It Happened One Night (1934)

You know those rom-coms that come out just about every year? you know, where the guy/girl ends up with the girl/guy that isn't their fiancé? Yeah? Well this movie is the grand daddy of all of them. Sweeping the oscars to become the first movie to nab the 'big five' (best picture, best director, best actor, best actress and best screenplay). Nowadays the plot is fairly predictable:

Man (Clark Gable) meets society princess (Claudette Colbert) on a bus to New York where she plans to meet her husband; Man is a newspaperman who's got a bone to pick with his boss. Colbert is Ellie Andrews and Gable is Peter Warne and they fight like cat and dog- See where this is going? One thing i didn't mention: Ellie fell off the radar and everyone is out looking for her. Peter has got the scoop.

Predictable? yes. tame? yes. funny and romantic? hell yes! It might be noticeably dated but it is hard not to love it more and more. Hell, we love THEM. Gables easy charisma and Colbert's near-pitch perfect line delivery add up to one of the first (and greatest) true rom-coms. There is no doubt that the basic formula has been improved upon (perhaps best seen in 'Roman Holiday [1953]), but this movie is still very likeable and good fun.

I could gush about Gables charm and physical looks and wonder how the Ellie character could have possibly resisted him for most of the movie, but that would be redundant and i'd come up fruitless in the end anyway. Colbert is kind of underrated, she has been in a few good movies, such as The Palm Beach Story (1942) and she almost (she had to drop out due to a back injury) had the iconic role of Margo Channing in All About Eve (1950), which of course went to Bette Davis who made it one of the greatest female roles in history. I guess Colbert as Margo is one of those 'what if?' moments. In any case she was good.

It was directed capably by Frank Capra (who was a master director of these kinds of movies) and written with great wit and intelligence (remember when comedies had that?) by Robert Riskin. This is a great movie that, while being a little long in some parts, is worth the watch just so you can laugh and be amazed by how influential this movie is on modern romantic comedies. I'm not going to waste my writing space (although i gladly would so i could talk more,) telling you exactly how it was influential, you'll have to see it for yourself- i'm not your slave.

"Well i proved once and for all that the limb is mightier than the thumb" Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert), It Happened One Night

My Second Serving of Duck Soup

I watched Duck Soup again recently and have a wildly different opinion. I saw the lines as inspired and witty, in fact i laughed in every scene and at 98% of what the Marx Bros said/did (the other 2% i was shewing people away from my room). I found the songs, while not cute and catchy to be very funny (especially the first song that Groucho sings).

Now i didn't feel thirsty, but i must say that i only ever feel thirsty while i watch musical comedies, while this was musical it's far more comedy than musical and i suppose that my feelings prior to watching it had an effect on my viewing skills, (hence why i always watch things twice). I have written the film down to buy, along with several other Marx Bros films that i think i shall enjoy (and even if i don't i can just keep them in my movie cabinet to look good). It's such a shame the this was Zeppo's last film his brothers, despite his small role in it i liked seeing him there for some reason. *Sigh* Groucho, Harpo, Chico and sometimes Zeppo will always be how people say who was in the Marx's Bros films.

While i still don't believe it was a masterful comedy (although i can see why many people say otherwise) i think if i watch again i will enjoy it even more. This is the kind of movie i like, the kind that i can watch over again and enjoy even more. Very few films make me feel like this. I think i enjoyed it more the second time because i watched it alone, the first time i watched it with my dad who talks through movies and doesn't 'get' certain styles of comedy. So i suppose i didn't 'get' it at first because he caused me to miss bits of it.

I don't think i would recommend it to any of my friends since they think that Disaster Movie was funny so clearly have bad senses when it comes to good comedy movies, so no i wouldn't recommend it to them, but to other people who are way different to them. Anyway i enjoyed it much more the second time and am sure that if i see it a third time (i have to take it back to the rental shop tomorrow) it'll be a joy to watch.

"I'll see you at the opera tonight, i'll hold your seat till you get there. After you get there you're on your own" Rufus T. Firefly

What's up doc?

This post isn't a bout the famous Bugs Bunny line, no it's about the 1972 film starring Barbra Streisand, Ryan O'Neal and Madeline Kahn. The strangeness, the hilarity and the absurdity of the script would be nothing without the these 3 wonderful actors and their supporting cast, including Kenneth Mars (Franz Leibkind in the original Producers).

The basic plot is there are 4 overnight bags that are all identical, one has a top secret government files, another is full of rocks, the next one is full of jewels and the last one has underwear and other stuff in it. The basically, well, theres a bit of a mix up. In the middle of it all we have O'Neal as Howard 'Steve' Bannister, a musicologist who needs his rocks for a theory he has, who seems to have attracted the attention of Streisand's character Judy, who insists on calling him Steve and follows him around. We also have Howard's fiancée' Eunice (Kahn) who is so... weird. But all are hilarious.

This was the film debut of Madeline Kahn (who is perhaps best remembered for her frequent roles in Mel Brooks classics such as Blazing saddles and Young Frankenstein), since i like Kahn's movies i was very delighted to see that she started out in films as, well, tremendous. Barbra Streisand didn't want to do the movie, (she didn't think it was funny), though i respect Streisand, i think she was out of her mind for thinking the script wasn't funny. O'Neal was funny and while best known for his serious role in Love Story and maybe for more recently playing Brennan's father in Bones is a pleasure to watch. Plus there no denying that he was good looking when he was young.

I love slapstick comedy, screwball comedy and classic comedy, so naturally i loved this! It's hard not to draw parallels between a certain other screwball comedy by the name of Bringing up baby, i love both and could never decide which one is better, although BuB may have a leg up since without it there would be no What's Up Doc? in the first place.

