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Post by mightyjack on Jun 15, 2006 1:59:50 GMT -5
Inspired by the Bravo thread. Review or Recommend (or blast) a classic comedy. Use your own discretion on how old a movie has to be to be considered a "classic" -
I love a good laugh, and if you do to (and what MSTie doesn't) here's a chance to discover some titles you might not have seen.
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Post by mightyjack on Jun 15, 2006 2:00:57 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]The Amazing Adventure (1936 B&W)[/glow] This is an early Cary Grant movie, about a rich man who gives up his comfy living for a year. A long the way he learns compassion and falls in love. Not really a great film, and the humor is more cute than hilarious. But Grant is always great and carries the film. Not an essential film, unless your a fan of Cary's and it is available on DVD.
[glow=red,2,300]Watch the Birdie (1950 B&W)[/glow] The Red Skelton comedy I really wanted to watch was his best, "The Yellow Cab Man" - but it's not on DVD and the VHS is out of print. I hadn't seen his one so I gave it a shot.
It's okay, Skelton had more success on TV (and now Red in the silent spot...) than with the movies. He plays guy who works at a camera shop with his father (Played by Skelton, who also plays a third role as the grandfather) and is trying his darnedest to catch a break (and win the heart of the rich girl of his dreams)
A lot of the humor is forced, unrealistic situations like a train that for some reason, has a gap in the middle of it which allows Red and his Gal to escape some bad guys (Duse ex machina anyone?) and jokes that make no sense (He drops a frozen egg and says, I guess we'll have scrambled. Hu? Uh, the scrambling comes during the cooking, not in shaking the egg)
But there are a few cute bits - The woman screams that the phone is dead and Red places his hat quickly to his heart. Silly, subtly done, but funny.
It's a minor effort and not one I'd recommend very highly. Though it does steal from the best, There's a scene where Red hops on a fire truck That's a direct lift from Buster Keaton's Cameraman
[glow=red,2,300]The More the Merrier (1943 B&W)[/glow] Charles Coburn won a best supporting Oscar for his part as Mr. Dingle, an old man who tries to play matchmaker while sharing a room (During the Washington DC housing shortage of WWII) with Jean Arthur and Joel McRea.
Of the 3 I rented, this was the best. A genuine classic of the screwball variety.
The sparkling dialog is witty and the acting by all is aces. Jean Arthur, like Carol Lombard, was one of the queens of comedy. That neither won an Oscar is unfortunate, that this was Arthur's ONLY nomination is criminal. The lady was an amazing talent.
Directed by the great George Stevens (Giant, Shane), this one is readily available on DVD and highly recommended
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Post by ijon on Jun 15, 2006 19:27:36 GMT -5
Oh, What a Lovely War, Attenborough from '69 (I think)? It's a dark comedy musical about World War One. The songs are all from the period, some music hall pieces but mostly soldier songs (few of which the brass would have approved of).
It's an interesting mix of surrealism and some very accurate history. The opening scene is a party attended by the various heads-of-state and foreign ministers, at which Archduke Francis and his wife are shot. The guests then proceed to mill around in a symbolic representation of how the states actually lined up, their dialogue here is all actual quotations of the people involved. I always choke up just a little watching Sir Edward Grey's "The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime."
It does have its lighter moments, but on the whole it can't help but be dark. If you're not put off by that though it's a brilliant movie with some unforgettable imagery.
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Post by mightyjack on Jun 16, 2006 2:49:55 GMT -5
I haven't seen that one Ijon, I'll keep a look out, thanks.
The problem I'm having is tracking them down. Unless I stumble upon one on TV.... Martin & Lewis' best are not on DVD, I was out trying to find one of Laurel and Hardy's highly ranked movies (Block-Heads, Sons of the Desert and that Western they did), but no one carried them.
I did put holds on a few Cary Grant comedies from the Library but it's sad that so much of the great oldies are still not avaiable.
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Post by Wild Rebel on Jun 16, 2006 7:38:47 GMT -5
That's weird because there's a Cary Grant set that just came out with Holiday (one of my favorites), The Awful Truth, Only Angels Have Wings and a restored His Girl Friday. And there's always The Philadelphia Story and Bringing Up Baby.
The Women is a great movie too....fast forward through the fashion show....although in a way that's good for a laugh in retrospect.
There's a couple of old comedies I'd love to see come out on DVD but I'm not holding my breath - Page Miss Glory with Marion Davies and Dick Powell and Boy Meets Girl with Jimmy Cagney and Pat O'Brien.
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Post by Chuck on Jun 16, 2006 7:41:49 GMT -5
Oh, What a Lovely War, Attenborough from '69 (I think)? It's a dark comedy musical about World War One. The songs are all from the period, some music hall pieces but mostly soldier songs (few of which the brass would have approved of). It's an interesting mix of surrealism and some very accurate history. The opening scene is a party attended by the various heads-of-state and foreign ministers, at which Archduke Francis and his wife are shot. The guests then proceed to mill around in a symbolic representation of how the states actually lined up, their dialogue here is all actual quotations of the people involved. I always choke up just a little watching Sir Edward Grey's "The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime." It does have its lighter moments, but on the whole it can't help but be dark. If you're not put off by that though it's a brilliant movie with some unforgettable imagery. This wonderful film was based on Joan Littlewood's (I think that's her name) clown show. Victor Spennetti (sp?) was in the original cast. Remember him? Maggie Smith doing "I'll Make A Man of Any One of You" is worth the price of admission. |
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Post by mightyjack on Jun 16, 2006 12:55:00 GMT -5
The Loved One is getting released this week, yay! Based on a story by the great Eveyln Waugh and it has Jonathan Winters in it too. Great black comedy... Amazon.comI'm watching [glow=red,2,300]Ninotchka[/glow] now. Another delightful romantic comedy starring Greta Garbo and Melvyn Douglas. It was made in 1939, a great year for movies and Billy Wilder was one of the screenwriters. Bela Lugosi has a part as well. (Strange seeing him an A-Level movie after all those MSTed B's I've seen him in) The early bits with the unemotional Garbo is hilarious. I wonder if Gene Rodenberry saw this flick when he created Spock, lol. It gets a little conventional when Garbo's heart thaws, but it's still a favorite, Directed by Ernst Lubitstkhbleah??? (sp?). |
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Post by Bix Dugan on Jun 16, 2006 16:02:27 GMT -5
Is 40 years enough time to be considered a classic?
