Filling Out the Top Ten
6. The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (1943) – This is one of the funniest pictures on this list (or ever, really) and probably should have been in the top five. But it dropped to sixth place because so much of its humor is physical and silly rather than verbal and witty which is part of what distinguishes screwball from, say, slapstick. It features three truly standout comic performances: Betty Hutton as Trudy Kockenlocker, a small town girl whose idea of patriotism is partying with the troops just before they are sent off to war; Eddie Bracken as Norval Jones, the shy, awkward, stammering small-town boy who loves Trudy no matter what; and William Demarest as Trudy’s irascible father, the town constable. When Trudy wakes up one morning recalling that she married a soldier the night before, but can’t remember who, and later discover she’s pregnant, well that’s sure a predicament. What’s the miracle? That’s for you to discover. Written and directed by Preston Sturges. As I said, one of the most hilarious pictures ever.
Available free on the library-affiliated site Kanopy, and for rent on most streaming services other than Netflix.
7. The Lady Eve (1941) – Speaking of funny and Preston Sturges, here’s another good one he wrote and directed. As with It Happened One Night, including this movie on my list is cheating just a bit, because it’s less wholeheartedly screwball than some of the other pictures I’m discussing; more of a straight romantic comedy. Still, most sources – from Wikipedia to the prestigious BFI (British Film Institute, publisher of Sight and Sound) – claim it belongs in the genre. Less whacky, but definitely more sophisticated, than Miracle of Morgan’s Creek, The Lady Eve stars Barbara Stanwyck as a con artist named Jean; and Henry Fonda as her target, Charles, a naïve, young society man returning from a year in the Amazon studying snakes – somehow a funny concept itself. It’s a personality set-up not unlike streetwise Stanwyck versus innocent Gary Cooper in Ball of Fire, although beyond that the stories are quite dissimilar. Fonda does great stuff with naivete, and in the second act particularly, he does hilarious slapschtick, moving from one disaster to the next. Stanwyck is rather more nuanced, wiser and more on top of things, has the wittiest lines, and is also much clearer about how she feels and what she wants. “Jean” is assisted by her father, fellow con artist ‘Colonel’ Harrington (an excellent Charles Coburn); and “Charles” by his minder Muggsy (William Demarest, in a role at least as good as his brilliant constable/father in Morgan’s Creek).
Available on Amazon, iTunes, Google Play and most streaming services other than Netflix.
8. 20th Century (1932) – Some big stars in this, one of the earlier screwballs: the great John Barrymore (brother of Lionel and of Ethel, grandfather of Drew) and the very talented and popular Carole Lombard. It’s also the fourth in this list directed by Howard Hawks. Upon its induction into the National Film Registry, the NFR called it a “sophisticated farce about the tempestuous romance of an egocentric impresario and the star he creates [which] did not fare well upon its release, but has come to be recognized as one of the era’s finest film comedies, one that gave John Barrymore his last great film role and Carole Lombard her first.” Barrymore is Oscar Jaffe, a big-time Broadway director with an outsize ego. It’s said that in selling the part to Barrymore, Hawks told him “It’s the story of the biggest ham on earth, and you’re the biggest ham I know!” Oscar discovers a young actress named Lily Garland (Lombard) and makes her a big star, feeding his own success as well. When she leaves him to go to Hollywood, her career thrives, while Oscar’s withers. When he unexpectedly meets Lily again, on a train (the 20th Century) from Chicago to New York, Oscar uses every trick in his vast repertoire to try and lure her back. Only trouble is, she wants nothing to do with him. But it’s a long journey and so many plots, counterplots, misunderstandings and random acts of comedy ensue, it’s indescribable. And delicious. It’s a laugh riot, as they used to say.
Available on Amazon and iTunes.
