bunch of other awards and nominations.

The story line, the comic timing and portrayals (especially by Jack Lemmon) were flawless. Marilyn Monroe was never more voluptuous, often practically spilling out of her sexy dresses designed by Orry-kelly. Her “full figure” was due to her reported pregnancy during filming, although she later miscarried.

This is one of a small number of films that can be watched again and again. Its setting during Prohibition makes it timely, and it sits on a pedestal, always beckoning for another watch, another laugh-- a treasure, and one of Billy Wilder’s finest.

~Doc



Teacher’s Pet (1958)

Written by the husband & wife team of Fay and Michael Kanin (Woman of the Year, How to Commit Marriage), it tells the tale of a hard boiled newspaper editor (Clark Gable) who, having been forced by his boss to help a favored lady journalism teacher (Doris Day) with her class, decides to masquerade as a student instead, and to force her to see the real hard knocks side of newspaper journalism. Predictably a romantic attraction develops, and in the end they each are able to see the other’s point of view.

Gable had become long in the tooth by 1958, his 4 pack a day smoking habit and a heart condition aging him beyond his years. Sadly he would make only three more films before his demise in 1960 at aged 59. Reportedly the film was shot in black & white to visually ameliorate the effects of his aging.

That said, Gable turned in a wonderful performance of journeyman’s breadth, honed from years of starring roles. Because he had been so familiar as a superstar for 30 years, it’s easy to forget what a first rate actor he was. His facial expressions and charisma would have allowed him to be a top silent era star.

Doris Day was at her adorable and sexy best. She’d been a rising star since Hitchcock chose her for The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), and was perfect casting for her role as a college teacher. Gig Young turned in a memorable performance as Day’s casual boyfriend. Mamie Van Doren does a patented impersonation of Marilyn Monroe in her role as Gable’s chi-chi girlfriend. And there was a small but necessary part played by Nick Adams, who was to continue similar immature young man portrayals in films such as Day’s Pillow Talk (1959)

The film’s chief detraction is it’s length. Putting it another way, the script’s side stories were not compelling enough to sustain their exposition. I’m a fan of two hour movies, but they really have to have the goods to warrant the screen time. Here, trimming 20 minutes or so would have tightened up the narrative.

Despite Gable’s age and continuing health concerns, he followed Teacher’s Pet with an even better written and enjoyable film, But Not for Me (1959), with Lilli Palmer and Carroll Baker, where he had the opportunity to continue his comic battles with maturity, along with his patented masculine charisma. Still, Teacher’s Pet is one of the better comedies of the later ’50s, and is a great example of a veteran actor still with a punch.

~Doc



I'm wondering if I'm the last guy who's not completed his 14? Y'all might be wanting to wrap this up early. I've got two more, which will come along within a week.

~Doc















Murder by Death and A Shot in the Dark are a pair of murder mystery comedies. One I loved and the other I hated. In Murder by Death a collection of the worlds most famous detectives arrive at a estate because of a claim that a murder is going to happen. In A Shot in the Dark an inspector shows up to investigate the murder of a chauffer.



The big difference between the films is where the humor comes from. Neil Simon smartly spends the majority of the film with his character introductions finding the humor from the figures in the story. A Shot in the dark takes a different approach and plays the case on a larger scale jumping from scene to scene or more importantly from bit to bit.



If the bits work than the film works but if the bits fail well then we're left with not a whole lot left and that was my feelings for A Shot in the Dark. Murder by Death on the other hand does lose quite a bit of it's self at the end the end result is completely ridiculous with fake masks and double fake outs of characters and I'm not entirely sure just what happens at the end...but I enjoyed what I saw leading up to it.



I'm wondering if I'm the last guy who's not completed his 14? Y'all might be wanting to wrap this up early. I've got two more, which will come along within a week.

~Doc

Well.. @gbgoodies has to post his reviews of his nominees, but I have his list. I still have two more writeups to do and two more movies to watch.

GulfportDoc
Murder by Death
What's Up Doc

@Gideon58
The Odd Couple (his nomination)
Young Frankenstein

@edarsenal
Divorce American Style
PillowTalk
Singing in the Rain
Teachers Pet

Siddon
Divorce American Style
Some Like it Hot
Teachers Pet








What's Up Doc (1972) is one of those "wacky" comedies in the same vein as It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Though this plays a bit more like a romantic comedy with Barbara Streisand putting in an amazing performance as a failed college student who tries to get with a PHD in Ryan Oneal. The mcguffin of the story is a group of plaid suitcases which each feature different important things and the people attempting to steal those cases.

A number of the characters were fairly ugly, as a matter of fact I don't think a single person in this film is redeemable if you really break them down to their basic characteristics.

I suppose Bogdovich wanted the film to feel like a cartoon but I just found characters like Eunice and Hugh to be unwatchable and annoying as they were just so broad figures.




What's Up Doc (1972)
I suppose Bogdovich wanted the film to feel like a cartoon but I just found characters like Eunice and Hugh to be unwatchable and annoying as they were just so broad figures.
I watched interview with Bogdanovich during the making of the film. He said he was making a 1930s style screw ball comedy like Bringing Up Baby.



Well.. @gbgoodies has to post his reviews of his nominees, but I have his list. I still have two more writeups to do and two more movies to watch.

