Classic Comedy Hall of Fame

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Sherlock, Jr.

This was short and sweet, I really liked it! It wasn't laugh out loud "funny," so to speak, but it was so charming and light hearted that I couldn't help not loving it. Especially the "movie within a movie" sequence, which took up much of the actual film. I loved all the stunts Keaton does, and his acting is actually quite good too. My favorite scene was probably the pool scene, which kind of reminded me of a template for what Hitchcock would say and do years later: "A bomb is under the table, and it explodes: That is surprise. The bomb is under the table but it does not explode: That is suspense." In that pool scene, it's obviously meant for comedic effect, and there's nothing too tense or worked up about it, but it's also pretty cool how it's almost a prototype of what a lot of great filmmakers would do with more serious motives later. A good movie that I thoroughly enjoyed, it's probably my favorite Keaton. But, for some of the other acting, and the actual "comedy" factor, it gets a few points off.




Women will be your undoing, Pépé
Alright, Take Two:

Sherlock Jr.- This and The General is considered THE Buster Keaton films and since I have YET to see this one, here is my chance.

Monkey Business - This was my first nomination and with so many options it was going to be a Marx Brothers film. And while my ultimate favorite is Night at the Opera I decided to go with antics at sea.

Trouble in Paradise - Found out about this one in the 30s Countdown and loved it. It would have been a serious contender for my List for that Countdown if I had known about it previously.

Duck Soup - Another great Marx Brothers film. No need to say more.

It's a Gift - W C Fields is one of several old-time comedians I grew up with as a kid and I had been very tempted to go with him and Mae West in My Little Chickadee, so I'm pretty happy to see this make it into the HoF.

Top Hat- One of the MUST SEE films I never seem to get around to and I've had a terrible itch to since our Musical HoF. So, YAY

Modern Times - I ADORE Chaplin! The Kid was high on my second nomination list.

Nothing Sacred and True Confession- Carole Lombard is great. Glad to see her here. For the life of me, I don't know if I've seen this or not.

Kind Hearts and Coronets Been FAR too long since I've seen this. Guinness is fantastic as every-single-person-in-the-family.

Harvey Once I saw that this was on the border of the parameters I KNEW this had to be part of this. So, here we go!

The Lavender Hill Mob I may or may not have seen this quite some time ago. Either way should be great to see.

Moderator's note -

This looks like a great Hall of Fame while I was a little iffy of going forward with this with such low turnout the actual group looks incredibly solid. My only regret is that we didn't get a Hepburn, Tracy or Grant film in the pool and I almost nominated a Preston Sturges film but after seeing Lubitsch nom I decided to go in a different direction.
I didn't go with Grant or a movie like The Libeled Lady simply because I thought somebody else would already have it covered. lol


Now, there's a couple of these, like Harvey and the two Marx Brothers that I've seen countless times and could easily write a review on, but -- screw that, I'm watching them again!
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I didn't go with Grant or a movie like The Libeled Lady simply because I thought somebody else would already have it covered. lol


Now, there's a couple of these, like Harvey and the two Marx Brothers that I've seen countless times and could easily write a review on, but -- screw that, I'm watching them again!

I was also thinking of picking The Libeled Lady, this was my final ten so to speak.

Adams Rib
The Bank Dick
The Gay Divorcee
Here Comes Mr Jordan
The Libeled Lady
Road to Morocco
Ruggles of Red Gap
Sullivan's Travels

Once I received the double Guinness noms I decided not to go with Ruggles of Red Gap or Here Comes Mr Jordan



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
I was also thinking of picking The Libeled Lady, this was my final ten so to speak.

Adams Rib
The Bank Dick
The Gay Divorcee
Here Comes Mr Jordan
The Libeled Lady
Road to Morocco
Ruggles of Red Gap
Sullivan's Travels

Once I received the double Guinness noms I decided not to go with Ruggles of Red Gap or Here Comes Mr Jordan
Road To Morocco was on my short list as well and Sullivan's Travels was tempting as a Blind Grab since I still haven't seen this one.



