Golden Age Comedy Hall of Fame (1952-1976)

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Women will be your undoing, Pépé
I should be able to knock out my final three, especially with only the 20th going on and with me having posted 4 and watched 5 I'll dedicate this week to finishing up.

I truly do appreciate everyone's patience, understanding and the flexibility of giving us slackers ample time to complete it.
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Reviews - myself and Ed
Lists - Gulfport and Gideon (and myself and Ed)
Siddon, what list? Are we supposed to rank them by favorites?

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Yeah, rank every film best to worst and PM it to Siddon.



depending on the years, I should have one, or if need be, two noms ready to go
Well let's put that up to a vote

Originally I was thinking 1977-1997(Annie Hall to Austin Powers), but when you look at the comedies from this era it might more sense to do 13-15 years

1977-1989
1990-2005 (Home Alone - 40 Year Old Virgin)
2006-2020 (Borat - Today)

The 80's comedy era is pretty much stacked take 1989 for example
  • National Lampoons Christmas Vacation
  • Honey I shrunk the Kids
  • Weekend at Bernies
  • Police Academy 6: City Under Siege
  • Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
  • Steel Magnolias
  • When Harry Met Sally



I'm not a fan of listing movies before the HoF starts, as if I wanted one of those now I probably wouldn't, just because I'd like to be original and not choose a nom that's already been mentioned.

As far as the years for C3, I'm flexible.







So here's my Doris double dose Day. In Pillow Talk Doris Day plays a home decorator who has to share a phone line with a broadway writer Rock Hudson. She needs the line for business he uses the line to get his business on. In Teachers Pet Doris Day plays a night school Journalism teacher and Clark Gable plays a grouchy bachelor lead editor.


Both films are romantic comedies, both films touch on the man lying to Doris. Gable pretends to be a student while Hudson pretends to be a southerner both in an attempt to get back at Doris. Pillow Talk is beautifully shot at times you think you are watching a Douglas Sirk melodrama with it's bright colors. Pillow Talk also has a pair of great supporting performances in particular




Who has one scene amazing scene in the movie, which gets to the problem with Pillow Talk. The Hudson/Day chemistry just isn't that good, Day/Tony Randall seem like a better fit and Hudson should just stick with Thelma Ritter.





Meanwhile




That one look shows more charisma than I saw in the entire Pillow Talk film. Gable and Day have chemistry, the relationship makes sense he's an older man tired of bimbos and he's ready for a nicer girl to settle down with. She's not nearly as hot as the person she's with...but she's also not a stripper. This isn't just man loves woman loves man you see how they can actually have chemistry with each other.


The lie is also the basis for both films, and the lie in Teachers Pet is just better. You see the arrogance of both characters but they are still good people setting out to prove a point.



I'm not a fan of listing movies before the HoF starts, as if I wanted one of those now I probably wouldn't, just because I'd like to be original and not choose a nom that's already been mentioned.

As far as the years for C3, I'm flexible.

There was a joke in there but I guess you missed that.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
It's been a fun HoF, I enjoyed it.

I liked this HoF too. It's one of the best HoFs I've joined.
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There was a joke in there but I guess you missed that.
Is it that most of those movies are GARBAGE?
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You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Well let's put that up to a vote

Originally I was thinking 1977-1997(Annie Hall to Austin Powers), but when you look at the comedies from this era it might more sense to do 13-15 years

1977-1989
1990-2005 (Home Alone - 40 Year Old Virgin)
2006-2020 (Borat - Today)

The 80's comedy era is pretty much stacked take 1989 for example
  • National Lampoons Christmas Vacation
  • Honey I shrunk the Kids
  • Weekend at Bernies
  • Police Academy 6: City Under Siege
  • Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
  • Steel Magnolias
  • When Harry Met Sally

I think sometime around the mid 1990s is when comedy started to turn in a direction that just isn't my type of humor. I'll probably join the next Comedy HoF, but I might pass on the ones after that.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
I'm not a fan of listing movies before the HoF starts, as if I wanted one of those now I probably wouldn't, just because I'd like to be original and not choose a nom that's already been mentioned.

As far as the years for C3, I'm flexible.