Then:
The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!
I think just about everyone here has probably seen it. There is also the MST connection. If you haven't seen it, get it, but let the connection be a surprise. Mums the word, everyone.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jun 16, 2006 18:27:17 GMT -5
I don't equate age with classic. Probably a minimum of 10 years is required to see if the film remains in public consciousness, but beyond that, I don't want to fall prey to the opposite chronological snobbery that Bravo fell into.
So I would say films like "Caddyshack", "Spinal Tap", "Blazing Saddles", and "Airplane" should qualify as classics.
I really like Neil Simon's '70s films like "Murder by Death" and "The Cheap Detective".
If you're looking for "OLD" comedies, then any Marx Brothers should qualify. Especially "Duck Soup" and "A Night at the Opera".
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Post by ijon on Jun 16, 2006 23:23:54 GMT -5
The Loved One is getting released this week, yay! Based on a story by the great Eveyln Waugh and it has Jonathan Winters in it too. Great black comedy... Huzzah! Don't forget Rod Steiger; Mr Joyboy is perhaps my favorite character of his. I don't know about availablity of Oh! What a Lovely War, I taped it off cable years back. I'd offer a trade but I don't think I have it with me. Another great dark comedy which I've heard was never released even on VHS was The Bed-Sitting Room. It's based on a Spike Milligan play about London after World War III: the twenty-seven people known to have survived are dutifully trying not to admit that anything has happened. It's got everyone from Peter Cook and Dudley Moore (back when he was funny) to Michael Hordern, Roy Kinnear and Marty Feldman. My fravorite line is from Harry Secombe, "Get in quick, I'm a local seat of government!" As an aside on Martin and Lewis, I had never liked them much but recently bought a dollar DVD of their TV show. Damn, but they're funny in that setting! Lewis' characters grate on me over the length of a feature but a sketch is perfect. |
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Post by Truck Farmer on Jun 16, 2006 23:59:55 GMT -5
I don't equate age with classic. Probably a minimum of 10 years is required to see if the film remains in public consciousness, but beyond that, I don't want to fall prey to the opposite chronological snobbery that Bravo fell into. So I would say films like "Caddyshack", "Spinal Tap", "Blazing Saddles", and "Airplane" should qualify as classics. I really like Neil Simon's '70s films like "Murder by Death" and "The Cheap Detective". If you're looking for "OLD" comedies, then any Marx Brothers should qualify. Especially "Duck Soup" and "A Night at the Opera". |
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Post by mightyjack on Jun 17, 2006 16:56:29 GMT -5
Oh yeah, Murder By Death was outstanding. And as I stated in my first post, I leave it to you to decide what constitutes a classic, I don't get anal over things like that. The 10 year plan is good one though.
[glow=red,2,300]Arsenic and Old Lace (1944 B&W)[/glow] This one came in from the library today, and out of all the recent one's I've viewed, this is comedy in its most pure form. It's directed by Frank Capra and it's a full out farce.
AAOL is about a couple of sweet old ladies who have buried 12 bodies in their basement. Just married Cary Grant, stops by and discovers his aunts dark secret.
This is broad comedy, very wild. Grant has never been this... oh whats the word, outlandish? He mugs and shouts and bounds across the screen at a hyperactive pace. It's funny, but it wont be to everyone's taste.
There is a great esoteric reference which will be lost on todays audiences. Raymond Massey kills a guy because he says that Massey looks like Boris Karloff (People used to get the two confused back in the day)
The great Peter Lorre also has a part and Priscilla Lane is cute as usual.
Hysterically funny movie. But there's nothing subtle about it in the least.
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Post by mightyjack on Jun 17, 2006 17:06:17 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]Brother Orchid (1940 B&W)[/glow] This is one I own and I popped it on a few days back. In addition to gangster films, Edward G. Robinson also did comedies which parodied his hard as nails characters.
In Brother Orchid he pays a racketeer whose old gang is trying to rub him out. Robinson hides out in a monastery and it's that pairing that brings the biggest laughs.
Humphrey Bogart plays a rival gangster and Ralph Bellamy is a delight as the kind country gentleman.
Good fun
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Post by ijon on Jun 19, 2006 7:19:54 GMT -5
Oh, how could I forget Gizmo!It's a comedy documentary from the '70s, featuring mostly '30s newsreel footage of crackpot inventions and daredevil human fly types. One highlight for me is a guy fronting a jazz band playing a bicycle pump. He sounds pretty good, considering. It was in all the video places in the early '80s but then seemed to vanish, but I recently got a really nice DVD-R from these guys: www.trashpalace.com/It's the invention exchange for real! In fact as I watched it I was wondering if it might not have been part of the inspiration for Joel's act. |
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jun 19, 2006 13:53:15 GMT -5
Gotta throw in some love for Peter Sellers' "The Party".
Birdie num num.
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