Screwball Comedy Film - Later Screwball Comedies

Later Screwball Comedies

Various later films are considered by some critics to have revived elements of the classic era screwball comedies. A partial list might include such films as:

• The Mating Season (1951), d. Mitchell Leisen
• Monkey Business (1952), d. Howard Hawks
• How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), d. Jean Negulesco
• The Seven Year Itch (1955), d. Billy Wilder
• Bell, Book and Candle (1958), d. Richard Quine
• Pillow Talk (1959), d. Michael Gordon
• Some Like It Hot (1959), d. Billy Wilder
• The Grass Is Greener (1960), d. Stanley Donen
• One, Two, Three (1961), d. Billy Wilder
• Man's Favorite Sport? (1964), d. Howard Hawks
• A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966) d. Richard Lester
• What's Up, Doc? (1972), d. Peter Bogdanovich
• For Pete's Sake (1974), d. Peter Yates
• Raising Arizona (1987), d. Coen Brothers
• The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), d. Joel Coen
• The Emperor's New Groove (2000), d. Mark Dindal

Elements of classic screwball comedy often found in more recent films which might otherwise simply be classified as romantic comedies include the "battle of the sexes" (Down with Love, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days), witty repartee (Down with Love), and the contrast between the wealthy and the middle class (You've Got Mail, Two Weeks Notice). Modern updates on screwball comedy may also sometimes be categorized as black comedy (Intolerable Cruelty, which also features a twist on the classic screwball element of divorce and re-marriage). The Coen Brothers often include screwball elements in a film which may not as a whole be considered screwball or even a comedy.