My only regret is that we didn't get a Hepburn, Tracy or Grant film in the pool
Maybe someone will still join and nominate a pair of Katherine Hepburn or Cary Grant films.
I didn't go with Grant or a movie like The Libeled Lady simply because I thought somebody else would already have it covered. lol
If I joined, I probably would've nominated something with Cary Grant, but as I mentioned earlier in the thread, my favourites have already been in previous Hall of Fames, and I didn't want to retread old ground.

or if you just want to watch the 12 films and vote at the end that's fine with me as well. As long as you post a review after watching each film I'll count it.
I might consider this. I think I've only seen 2 of the nominations, so I could definitely do with some more exposure to comedies from this time period.



If you wish to join up you can either PM one or two noms(it's up to you) or if you just want to watch the 12 films and vote at the end that's fine with me as well. As long as you post a review after watching each film I'll count it.

This is about as good an introduction to the sub genre(s) that you are going to get.

This goes for
@Yam12 @cricket @gbgoodies @MijaFrost @CosmicRunaway
Thanks, Siddon. Should we go ahead and start posting our mini-reviews of the nominations right away?

~Doc



Thanks, Siddon. Should we go ahead and start posting our mini-reviews of the nominations right away?

~Doc

By all means...so you're just going to review and vote you don't have anything to nominate?



I seriously considered Sullivan's Travels, Joel McCrea is real good it and so is Veronica Lake

Well it's not too late to switch I'm both having difficulty finding True Confession and I'm a little worried about both of your films finishing 11th and 12th. Not that you picked bad films but I think the bar is exceptionally high.



Well it's not too late to switch I'm both having difficulty finding True Confession and I'm a little worried about both of your films finishing 11th and 12th. Not that you picked bad films but I think the bar is exceptionally high.
No, I don't want to switch.

If they come in last, then that's fine. I know they are both excellent comedies and great examples of screwball comedy.

I can find you links to both of my noms. I'm in Arizona right now and don't have access to my computer, but when I get home in a few days I'll PM you a link.



By all means...so you're just going to review and vote you don't have anything to nominate?
Thanks, Siddon. I'll p.m. the nominations, then post some comments about Sherlock, Jr.

~Doc



Sherlock, Jr. (1924)

I've always been a much bigger fan of Buster Keaton's than I have been of Chaplin's or Lloyd's. Keaton himself stated that he thought Stan Laurel was the funniest.

Not having seen Sherlock, Jr. since the days when I watched many silent films (there used to be a silent movie theater on Fairfax in West Hollywood), some of the gags were still in vague memory; but happily the full film is available on YouTube. Cut down by Keaton from a full feature, it plays only approx. 45 minutes, so it's more like a longer short.

But it's unmistakable why Keaton was the funny gag and pratfall master. There are about 6-8 major stunning gags in the short film. The bicycle sequence, where he rides on the handlebars of a bicycle unknowingly after the driver falls off-- that alone sets up several memorable gags.

Most of his stunts were very dangerous, and in the early days the characters are actually doing what they are shown doing. He reportedly fractured his neck during the scene where gushing water from a water tower re-supplier blows him off the train onto the railroad track rail.

The other fascinating trick was probably the first use of a live actor physically inserting himself into a film being shown in a theater. Woody Allen, who was surely familiar with Keaton's film, used this trick to great effect in his Purple Rose of Cairo.

This is an inventive, hilarious, and touching film that anyone might find fascinating.

~Doc



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Well then I got great news for you because the nominated films come from the years 1930-1950

(1931)
(1933)
(1934)
(1935)
(1936)
(1937)
(1937)
(1950)
Thanks for the info. I was considering joining, but after seeing the reveal below, I decided to sit this one out. I've seen several of the movies that were nominated, but I might watch a few of the ones that I haven't seen yet.

I love The Marx Brothers, so I'm rooting for them to do well in this HoF, but there's another movie nominated that's a favorite of mine, so I hope it wins.


And we've got our Reveal!


