Arsenic and Old Lace was the first Capra comedy I ever saw, long before I cared about who Frank Capra was. As a young teenager watching a Halloween special, I thought it was howlingly funny. When I watched it again as an adult, I thought it was pretty bad. Nowadays, I still think it’s oneContinue reading “Arsenic and Old Lace (1943)”
Category Archives: Cary Grant
Bringing Up Baby (1938)
At this moment, I consider Howard Hawks’s Bringing Up Baby the greatest comedy Hollywood ever produced. I may change my mind. I haven’t always been that fond of it. Each time I watched it in the past (there have been many) I saw something iffy, and it was always something different — chunky pacing, stuffyContinue reading “Bringing Up Baby (1938)”
The Awful Truth (1937)
Many film historians feel that The Awful Truth is the first true screwball comedy. I’m not sure about that, or even if it matters, but it is a very special comedy. It was directed and basically constructed on the set by Leo McCarey, one of the giants of Hollywood comic film, and the star actors,Continue reading “The Awful Truth (1937)”
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
The Philadelphia Story is in a class of its own. If you tried to construct a canon of Hollywood high comedy of manners, it might be the only member. Lubitsch is satirical about that genre to the point of camp. There are several British films that fit the category but American producers insisted that thereContinue reading “The Philadelphia Story (1940)”