GENRE: Screwball Comedies
Screw-ball [skrue’bol] Noun, Slang, meaning unbalanced, erratic, irrational, unconventional.
It became a popular slang word in the 1930s. It was applied to films where everything was a juxtaposition: educated and uneducated, rich and poor, intelligent and stupid, honest and dishonest, and most of all male and female. When two people fell in love, they did not simply surrender to their feelings, they battled it out. They lied to one another, often assuming indifferent personas toward each other. They often employed hideous tricks on each other, until finally after running out of inventions, fall into each others arms. It was fossilized comedy, physical and often painful, but mixed with the highest level of wit and sophistication, depending wholly on elegant and inventive writing.
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| kenstachnik's Rating | My Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Holiday (1930, Unrated)
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| 2 |
The Front Page (1931, Unrated)
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| 3 |
Trouble in Paradise (1932, Unrated)
Lubtisch does it again! A witty sophisticated con man/woman romance. |
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| 4 |
Twentieth Century (1934, Unrated)
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| 5 |
The Thin Man (1934, Unrated)
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| 6 |
It Happened One Night (1934, Unrated)
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| 7 |
The Gay Divorcee (1934, Unrated)
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| 8 |
Hands Across the Table (1935, Unrated)
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| 9 |
Top Hat (1935, Unrated)
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| 10 |
The 39 Steps (1935, PG)
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| 11 |
A Night at the Opera (1935, Unrated)
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| 12 |
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935, Unrated)
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| 13 |
My Man Godfrey (1936, Unrated)
Great Great screwball comedy...Powell's best performance out side of the Thin Man series |
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| 14 |
Libeled Lady (1936, Unrated)
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| 15 |
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936, Unrated)
So much better then I was expecting! |
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| 16 |
Nothing Sacred (1937, Unrated)
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| 17 |
The Awful Truth (1937, Unrated)
Not my favorite Screwball comedy, but it will do in a pinch. |
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| 18 |
Tovarich (1937, Unrated)
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| 19 |
Bringing Up Baby (1938, Unrated)
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| 20 |
Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938, Unrated)
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| 21 |
Vivacious Lady (1938, Unrated)
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| 22 |
You Can't Take It with You (1938, Unrated)
So Capra-esque your teeth will hurt |
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| 23 |
Midnight (1939, Unrated)
Really enjoyable screwball comedy featuring Claudette Colbert and John Barrymore. Crackling dialogue holds together a relatively slow beginning that builds into an awesome climax |
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| 24 |
Ninotchka (1939, R)
One of my new favorites. One of the most charming movies ever made. |
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| 25 |
It's a Wonderful World (1939, Unrated)
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| 26 |
Bachelor Mother (1939, G)
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| 27 |
The Shop Around the Corner (1940, Unrated)
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| 28 |
His Girl Friday (1940, Unrated)
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| 29 |
Ball of Fire (1941, Unrated)
Written by Billy Wilder and Directed by Howard Hawks. |
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| 30 |
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941, Unrated)
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| 31 |
Meet John Doe (1941, Unrated)
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| 32 |
The Philadelphia Story (1940, Unrated)
A ton of fun, and one of the better screwball comedies ever made (the best being It Happened One Night). |
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| 33 |
To Be or Not to Be (1942, PG)
Really really funny. The Lubitsch touch is in full effect |
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| 34 |
The Palm Beach Story (1942, Unrated)
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| 35 |
Heaven Can Wait (1943, Unrated)
I know this is going to resonate a lot more with me in about 15 years. |
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| 36 |
Sullivan's Travels (1941, Unrated)
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| 37 |
Once Upon a Honeymoon (1942, Unrated)
Cary Grant vs. The Nazi's and Ginger Roberts, what more do you need? |
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| 38 |
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944, Unrated)
Cary Grant is unchained in this! |
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| 39 |
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944, Unrated)
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| 40 |
Hail the Conquering Hero (1944, Unrated)
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| 41 |
The Pirate (1948, Unrated)
The opening is a little excruciating, but it gets better toward the end. |
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| 42 |
I Was a Male War Bride (1949, Unrated)
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| 43 |
Born Yesterday (1950, Unrated)
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| 44 |
The Mating Season (1951, Unrated)
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| 45 |
Monkey Business (1952, Unrated)
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| 46 |
The Importance of Being Earnest (1952, Unrated)
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| 47 |
How To Marry A Millionaire (1953, Unrated)
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| 48 |
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953, Unrated)
Luscious...sensual...soothing. Orgasmicly good |
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| 49 |
The Seven Year Itch (1955, Unrated)
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| 50 |
Bell, Book and Candle (1958, Unrated)
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| 51 |
Some Like It Hot (1959, Unrated)
Hands down, one of the funniest movies of all time. |
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| 52 |
Pillow Talk (1959, Unrated)
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| 53 |
The Grass Is Greener (1960, Unrated)
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| 54 |
One, Two, Three (1961, Unrated)
Like the Bird Cage...only with communists |
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| 55 |
Man's Favorite Sport? (1964, Unrated)
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| 56 |
The Great Race (1965, Unrated)
A bit long, but overall very fun. Lemmon is fantastic as the villian. |
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| 57 |
How to Murder Your Wife (1965, Unrated)
Tons of shovanistic fun |
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| 58 |
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1968, Unrated)
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| 59 |
The Ruling Class (1972, PG)
OMG why did nobody tell me about this movie? A film of such ridiculous, witty, dark and hilarious nature it must be seen to be believed. |
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| 60 |
What's Up, Doc? (1972, G)
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| 61 |
Much Ado About Nothing (1985, Unrated)
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| 62 |
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1993, PG-13)
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| 63 |
Much Ado About Nothing (1993, PG-13)
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| 64 |
The Hudsucker Proxy (1994, PG)
His Girl Friday meets How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying with a hearty dash of it's a Wonderful Life |
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| 65 |
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999, PG-13)
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| 66 |
The Importance of Being Earnest (2002, PG)
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| 67 |
My Favorite Wife (1940, Unrated)
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| 68 |
That Uncertain Feeling (1941, Unrated)
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| 69 |
Rings on Her Fingers (1942, Unrated)
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| 70 |
Intolerable Cruelty (2003, PG-13)
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| 71 |
As You Like It (2006, PG)
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| 72 |
Leatherheads (2008, PG-13)
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| 73 |
Operation Petticoat (1959, Unrated)
A lot of good shtick. |