Sherlock Jr. - our earliest film, Sherlock Jr ranks int he IMDB top 250, this is the only Buster Keaton film to receive a nomination and the second silent film. It's also the shortest film of the group clocking in under an hour.

Monkey Business - Is the first of the Marx brothers nominations a film that registered on the AFI top 100 for comedy. It was one of the more successful film from the brothers.

Trouble in Paradise - is our only Ernest Lubitsch film the film was selected to be perserved by the Library of Congress in 1991. The film also has a Criterion release.

Duck Soup - We got ourselves a film in the proper AFI top 100 as Duck Soup finished at #85. Our second Marx Brothers film it is the second shortest film of the pool running in over just 1 hour.

It's a Gift - WC Fields makes his only entry in this AFI Comedy ranked film from 1934, this ties with Duck Soup as one of the shorter entries but for those that haven't experienced Fields this is a great indroduction to his work.

Top Hat- And here we get a film that is considered the best of Astaire and Rodgers oeuvre. Top Hat received a best picture nomination in 1935 and was the second highest grossing film from that year.

Modern Times - From 1936 one of the last truly great Silent films from Charlie Chaplin. This film ranks in the IMDB top 250, on the AFI top 100 proper list and received a Criterion Collection release. For the only Chaplin nomination this is a great one.

Nothing Sacred and True Confession- Citizen Rules decided to buck the trend by nominating a pair of Carole Lombard films. Ironically enough. David O. Selznick, producer of "Nothing Sacred," was concerned that the release of "True Confession" would harm his film at the box office because both star Carole Lombard as a woman involved in a well-publicized hoax. Nothing Sacred is our only color film and while I haven't seen either one of them they both have strong reviews on IMDB.

Kind Hearts and Coronets did not rank on the AFI list...it ranked on the BFI list and in the top ten. This is a film well known for a tour-de-force performance by Alec Guinness. This film also received a Criterion release.

Harvey is yet another film that registered on the 100 years 100 laughs list (and on the fantasy list). James Stewart received an Oscar nomination for his performance in this film.

The Lavender Hill Mob is our last and latest entry an Oscar winner and film that rank's highly on the BFI list. Guinness who some might not have considered a comic actor managing two noms is going to be very interesting to see how they rank amongst the goliaths that have been nominated today.

Moderator's note -

This looks like a great Hall of Fame while I was a little iffy of going forward with this with such low turnout the actual group looks incredibly solid. My only regret is that we didn't get a Hepburn, Tracy or Grant film in the pool and I almost nominated a Preston Sturges film but after seeing Lubitsch nom I decided to go in a different direction.

I was considering nominating a Hepburn/Tracy movie (Adam's Rib), and/or a Cary Grant movie if I had joined.
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High quality picks here

I've seen 8. Monkey Business and It's a Gift are on my watchlist and I've not seen the two Lombards that CR nominated but I tend to like her films so I'm looking forward to them.

I'll follow ahwell and GulfportDoc and get started this weekend with Sherlock Jr.



Monkey Business (1931)

This was the Marx Brothers' third film, and the first one they did in Hollywood. They did 13 films with 3 or 4 of the brothers, and of those, 7 or 8 are generally regarded as their most important. I think it's the zaniest of them all. It had no plot, the brothers had no names, and it was gag after gag after gag.

Some of the famous routines: they each impersonate Maurice Chevalier-- even Harpo, who did it mimed over a record. The bit in the Captain's cabin is hilarious, as is Harpo playing in a Punch & Judy show to hide from his pursuers.

But my favorite line is when Groucho says, "He has so much money he has all the women he can shake a stick at...... if that's your idea of a good time." The censors really went over this film (and others) with a fine toothed comb, but they missed a couple of great double entendres.

Not my favorite MB film, but a great one.

~Doc




Women will be your undoing, Pépé
And with @GulfportDoc we now have our Grant fix with His Girl Friday and, one I've seen countless times, Arsenic and Old Lace. Both are ideal representations of this specific time frame of films.