I agree about not listing the possible movie noms before the HoF starts. I think it could subconsciously push someone to nominate a movie that they wouldn't have nominated without the suggestion.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Well let's put that up to a vote

Originally I was thinking 1977-1997(Annie Hall to Austin Powers), but when you look at the comedies from this era it might more sense to do 13-15 years

1977-1989
1990-2005 (Home Alone - 40 Year Old Virgin)
2006-2020 (Borat - Today)

The 80's comedy era is pretty much stacked take 1989 for example
  • National Lampoons Christmas Vacation
  • Honey I shrunk the Kids
  • Weekend at Bernies
  • Police Academy 6: City Under Siege
  • Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
  • Steel Magnolias
  • When Harry Met Sally
I'm not a fan of listing movies before the HoF starts, as if I wanted one of those now I probably wouldn't, just because I'd like to be original and not choose a nom that's already been mentioned.

As far as the years for C3, I'm flexible.
There was a joke in there but I guess you missed that.

Was the joke that Steel Magnolias isn't a comedy?








Some Like it Hot (1959) when you watch a Billy Wilder film like this you always have to wonder what would the noir version of this film look like. The Wilder films always had this polish to them, a gloss that allowed his comedies to work so well. What is often forgotten about this film is that it's a period piece it takes place 30 years in the past. It's like a Once Upon a Time in Hollywood told once upon a time in Hollywood.


All four of these people are going to likely end up dead with the Great Depression coming and it's with that very dark sense of humor that Billy Wilder has. These people are on the Titanic and the show ends before the Iceberg hits. It colors the film in a very different way on second viewing.


Watching this film for a second time their is a imbalance to it that I didn't notice the first time. Jack Lemmon is amazing in this, his comedic timing, facial expressions and character work is top notch but he's really the third lead in this film behind Marilyn Monroe and Tony Curtis. Unfortunately for me, Curtis's stuff just drags along and you feel it's running time. But then you flip it around and you get this Monroe character who you basically want to follow her story.


One of the good things about the long runtime is you get comedic bits "little bonaparte" is the head the Friends of Italian Opera and his monologue is I would argue the best part of the movie. So much of that scene with filled with Billy's wit.



It's been a long time since I've seen Steel Magnolias, but I don't remember it being a comedy.

So what was the joke that we missed in that post?

Police Academy 6

https://www.metacritic.com/movie/pol...ty-under-siege


It's not really a classic the way the other films are



Women will be your undoing, Pépé



Pillow Talk

Jan: Officer, arrest this man - he's taking me up to his apartment!
Police Officer: Well, I can't say that I blame him, miss.

Party Lines. . . what a headache that must of been!
And, obviously, a juicy bit of fodder for a pitch for a Hollywood flick.
"I'm tellin' ya Harry, it'll be great! They hate each other for the inconvenience of sharing a line and then we get 'em to fall in love in person! It's brilliant I tell ya!"
"I don't know, Charlie, ain't they gonna recognize each other's voice when they start talkin'?"
"Don't you worry, Harry. Leave it to me."
[[Why don't you both leave it and hang up - I gotta a call I gotta make, already!]]

Born of frustration and the ill perceptions of the person they share a phone line with, Doris Day and Rock Hudson start off irritated by one another. Until, Hudson's character SEES Day when visiting his friend, played with lovable whiny privilege like only Tony Randall can. Who also has a thing for her as well. So, the player that he is, Hudson pulls off a Texan accent and proceeds to attempt to sweep Day off her feet while at the same time, teasing and generally messing with her on the phone.
It's almost a sorority gag that backfires when the man doing it actually falls for the woman he's playing.
Which, of course, results in the woman finding out the truth and getting her revenge.
But it's Hollywood and everything works out in the end.

All of which is actually done with charm, wit and some clever split screen effects that keep things moving at a wonderful clip. Along with Randall as a secondary character, there is also Thelma Ritter doing her patented hard drinking woman with equal lovable aplomb.
I enjoyed this film and it kept a smile on my face the entire time. I would have felt sorry for Doris Day's character but there are some women that get even more beautiful when they get angry, and I'm pretty sure I would have been stoking that fire as well, in Rock Hudson's place, regarding the phone calls between them.

A very fun film and one I'm glad to have finally seen.