LAUGHING IN THE DARK, Movie Comedy from Groucho to Woody (1992) Ted Sennett

Laughing in the Dark salutes Hollywood comedies, from the early days of sound to the current era of big- budget blockbusters. Ted Senate is one of the liveliest, most knowledgeable, and well-respected writers on the cinema today. His new book is a decade-by-decade tour of silver screen history. The story begins with such icons of the 1930s as W. C. Fields, Mae West, and the Marx brothers, and continues with the unforgettable comedies and “common- folk” films of director Frank Capra.

In the 1940s, Laughing in the Dark celebrates such beloved clowns as Bob Hope, as well as multitalented jokesters Red Skelton and Danny Kaye. Sennett recalls movies that were popular before and during World War II, among them His Girl Friday and Road movies of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby.

A host of new faces emerged in the fifties, including Danny Thomas, Jerry Lewis, and Judy Holliday Audrey Hepburn won an Oscar for the effervescent romantic comedy Roman Holiday. And in that evergreen favorite, Some Like It Hot, like hot, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis teamed with Marilyn Monroe.

The sixties featured Doris Day, the wry Walter Matthau, and other newcomers. A nation in transition enjoyed a variety of entertainments, from traditional comedies such as The Apartment with Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine two such unconventional films as Dr. Strangelove and The Graduate.

Ted Sennett’s sweeping narrative continues with the high points of the seventies and eighties, including the wonderfully irreverent movies of Woody Allen, Neil Simon, Mel Brooks, and others.

Traversing sound stage and studio lot, Laughing in the Dark blends celebrity antidotes with production histories, and shows how landmark comedies influenced producers, directors, and actors for years to come. America’s most distinguished film writer also describes how the events and values of the 20th century found a humorous outlet on the screen. Best of all, from Groucho to Woody, Laughing in the Dark summons up the funniest moments in film history, and invites the reader to laugh along.

Over 100 black and white photos and 16 pages of color art illustrate this handsome volume.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Prologue

The Silent Years of Laughter

Part 1 GETTING AWAY FROM IT ALL

Movie Comedy in the Thirties

The Early Sound Years: Slapstick and Sophistication

Comedy Icons of the Thirties

Love in Hard Times: Romantic and Marital Comedy in the Thirties

Pure Brass: Spoofs, Satires, and Farces

The Common Folk

Part 2 KEEP ‘EM LAUGHING

Movie Comedy in the Forties

The New Comedy Faces

Working Girls and Boss Ladies: Romantic Comedy in the Forties

Wedded Bliss: Marital Comedy in the Forties

Footlights to Film

The Great Originals

Back Home Again

Part 3 MARKING TIME

Movie Comedy of the Fifties

Jerry and Judy

The Graying of Romance: Romantic and Marital Comedy in the Fifties

Tongue-In-Cheek: Satires and Farces in the Fifties

Part 4 A TURNING POINT

Movie Comedy in the Sixties

All Kinds of Love: Romantic Comedy in the Sixties

Across the Parlor and into the Bedroom: Marital and Domestic Comedy in the Sixties

Dark Laughter: Black Comedies and Rude Farces

The Old Guard—Plus Wood and Mel

Part 5 DOWN WITH EVERYTHING

Movie Comedy in the Seventies

Offbeat Love: Romantic Comedy in the Seventies

Don’t Send Flowers: Marital Comedy in the Seventies

Nose-Thumbing for Fun and Profit: Blacker Comedies and Ruder Farces

Woody Allen in the Seventies

Part 6 THE HUMAN SIDE

Movie Comedy in the Eighties

Love Isn’t All: Romantic and Marital Comedy in the Eighties

People Are Funny: Human Comedy in the Eighties

A Crazy World: Knockabout Farces and Satires

Woody Allen in the Eighties

Coda

Photo Credits

Selected Bibliography

Index