While I will still be rewatching both, I honestly don't think I can write a better review or have a different view of a movie I've seen, over and over and over and over with utter delight each and every time.
So.
I'll post my review from the first 40s HoF with every intention of grabbing the opportunity to rewatch this again during this HoF. Just for the joy of it.



Arsenic & Old Lace This movie has always been a huge favorite of mine since I was a kid, so my review will be on the rather bias side
I have always enjoyed Capra, he has a very endearing love for the eccentric and what we now call "feel good" movies. He pampers his lunatics with safe places and understanding people so that they may pursue their craziness in complete happiness. It is the sane and rational that suffer in his world and this is an excellent example of that.
From the utterly sweet aunts who poison lonely old men with arsenic-tinged elderberry wine to their nephew "Teddy" who fully believes he's former president Theodore Roosevelt, they are given a kind haven to thrive in. Even the psychotic nephew Jonathan who's inept doctor - played wonderfully by Peter Lorre - who has given him a face that looks like Boris Karloff, has a place in Capra's zany world.
The one individual who has it the hardest is the one who WILL NOT abide his family's lunacy; Cary Grant. The poor fool.
This movie is charming, delightful, amusing and always brings a smile to my face and my heart. Reminding me of the sagely observation by Willy Wonka. "A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men."
Amen.



And with @GulfportDoc we now have our Grant fix with His Girl Friday and, one I've seen countless times, Arsenic and Old Lace. Both are ideal representations of this specific time frame of films.
Those were the first two Grant films that came to my mind actually. GulfportDoc has great taste.

I ranked His Girl Friday #1 in the second 40s HoF. I really loved it. Even though I found it incredibly entertaining (if a little long), Arsenic and Old Lace was towards the bottom of my list in part one, but that HoF had a lot of quality nominations and it easily would've been higher under ordinary circumstances.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
Those were the first two Grant films that came to my mind actually. GulfportDoc has great taste.

I ranked His Girl Friday #1 in the second 40s HoF. I really loved it. Even though I found it incredibly entertaining (if a little long), Arsenic and Old Lace was towards the bottom of my list in part one, but that HoF had a lot of quality nominations and it easily would've been higher under ordinary circumstances.
I agree Gulf comes up with good noms on the couple he's been in.

Both of these were strong contenders for me too but I was trying to stay clear of past noms, though Ideally, this would be the HoF for them. So, pretty happy Gulf joined and nominated them both.
I had voted Arsenic and Old Lace at #2 even with the incredible list of other movies simply because of the long-running love I've had for it. And it was His Girl Friday that I had at #8 out of 11 ONLY because of the amazing films in that one as well.

Curious to see where they land in this HoF and I must say, cannot, for the life of me, make a guess at the top echelon since there is a solid list with a great spread going on.



Monkey Business

I wasn't a huge fan of this one. It just seemed like Duck Soup, but everything was turned down a couple notches. It was less funny, the characters were less interesting, the visuals lest exciting, and there was really no plot. I think my biggest beef with it was that there was not a single line that was very funny. Sherlock, Jr. had me smiling or chuckling in a couple of scenes, but this - I didn't really feel anything. I think this film is probably historically important, as are many of the Marx Brothers films, for understanding what comedy started out as. But today, it's not very enjoyable.




You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
And with @GulfportDoc we now have our Grant fix with His Girl Friday and, one I've seen countless times, Arsenic and Old Lace. Both are ideal representations of this specific time frame of films.

While I will still be rewatching both, I honestly don't think I can write a better review or have a different view of a movie I've seen, over and over and over and over with utter delight each and every time.
So.
I'll post my review from the first 40s HoF with every intention of grabbing the opportunity to rewatch this again during this HoF. Just for the joy of it.

His Girl Friday and Arsenic and Old Lace are two of my favorite Cary Grant movies, and (as some of you already know), Arsenic and Old Lace is one of my all-time favorite movies. I nominated it in a previous HoF, and as I recall, it didn't do well due to some very tough competition. I hope it does a lot better in this HoF.