FILM 41.12 Screwball Comedy
This course examines the rise of the classic Hollywood screwball comedy, 1934-1944, and its enduring impact. Occasionally thought of as “a sex comedy without sex,” the screwball comedy blends slapstick, farce, and lunacy with sophisticated, rapid-fire dialogue and abundant wit. Starting with the early entries like It Happened One Night (1934) and My Man Godfrey (1936), the course includes such classics as His Girl Friday (1940), Ball of Fire (1940), and The Lady Eve (1941). Screenings are accompanied by primary and secondary texts that focus on the wide-ranging meanings that the genre has held over time in literature, film history, and theory.