GulfportDoc
Murder by Death
What's Up Doc
...
Thanks, Siddon. I was wondering where we stood.

Actually I posted a review of Murder by Death back on August 27th. But I've yet to do What's Up, Doc? and Young Frankenstein.

~Doc



What's Up Doc? (1972)

This has been one of my favorite comedies since first watching it in the theater in 1972. It's one of those films in which the laughs keep coming, oftentimes piling up to where one is forced to catch a breath.

Preceded by The Last Picture Show, and followed by Paper Moon, all great films, Peter Bogdanovich was on a roll. He has done many comedies, but to my knowledge "Doc" is his only "screwball" comedy. And screwball it is. The story involves the misplacement and confusion over four identical plaid suitcases, one of which contains some type of government secret documents; another one holds stolen jewels. The others belong to the two leads.

Everyone gets their suitcase shuffled around, which leads to an explosive exposition in a San Francisco hotel. Along the way there is scene after scene of sight gags, pratfalls, and absurdities, which take the characters through Chinatown, down San Fransisco's steep streets, including the famous Lombard Sreet, and even into San Fransisco Bay. The film is nicely woven together and finishes up with a perfect ending.

Being a romantic comedy, the two leads --Barbara Streisand and Ryan O'Neal-- are not called upon for dramatic heft. But sharp timing and chemistry are required, and delivered. Both stars were at the period in their lives where they were very attractive and appealing, and they film beautifully. Both are successful at comedy, with Streisand showing a broader palette.

But it is the writing and the supporting cast who fashion this picture into a comedic farce which steams along, maintaining a full tilt pace for all of its 94 minutes. Bogdanovich's story is perfected by the inestimable Buck Henry along with David Newman and Robert Benton, who all won the Writer's Guild of America Award for this film.

Madeline Kahn, as O'Neal's stodgy wife Eunice Burns was nominated for a Golden Globe. The cast was peppered with strong talent: Kenneth Mars as an effete conceited slavic musicologist was an integral part of the script. Other comic heavyweights were John Hillerman, Randy Quaid, and Austin Pendleton. The venerable Liam Dunn played a judge, and even M. Emmett Walsh did a turn as an arresting officer. This was a dream cast.

This movie fired on all burners. It was hilarious, suggestive and sexy-- all within a "G" rating. If only more films like this one could be made!

~Doc



Young Frankenstein (1974)

Early in the movie, when Frederick Frankenstein (FRONK-en-steen) arrives by train at his homeland, and asks a young kid, “Pardon me boy, is this the Transylvania Station?”, the Glenn Miller pun alerts us that this could be a very clever movie. And clever it is—arguably the funniest Mel Brooks produced film; and Brooks doesn’t even appear in it.

The screenplay by Brooks and Gene Wilder was of course based upon the classic Frankenstein (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935). Wilder’s influence served to tamp down Brooks’ penchant for sub-Marx Bothers and daffy over-the-top comedy. There was a little of that, but in the main the gags, puns, and send-offs hit their targets with delightful accuracy.

In addition the wonderful photography perfectly captured the feel of the earlier films, the black and white images illustrated the mysteriousness of the period and its eerie wonderment. But it was the film’s pacing that set it apart from Brooks’ previous work. The editing kept it tight, and the pauses and timing were perfectly shaped.

All in the cast were at the peak of their popularity in 1974: Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Terri Garr, Madelyn Kahn, Cloris Leachman, and the inimitable Marty Feldman. For icing on the cake we get Kenneth Mars, Gene Hackman, and Liam Dunn.

The film was not only a clever comedy and satire, but it also showed a touching side of Boyle’s monster, Wilder’s Frankenstein, and a unique relationship between the two. There are too many gags to reference, but one favorite that recurred throughout the picture was every time the fearsome Frau Blucher’s name was spoken, horses reared up and whinnied in terror in the background.

Many good comedies suffer from a disjointed ending. That’s not the case here. All the story lines are brought to satisfying and humorous outcomes, and true love is found by both Frankenstein AND his monster.

~Doc



Women will be your undoing, Pépé



Teacher's Pet

Edna Kovac: I don't care what anybody says, I like you.

That quote is from one of my favorite and most touching scene from this film.
It's in the last few minutes and it surmises the meeting of minds between the hard-nosed belief in only experience is the true teacher and the scholar's belief that "Education teaches a man how to spell experience."
It regards a woman, who we meet in the very beginning of the movie, who wants her son, who works with Gable's character to leave his job and go back to school. Setting up the basis for us to learn James Gannon's (Gable) repulsion to "eggheads".
This final scene is a great returning circle as she appears to thank him for insisting that her son does exactly what his mother wishes him to do - go back to school.

I imagine this film, at it's heart, is a debate that establishes that neither side is entirely right and that it is wiser to have both to truly move forward. Not only in a profession, but as a person. The two ids brought together, initially to do battle, find, in the end, how much value the other has and it's best to incorporate both, then to think you can do it by either one or the other, alone.

While most of the film is almost by the numbers, there still remains a certain charm which is a direct result of, not only Gable and Day, but the rest of the crew as well. Which includes such a minor role causing such a great effect.
There are a number of these minor characters and Gannon's interactions that show a change in his perception and attitude and while it does seem to run a little longer than need be, it still remains as a charming film.