Screwball comedy is a film subgenre of the romantic comedy genre that became popular during the Great Depression, beginning in the early 1930s and thriving until the early 1950s, that satirizes the traditional love story. It has secondary characteristics similar to film noir, distinguished by a female character who dominates the relationship with the male central character, whose masculinity is challenged, and the two engage in a humorous battle of the sexes.
John Chester Brooks Morris was an American stage, film, television, and radio actor. He had some prestigious film roles early in his career, and received an Academy Award nomination for Alibi (1929). Chester Morris is remembered for portraying Boston Blackie, a criminal-turned-detective, in the Boston Blackie film series of the 1940s.
Ruth Carol Hussey was an American actress best known for her Academy Award-nominated role as photographer Elizabeth Imbrie in The Philadelphia Story.
Claude Binyon was a screenwriter and director. His genres were comedy, musicals, and romances.
Felix Bressart was a German-born actor of stage and screen whose career spanned both Europe and Hollywood.
Practically Yours is a 1944 American romantic comedy film directed by Mitchell Leisen and starring Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray and Cecil Kellaway. Written by Norman Krasna, it was produced and distributed by Paramount Pictures.
The Feminine Touch is a 1941 American romantic comedy film directed by W.S. Van Dyke and starring Rosalind Russell, Don Ameche, Kay Francis and Van Heflin. Produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer it is in the screwball comedy tradition. The film's sets were designed by the art director Cedric Gibbons.
About Face is a 1952 American musical comedy film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Gordon MacRae, Eddie Bracken and Virginia Gibson. It was future Oscar winner Joel Grey's film debut. It was produced and distributed by Warner Bros. It is an adaptation of the 1936 play Brother Rat by John Monks Jr. and Fred F. Finklehoffe and a remake of the 1938 film of the same title.
Rich Man, Poor Girl is a 1938 American comedy film directed by Reinhold Schünzel and starring Robert Young, Ruth Hussey and Lew Ayres. The film is a remake of the 1929 film The Idle Rich. This was Lana Turner's second appearance as an MGM star.
The Doctor Takes a Wife is a 1940 American screwball comedy film directed by Alexander Hall and starring Loretta Young, Ray Milland, Reginald Gardiner, Gail Patrick and Edmund Gwenn. It was produced and distributed by Columbia Pictures. Young and Milland portray a best-selling author and medical school instructor, respectively, who find it convenient to pretend to be married, even though they initially loathe each other.
Ding Dong Williams is a 1946 American comedy film directed by William Berke. The film stars Glen Vernon, Marcy McGuire, Felix Bressart, Anne Jeffreys, and James Warren. It was released on April 15, 1946 by RKO Radio Pictures.
The Amazing Mr. Williams is a 1939 American screwball comedy film produced by Everett Riskin for Columbia Pictures and directed by Alexander Hall. The film stars Melvyn Douglas, Joan Blondell and Clarence Kolb. It was written by Dwight Taylor, Sy Bartlett and Richard Maibaum. The film is about a police lieutenant who is too busy solving crimes to marry his longtime fiancée, who decides to take action and get him to marry her and settle down. The film was released on November 22, 1939.
Honolulu Lu is a 1941 American musical comedy film directed by Charles Barton and written by Eliot Gibbons. The film stars Lupe Vélez, Bruce Bennett, Leo Carrillo, Marjorie Gateson, Don Beddoe and Forrest Tucker. The film was released December 11, 1941, by Columbia Pictures.
Peter is a 1934 Austrian-Hungarian comedy film directed by Henry Koster and starring Franciska Gaal, Felix Bressart and Richard Eybner.
And Who Is Kissing Me? is a 1933 German comedy film directed by E. W. Emo and starring Georg Alexander, Marion Taal, and Felix Bressart. It was shot at the Johannisthal Studios in Berlin. The film's sets were designed by the art director Max Heilbronner. A separate Italian-language version The Girl with the Bruise was also released the same year. It was loosely remade as a 1937 British film Paradise for Two, a 1940 Swedish film Kiss Her! and a 1951 British film Happy Go Lovely.
Fog is a 1933 American pre-Code thriller film directed by Albert S. Rogell and starring Mary Brian, Donald Cook and Reginald Denny. It was produced and distributed by Hollywood studio Columbia Pictures. The Library of Congress holds a print of the film.
And So They Were Married is a 1936 American romantic comedy film directed by Elliott Nugent and starring Melvyn Douglas, Mary Astor and Edith Fellows. The film was produced and distributed by Columbia Pictures. It has elements of a screwball comedy.
Model Wife is a 1941 American comedy film directed by Leigh Jason and written by Charles Kaufman, Horace Jackson and Grant Garett. The film stars Joan Blondell, Dick Powell, Charlie Ruggles, Lee Bowman, Lucile Watson, Ruth Donnelly and Billy Gilbert. The film was released on April 18, 1941, by Universal Pictures.
Hello, Sucker is a 1941 American comedy film directed by Edward F. Cline and written by Maurice Leo and Paul Gerard Smith. The film stars Hugh Herbert, Tom Brown, Peggy Moran, Lewis Howard, June Storey, Walter Catlett and Robert Emmett Keane. The film was released on July 11, 1941, by Universal Pictures.
Nobody's Children is a 1940 American drama film directed by Charles Barton and starring Edith Fellows, Billy Lee, Georgia Caine and Lois Wilson. It was produced and distributed by Columbia Pictures.
