Screwball comedy movies crazy, zany, rapid fire dialogue movies. This type of comedy usually centered around a couple (male and female) in which the female dominates and humiliates the male character. A combination of slapstick comedy, battle of the sexes love story, and someone being wronged. The films usually had sexual undertone. Of screwball comedy era I will provide a brief history of screwball comedy films and compare two movies of the top ten movies of that genre- The Awful Truth (1934) and His Girl Friday (1940).
Screwball Comedy also labeled as the “new American farce” emerged in the 1930s. Screwball comedy gained its popularity post WWII and during the Great Depression. The basis of the screwball comedies depicted the rich and well off in a comedic manner and in some cases a lower-class (poor) person falling for an upper-class (rich)person. Viewing these types of characters on screen provided the audience a humorous escape from their reality. The first screwball comedy was Lewis Milestone's The Front Page (1931). Screwball comedy was also created to get around the Hays Code …show more content…
Directed by Leo McCarey and written by Viña Delmar and Arthur Richman. Leading actors Irene Dunne (Lucy Warriner), Cary Grant (Jerry Warriner), and Ralph Bellamy (Daniel Leeson). Leo McCarey won an Academy Award for Best Director and in 1996 The Awful Truth was deemed culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. The Overall theme of The Awful Truth is a seemingly rich couple have extra-marital affairs, get divorced, and trying to start new relationships. During the courting stages for the characters Lucy Warriner and Jerry Warriner sabotage each other’s new relationships and end upback