Screwball comedy is a subgenre of the romantic comedy genre that became popular during the Great Depression, beginning in the early 1930s and thriving until the early 1940s, 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. The two engage in a humorous battle of the sexes, which was a new theme for Hollywood and audiences at the time.
Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starring role in Kitty Foyle (1940), and performed during the 1930s in RKO's musical films with Fred Astaire. Her career continued on stage, radio and television throughout much of the 20th century.
Fred Astaire was an American actor, dancer, singer, choreographer, and television presenter. He is widely considered the greatest dancer in film history.
Irene Dunne was an American actress who appeared in films during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She is best known for her comedic roles, though she performed in films of other genres.
Berton Churchill was a Canadian stage and film actor.
Vernon and Irene Castle were a husband-and-wife team of ballroom dancers and dance teachers who appeared on Broadway and in silent films in the early 20th century. They are credited with reviving the popularity of modern dancing. Castle was a stage name: Vernon was born William Vernon Blyth in England. Irene was born Irene Foote in the United States.
Alvin Morris, known professionally as Tony Martin, was an American actor and popular singer.
Denis Patrick Seamus O'Hare is an American actor, singer, and author noted for his award-winning performances in the plays Take Me Out and Sweet Charity, as well as portraying vampire king Russell Edgington on HBO's fantasy series True Blood. He is also known for his supporting roles in such films as Charlie Wilson's War, Milk, Changeling, and Dallas Buyers Club. In 2011, he starred as Larry Harvey in the first season of the FX anthology series American Horror Story, for which he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie in 2012. He returned to the show in 2013, playing Spalding in American Horror Story: Coven and once more as Stanley in American Horror Story: Freak Show, the latter for which he earned a second Primetime Emmy Award nomination. For his performance in American Horror Story: Hotel as Liz Taylor, O'Hare received critical acclaim.
Mabel Ida Albertson was an American actress of television, stage, radio and film who portrayed Phyllis Stephens in the TV sitcom Bewitched.
Francis Healey Albertson was an American actor who had supporting roles in films such as It's a Wonderful Life (1946) and Psycho (1960).
Irene Rich was an American actress who worked in both silent films and talkies, as well as radio.
Jonathan Daniel Hamm is an American actor. He came to prominence for his role as Don Draper in the period drama television series Mad Men (2007–2015), for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Series – Drama in 2008 and 2016, and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2015. He received 16 Primetime Emmy Award nominations for acting in and producing Mad Men. He also directed two episodes of the show. He has appeared in the Sky Arts series A Young Doctor's Notebook, and guest-starred in the Channel 4 dystopian anthology series Black Mirror and the Amazon Prime fantasy series Good Omens. He made guest appearances in the sitcoms 30 Rock, Toast of London, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Parks and Recreation, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and in the Netflix comedy feature Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp.
The White Cliffs of Dover is a 1944 American war drama film based on the verse novel The White Cliffs by Alice Duer Miller. It was made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by Clarence Brown, and produced by Clarence Brown and Sidney Franklin. The screenplay was by Claudine West, Jan Lustig and George Froeschel, with the credit for additional poetry by Robert Nathan. Nathan stated in an interview that he wrote the screenplay as his first work as a contracted writer for MGM but the studio credited Claudine West who died in 1943 as a tribute to her.
Irene Worth, CBE was an American stage and screen actress who became one of the leading stars of the British and American theatre. She pronounced her given name with three syllables: "I-REE-nee".
Francis Lumsden Hare was an Irish-born film and theatre actor. He was also a theatre director and theatrical producer.
So This Is London is a 1939 British comedy film directed by Thornton Freeland and starring Robertson Hare, Alfred Drayton and George Sanders. It is adapted from the 1922 play So This Is London by Arthur Goodrich which had previously been adapted into a 1930 film. An American clashes with an Englishman over the merits of their respective countries, only to find that their children have fallen in love. It was made at Pinewood Studios by 20th Century Fox's British subsidiary.
They Had to See Paris is a 1929 American Pre-Code comedy film directed by Frank Borzage and starring Will Rogers, Irene Rich, and Marguerite Churchill. The screenplay concerns a wealthy American oil tycoon who travels to Paris with his family at his wife's request, despite the fact he hates the French.
The Great Impersonation is a 1935 American drama film directed by Alan Crosland and starring Edmund Lowe, Valerie Hobson and Wera Engels. It was adapted from the 1920 novel The Great Impersonation by E. Phillips Oppenheim. It was made by Universal Pictures with some aesthetic similarities to the Universal Horror films of the 1930s. Two other film versions of the story were made with the same title in 1921 and 1942 respectively.
Charlie Chan Carries On is a 1931 American pre-Code mystery film directed by Hamilton MacFadden and starring Warner Oland, John Garrick and Marguerite Churchill. It is the first appearance of Warner Oland as Charlie Chan. Part of the long-running Charlie Chan series, it was based on the 1930 novel of the same title by Earl Derr Biggers. It is now considered a lost film; however, Fox simultaneously filmed a Spanish-language version which was released under the title Eran Trece—There Were Thirteen—and this version survives.
Scotland Yard is a 1930 American crime film directed by William K. Howard, written by Garrett Fort, and starring Edmund Lowe, Joan Bennett, Donald Crisp, Georges Renavent, Lumsden Hare and David Torrence. It was released on October 19, 1930, by Fox Film Corporation. It is based on the 1929 play Scotland Yard by Denison Clift. In 1941 the film was remade under the same title.