It's fast, witty, outrageous, absurd and highly entertaining, i recommend it, but be warned: you need to watch it at least twice so you get the full experience.

"I am not 'A' Eunice Burns, i am THE Eunice Burns!" Eunice Burns (Madeline Kahn) Whats Up Doc?

Whats So Funny? The 30's edition

Ordinarily i'd start with the 1920s but i haven't seen enough movie from that period to give you a good post so we'll get to that later. It was the 30s, or... the beginning of the golden era. gone were the flapper style made popular by Clara Bow and the vamp popularized by Theda Bara. Moviegoers, waited with burning ear to hear their favourite silent stars speak as talking pictures became the biggest thing since film itself. 'Garbo Talks!' cried poster in 1930, advertising her first talkie 'Anna Christie'. She wouldn't make a comedy util 1939 so we'll get to her a bit later.

Many early talkie comedies haven't aged well, due mostly to studio's being weary of sound (they thought it was just a phase) and some tried to avoid it for as long as possible. There was an actor - a comedy actor - who didn't see (geddit!) the need for the spoken word, his name was Charles Chaplin and he avoided the microphone like the plague, releasing silent comedies in an era that had become infatuated with sound - and it worked.

Chaplin had many early comedy successes with 'The Kid' in 1921 and 'The Gold Rush' in 1925. The latter of these 2 films depicted an iconic scene in which Chaplin eats his own shoe.
In 1931 Chaplin released his silent (or semi silent, due to the presence of a music score) 'City Lights'. A rather funny film that involves Chaplin's iconic 'Tramp' falling in love with a blind girl who believes that he is rich.
The movie was a rousing success, proving that the silent era wasn't ready to die.
Chaplin also found success with 'Modern Times', released in 1936, it satirized the modern era. If i may say so myself, i believe that this is one of (if not the) best Chaplin film.
We didn't hear Chaplin talk until 1940 with 'The Great Dictator', which was still funny and i'm sure that many people wondered why he didn't do it earlier.

There was also the musical comedies starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers that provided many laughs for the depression era moviegoers. With Top Hat, Carefree and the Gay Divorcee ranking as their most funny.Astaire and Rogers are legends, their chemistry was unique, they sang and danced and played comedy like it was first and second nature. Fred Astaire had a big career in musicals through 1950's and still brought the goods even after his best years were behind him. Ginger Rogers was a versatile actress and won an Oscar in 1940 for 'Kitty Foyle'.

'It happened one night'. The pioneer of of modern rom coms was this film released in 1934. Starring Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable, the film was the first to achieve 'the big 5' at the Oscars, winning Best actor, best actress, best picture, best director and best screenplay. Who can forget the infamous scene in which Ellie (Colbert) stops a car without using her thumb?

You may have seen the Adam Sandler comedy 'Mr Deeds', which is actually a remake (by premise and title) of 'Mr Deeds goes to town' in 1936. It stars (since the movie still exists i'm referring to it in present tense) Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur as Longfellow Deeds and Babe Bennett (the remake featured Adam Sandler in the Gary Cooper roles and Winona Ryder as Babe). it is far superior to the remake in almost every way, the fact that it isn't in colour doesn't take away from the overall experience of the film.

Now for 1938, their are a couple that stand out in this year: 'Bringing up baby' (considered to be one of the best screwball comedies of all time) was released that year. It stars Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, the film is available pretty much everywhere as it is quite popular.  It is madcap to say the least, i remember when i first saw it i laughed so much i began to wonder if AFI made a mistake naming 'Some like it hot' the funniest movie of all time. While funny i still don't think its the funniest movie ever. There is one line in 'BuB' i remember the most, it's when Grant and Hepburn are in jail-
"Don't worry David when they find out who we are they'll let us out"says Susan (Hepburn)
"When they find out who you are they'll pad the cell"
 There is also 'Holiday', which also starred Ms Hepburn and Mr Grant, both films were flops upon first release but are now highly regarded.
"You can't take it with you". Thats a good movie, James Stewart and Jean Arthur were funny and listen, i added this in on an after thought, i recommend that you search it up as it is quite good, at least watch it for Lionel Barrymore.

The Marx Brothers. Surely you must have heard of them, you know how it goes - "One morning i shot an elephant in my pajamas, how he got in my pajamas i don't know'
Their madcap style stretched through many movies but arguably their best films were in the 30's with Horse Feathers, a day at the races, a night at the opera and duck soup all being released in the 30's. The Marx Bros consisted of: Groucho, Chico, Harpo and sometimes Zeppo.

'GARBO LAUGHS!' screamed the posters for 'Ninotchka'. Well technically Greta Garbo had laughed on film before, but 'Ninotchka' was her first comedy. A no nonsense Russian envoy comes to Paris to sort out a problem with some jewels but is romanced by capitalism and a man about town (Melvyn Douglas). Co-written by Billy Wilder (Some like it hot, Sunset Blvd, The Apartment) the dead pan wit and satirical light that was cast on communism and capitalism while dated now, is still quite funny. This was Garbo's second to last film, the last would be 'Two faced Woman' which while having some good moments was a disappointing movie.

There are so many more great 30's comedies, but this is just to point you, the reader, in the right direction in the way of classic comedy. i guarantee laughs from these movies. if you don't laugh i give you full permission to take shots at this post in the comments.

"You know you haven't stopped talking since i got here, you must've been vaccinated with a phonograph needle" Groucho Marx, Duck Soup