American comedy films

American comedy filmsarecomedy filmsproduced in theUnited States.The genre is one of the oldest in American cinema; some of the firstsilent movieswere comedies, asslapstick comedyoften relies on visual depictions, without requiring sound.With the advent of sound in the late 1920s and 1930s, comedic dialogue rose in prominence in the work of film comedians such asW. C. Fieldsand theMarx Brothers.By the 1950s, the television industry had become serious competition for the movie industry. The 1960s saw an increasing number of broad, star-packed comedies. In the 1970s,black comedieswere popular. Leading figures in the 1970s wereWoody AllenandMel Brooks.One of the major developments of the 1990s was the re-emergence of the romantic comedy film. Another development was the increasing use of "gross-out humour".

History

1895–1930

Chaplin asthe Trampin 1915, cinema's "most universal icon"

Comic films began to appear in significant numbers during the era of silent films, roughly 1895 to 1930. The visual humour of many of these silent films relied on slapstick andburlesque.In American film, the most prominent comic actors of the silent era wereCharlie Chaplin(although born in England, his success was principally in the U.S.),Buster KeatonandHarold Lloyd.

A popular trend during the 1920s and afterward was comedy in the form of animated cartoons. Several popular characters of the period received the cartoon treatment. Among these wereFelix the Cat,Mickey Mouse,Oswald the Lucky Rabbit,andBetty Boop.

1930–1950s

Laurel and Hardy in the 1939 filmThe Flying Deuces

Toward the end of the 1920s, the introduction of sound into movies made possible dramatic new film styles and the use of verbal humour. During the 1930s, the silent film comedy was replaced by dialogue from film comedians such asW. C. Fields,theMarx Brothers,andOur Gang.Stan LaurelandOliver Hardy,who had made a number of very popular short silent films, used the arrival of sound to deepen their well-formed screen characterizations and enhance their visual humour, and went on to great success in talking films. The use of sound was used to the advantage forribaldryfor comedians likeMae West.These films were known asPre-Code.As theGreat Depressioncame to improve, the film industry no longer needed to useshock valueto draw in moviegoers. Meanwhile, theRoman Catholic Churchrecognized theoff-color humorinHollywoodand led a moral crusade. By 1934, theHays Codewas enforced years after its original enactment.Film censorshipbecame strong throughout the next three decades. The comedianCharlie Chaplinwas one of the last silent film hold-outs, and his films during the 1930s were devoid of dialogue, although they did employ sound effects.

Screwball comedies,such as produced byFrank Capra,and notably "Bringing Up Baby",exhibited a pleasing, idealized climate that portrayed reassuring social values and a certain optimism about everyday life. Movies still included slapstick humour and other physical comedy, but these were now frequently supplemental to the verbal interaction. Another common comic production from the 1930s was the short subject.Hal RoachStudio specialized in this form. WhileColumbiawas prolific, producing 190Three Stoogesreleases, alone. These non-feature productions only went into decline in the 1950s when they were migrated to the television.

As the rise ofAdolf HitlerandNazismrose inGermany,Adolf Hitler in popular culturebecame more common in the American film industry.Bosko's Picture Showbecame the first American cartoon to parody Hitler, however brief.Der Fuehrer's FaceandHerr Meets Harebecame cartoons to expand the parody of the Fuhrer. AsJews,theThree Stoogesfelt personally concerned forantisemitisminthe Holocaust.In 1940, they decided to turn their fears into comedy.They parodied Hitler in their shorts,You Nazty SpyandI'll Never Heil AgainChaplin followed with hisThe Great Dictator.The film was not only Chaplin's first sound film, it was the final appearance of his Tramp character, who he reveals is Jewish.

With the entry of the United States intoWorld War II,Hollywoodbecame focused on themes related to the conflict.Comedies portrayed military themes such as service, civil defense, boot-camp and shore-leave.Abbott and Costellobecame a popular comedy duo who appeared in films, such as "Buck Privates."The war-time restrictions on travel made this a boom time for Hollywood, and nearly a quarter of the money spent on attending movies.

The post-war period was an age of reflection on the war, and the emergence of a competing medium, the television. In 1948, television began to acquire commercial momentum and by the following year there were nearly a hundred television transmitters in American cities.

By the 1950s, the television industry had become a serious competition for the movie industry. Despite the technological limitations of the TV medium at the time, more and more people chose to stay home to watch the television. The Hollywood studios at first viewed the television as a threat, and later as a commercial market. Several comic forms, such asBurns and Allen,Ed Wynn,Groucho Marx,andLucille Ball,that had previously been a staple of movie theaters transitioned to the television. Both the short subject and the cartoon now appeared on the television rather than in the theater, and the "B" movie also found its outlet on the television.

As television became filled with family-oriented comedies, the 1950s saw a trend toward more adult social situations. Only theWalt Disneystudios continued to steadily release family comedies. The release of comedy films also went into a decline during this decade. In 1947 almost one in five films had been comic in nature, but by 1954 this was down to ten percent.

