Film Discussion Lunch: Screwball Comedies

The Golden Age of Hollywood was also a golden age for comedy. In the 30’s and 40’s, a particular brand was popularized and named after a baseball pitch. The screwball comedy! An offshoot of (then new) rom coms, screwballs were often love stories with strong women upending the lives of their unprepared male counterparts. These battles of the sexes feature fast paced banter, identity confusion and an overall willingness to poke fun of love and its foibles. They also showcase some of the best actors and directors of the era at the height of their comedic powers. And for good measure, we’ve included a couple later gems that carry on the tradition. See you in December to end the year with some laughs!

Some of the films we'll be talking about include (T=Tubi ,K = Kanopy, H=Hoopla, R=Roku, C=Criterion Channel):

· Trouble in Paradise – 1932 (Ernst Lubitsch) https://watch.mometu.com/feature/trouble-paradise
· It Happened One Night – 1934 (Frank Capra) [T]
· Twentieth Century – 1934 (Howard Hawks) [C]
· My Man Godfrey – 1936 (Gregory La Cava) [H,K,R,T]
· The Awful Truth – 1937 (Leo McCarey)
· Easy Living – 1937 (Mitchell Leisen) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wIGrAUxfn4
· Bringing Up Baby - 1938 (Howard Hawks) [C,T] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fowrDX2zA0
· His Girl Friday – 1940 (Howard Hawks) [C,H,K,R,T] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEx-z1TYPKU
· The Philadelphia Story – 1940 (George Cukor) [T]
· Ball of Fire – 1941 (Howard Hawks) [C,H,K]
· The Lady Eve – 1941 (Preston Sturges) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJkgroLlrds
· The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek – 1944 (Preston Sturges) [H]
· Tootsie - 1982 (Sidney Pollack)
· Moonstruck – 1989 (Norman Jewison) [H,K,R,T]