9. My Man Godfrey (1936) – Starring Carole Lombard again, this time as a jaded and somewhat ditzy, yet spirited young socialite called Irene in depression era New York. Responding to a scavenger hunt challenge at a society party to bring home a “forgotten man”, she goes to a hobo encampment and picks up a fellow named Godfrey (William Powell). The guy is raggedy, but well-spoken, so she offers him a job as the household’s new butler and brings him home to scandalize her family – a dysfunctional group which would simply have been called nutty in the thirties. To everyone’s surprise, Godfrey is up to the task; more than that, he transforms himself into the perfect butler. Powell, of course, usually played the suave, debonair sort (such as Nick Charles in The Thin Man (1934) and its many sequels) and that’s what he does – quite successfully – here. Godfrey would prefer to leave his past mysterious, which turns into quite a challenge, what with Irene forming a crush on him, and her jealous sister Angelica (Alice Brady) trying her best to undermine him. Some very screwy funny business in all this, not to mention a soft satire of the posh upper class.
Available free with membership in Amazon Prime or on Hoopla (the library affiliated streaming site); or for rent on Amazon, Google Play, iTunes and vmost other streaming sites [but not Netflix]
10. The Palm Beach Story (1942) – Another very clever and ridiculously funny movie written and directed by Preston Sturges, The Palm Beach Story takes a rather preposterous premise, gooses it up with some absurdly funny escapades, and brings it all home on the backs of several solid performances. The film stars Claudette Colbert as Gerry Jeffers. Gerry is married to inventor-architect Tom Jeffers (Joel McCrea), who’s developed plans for a futuristic airport, but can’t find any takers. Basically, they are broke – in fact, about to be evicted. Gerry feels pretty useless - unable to help Tom and with no life of her own - when she comes up with a plan to solve both problems. She’ll divorce Tom, find some rich guy to marry, and start a new life, while diverting a bunch of cash to help her soon to be ex-husband fulfill his dreams. So, she runs off, hops a train heading to Palm Beach (playground for the wealthy and a convenient venue for quickie divorces). Tom, discovering her plan gives chase. There is quite a bit of funny business on the train, not least a long, memorable scene involving a group of crazy, raucous, inebriated members of the Ale and Quail Club. Along the way Gerry is assisted by a charming fellow called J.D. Hackensacker III (Rudy Vallee), and with a name like that it’s not a surprise when he turns out to be rich. Later, JD’s sister, called (I kid you not) Princess Centimillia, joins the party. Despite a few slow spots here and there, the falling-out-of-your-chair bits in The Palm Beach Story are definitely worth it.
Available on Amazon, iTunes, Google Play and most streaming services other than Netflix.
Further Recommendations
Okay, that’s my Top 10 list. But there are many other great screwball comedies, and if I were making this list next month, or if I saw some of these other flicks more recently, any number of them might be in the top 10. So, here is a short list of other recommendations (in alphabetical order):
The Awful Truth (1937) - Cary Grant and Irene Dunne get divorced on a misunderstanding, but still love each other enough through their confusion to make us laugh.
Available on most streaming services other than Netflix.
Bombshell (1933) - Crass, frustrated Jean Harlow is a harried film superstar who resorts to some harebrained ideas to make her life better.
Available on most streaming services other than Netflix.
Duck Soup (1933) - Arguably the Marx Brothers’ best. Zero romance, just comic mayhem. Plus the amazing Groucho-Harpo mirror scene.
Available on most streaming services other than Netflix.
Easy Living (1937) - What’s a poor girl to do if a mink thrown from a swank apartment lands on her head? Jean Arthur, Ray Milland.
Available on YouTube
Libeled Lady (1936) - Jean Harlow, Myrna Loy, William Powell, Spencer Tracy. Wow! Who loves who?
Available on most streaming services other than Netflix.
The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942) - Talk about a difficult houseguest! Starring Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan, Monty Wooley, Jimmy Durante
Not currently available streaming.
Available on dvd for ~ $15-$18
A Night At the Opera (1935) Also arguably the Marx Brothers’ best. The one with the great
shipboard stateroom scene.
Available on most streaming services other than Netflix.
Trouble in Paradise (1932) Miriam Hopkins and Herbert Marshall try to con wealthy Kay Frances. Absolutely great opening scene between Marshall and Hopkins. Directed by Ernst Lubisch.
Available streaming on FlixFling; Otherwise no streaming sites at this time
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