The 1950s saw the decline of past comedy stars and a certain paucity of new talent in Hollywood. Among the few popular new stars during this period wereJudy Hollidayand the comedy team phenom ofDean MartinandJerry Lewis.Lewis followed the legacy of such comedians as Keaton and Harold Lloyd, but his work was not well received by critics in the United States (in contrast toFrancewhere he proved highly popular). As in the United Kingdom, in the next decade much of this talent would move into television.

Sex symbols, particularlyMarilyn MonroeandTony Curtis,established thesex comedyby the end of the decade. Set in the 1920s,Some Like It Hotborrowed elements from thePre-Codeera with its subtle undertones and suggestions.Doris DayandRock Hudsonalso offered material that set the stage for thesexual revolutionof the next decade.

1960s–1980s

The next decade saw an increasing number of broad, star-packed comedies includingIt's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World(1963),Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines(1965) andThe Great Race(1965). By the middle of the decade, some of the 1950s generation of American comedians, such asJerry Lewis,went into decline, whilePeter Sellersfound success with international audiences in his first American filmThe Pink Panther.The bumblingInspector Clouseauwas a character Sellers would continue to return to over the next decade.

Toward the end of the 1950s, darker humour and more serious themes had begun to emerge, including satire and social commentary.Dr. Strangelove(1964) was a satirical comedy aboutCold Warparanoia, whileThe Apartment(1960),Alfie(1966) andThe Graduate(1967) featured sexual themes in a way that would have been impossible only a few years previously.

In the year 1970, theblack comediesCatch 22andM*A*S*Hreflected the anti-war sentiment then prevalent, as well as treating the sensitive topic of suicide.M*A*S*Hwould be toned down and brought to television in the following decade as a long-running series.

Among the leading lights in comedy films of the next decade wereWoody AllenandMel Brooks.Both wrote, directed and appeared in their movies.Brooks' style was generally slapstick and zany in nature, often parodying film styles andgenres,includingUniversal horror films(Young Frankenstein),westerns(Blazing Saddles) andHitchcockfilms (High Anxiety). Following his success onBroadwayand on film withThe Odd CoupleplaywrightandscreenwriterNeil Simon would also be prominent in the 1970s, with films likeThe Sunshine BoysandCalifornia Suite.Other notable film comedians who appeared later in the decade wereRichard Pryor,Steve MartinandBurt Reynolds.

In 1980, the gag-based comedyAirplane!,aspoofof the previous decade's disaster film series was released and paved the way for more of the same includingTop Secret!(1984) and theNaked Gunfilms. Popular comedy stars in the 1980s includedDudley Moore,Tom Hanks,Eddie Murphy,Robin Williams,andDan Aykroyd.Many had come to prominence on the American TV seriesSaturday Night Live,includingBill Murray,Steve MartinandChevy Chase.Eddie Murphy made a success of comedy-action filmsincluding48 Hrs.(1982) and theBeverly Hills Copseries (1984–1993).

Also popular were the films ofJohn Hughessuch as the "National Lampoon's Vacation (film series)"andFerris Bueller's Day Off.He would later become best known for theHome Aloneseries of the early 1990s. The latter film helped a revival in comedies aimed at a family audience, along withHoney, I Shrunk the Kidsand its sequels.

1990s–2010s

One of the major developments of the 1990s was the re-emergence of the romantic comedy film, encouraged by the success ofWhen Harry Met Sally...in 1989. Other examples includedSleepless in Seattle(1993),Clueless(1995) andYou've Got Mail(1998). Spoofs remained popular as well, especially with theScary MoviefranchiseandNot Another Teen Movie.

There were also "stoner" comedies, which often involve two men on an adventure with random things happening to them along the way. Based onCheech and Chong,big movies of this subgenre would beDude, Where's My Car,Big Nothing,Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle,andPineapple Express.These movies usually have drug-related jokes and crude content.

Another development was the increasing use of "gross-out humour"usually aimed at a younger audience, in films like the"Austin Powers"films,There's Something About Mary,American Pieandits sequels,andFreddy Got Fingered.In mid-2000s, the trend of "gross-out" movies is continuing, with adult-oriented comedies picking up the box office. But serious black comedies (also known as dramatic comedies ordramedies) were performing also well, such asThe Weather Man,Broken FlowersandShopgirl.In late 2006,Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstanblended vulgar humour with cultural satire.

Since the late 2000s, the live-action comedy film has entered a period of severe decline, with studiosgreen-lightingfar fewer of them each year.The problem is that faced with brutal competition in developed markets in the same timeframe, major film studios became dependent upon distributing their films to increasingly diverse international audiences inemerging marketsto maintain their profits; but the humor in most comedy films is tightly bound to the home culture of the films' creators and does not translate well.

Bibliography

• Austerlitz, Saul (2010).Another Fine Mess: A History of American Film Comedy.Cappella Books. Chicago Review Press.ISBN978-1-55652-951-1.
• Beach, Christopher (2002).Class, Language, and American Film Comedy.Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-521-80749-4.
• Karnick, Kristine Brunovska; Jenkins, Henry, eds. (1994).Classical Hollywood Comedy.AFI Film Readers. Routledge.ISBN978-0-415-90640-1.
• Krutnik, Frank; Neale, Steve (1990).Popular Film and Television Comedy.Popular Fictions Series. Routledge.ISBN978-0-415-04692-3.

See also

• List of American comedy films