Screwball! Hollywood's Madcap Romantic Comedies
Type
Book
Authors
ISBN 10
0517573024
ISBN 13
9780517573020
Category
Film History
[ Browse Items ]
Publication Year
1989
Publisher
Pages
240
Subject
Love in motion pictures- Pictorial works; Screwball comedy films; Screwball comedy films- United States- History and criticism
Tags
Abstract
The screwball comedies that flourished in the decade between the onset of the Depression and the end of World War II have left a mark on our memories far greater than could have been expected from their impact at the time. Ed Sikov's account has captured this fascinating period both in terms of its sensuous surface and its provocative subtexts. He has succeeded in bringing a scintillating period in our cultural history back to glittering life.
Description
Contents:
Introduction: Pitching screwballs
Pt. 1: Marriage for moderns: the pleasure of screwball pain
Brace yourself: adultery, bigamy, and simple playing around
The ties that bind: mad love and straitjackets
Out for blood: the intimacy of violence
"Art direction by..."
Pt. 2: Cents and sensibility: the uses of screwball cash
Heiresses in overdrive: poor little rich girls running wild
Screwball Cinderellas: making it the old-fashioned way
Screaming social significance: the screwball family
"Gowns by..."
Pt. 3: Lying, cheating, and changing sex: the virtue of deceit
Caught in the press: the newspaper screwball
Acting up and acting out: screwball role playing
In the dark: screwball mysteries
The directors
The writers
The cinematographers
Selected filmography
Screwball comedy and the Oscars
Introduction: Pitching screwballs
Pt. 1: Marriage for moderns: the pleasure of screwball pain
Brace yourself: adultery, bigamy, and simple playing around
The ties that bind: mad love and straitjackets
Out for blood: the intimacy of violence
"Art direction by..."
Pt. 2: Cents and sensibility: the uses of screwball cash
Heiresses in overdrive: poor little rich girls running wild
Screwball Cinderellas: making it the old-fashioned way
Screaming social significance: the screwball family
"Gowns by..."
Pt. 3: Lying, cheating, and changing sex: the virtue of deceit
Caught in the press: the newspaper screwball
Acting up and acting out: screwball role playing
In the dark: screwball mysteries
The directors
The writers
The cinematographers
Selected filmography
Screwball comedy and the Oscars
Number of Copies
1
