AB's Top Classic & Screwball Comedies:
Most of these wonderful gems are from the mid 1930's-1950's. I've included a few from the 60's that I love and an occasional Pre-Code film. Some are musical/comedies but heavy on the comedy. Enjoy, AB:)
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- DirectorH.C. PotterStarsLoretta YoungJoseph CottenEthel BarrymoreAfter leaving her family's farm to study nursing in the city, a young woman finds herself on an unexpected path towards politics.I recorded this off TCM in January 2012 after waiting for years for it to play on TV (I believe it was the TCM premiere, but I might be mistaken). It's still not available on DVD which is a shame. They did replay it on TCM in Summer 2012, so hopefully it will be popular and remain on their regular rotation. Meanwhile, I DVR'd it and am not erasing it. It's definitely in my top 10 movies of all time along with The More the Merrier.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsJean ArthurJoel McCreaCharles CoburnDuring the World War II housing shortage in Washington, two men and a woman share a single apartment and the older man plays Cupid to the other two.
- DirectorLeo McCareyStarsIrene DunneCary GrantRalph BellamyA married couple file an amicable divorce, but find it harder to let go of each other than they initially thought.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsCary GrantKatharine HepburnJames StewartWhen a rich woman's ex-husband and a tabloid-type reporter turn up just before her planned remarriage, she begins to learn the truth about herself.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsWilliam PowellIrene DunneElizabeth TaylorA straitlaced turn-of-the-century father presides over a family of boys and the mother who really rules the roost.
- DirectorNorman JewisonStarsDoris DayJames GarnerArlene FrancisA homemaker's sudden rise to fame as a soap spokesperson leads to chaos in her home life.
- DirectorH.C. PotterStarsCary GrantLaraine DayCharles BickfordA gambler has plans to swindle money from a charity program, but starts to have second thoughts when he falls for a rich society girl.
- DirectorGarson KaninStarsGinger RogersDavid NivenCharles CoburnAn unemployed woman discovers an abandoned baby on the steps of an orphanage, and accepts an offer to take responsibility for the child in return for a job.
- DirectorDelbert MannStarsGlenn FordGeraldine PageAngela LansburyBubbly, middle-aged Evie Jackson has been single and alone for quite some time. When she attends a postmasters' convention at a New York City hotel, she meets rakish greeting card salesman Harry Mork and falls in love.
- DirectorH.C. PotterStarsCary GrantMyrna LoyMelvyn DouglasA man and his wife decide they can afford to have a house in the country built to their specifications. It's a lot more trouble than they think.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsGregory PeckAudrey HepburnEddie AlbertA bored and sheltered princess escapes her guardians and falls in love with an American newsman in Rome.
- DirectorPeter GodfreyStarsBarbara StanwyckDennis MorganSydney GreenstreetA food writer who has lied about being the perfect housewife must try to cover her deception when her boss and a returning war hero invite themselves to her home for a traditional family Christmas.
- DirectorDelbert MannStarsCary GrantDoris DayGig YoungA rich businessman and a young woman are attracted to each other, but he only wants an affair while she wants to save herself for marriage.
- DirectorPeter TewksburyStarsRod TaylorJane FondaCliff RobertsonOn a Sunday, Eileen Tyler, still a virgin, leaves Albany to visit her airline pilot brother in New York but a chance encounter with a man on a city bus threatens to derail her upcoming marriage to boyfriend Russ.
- DirectorBlake EdwardsStarsCary GrantTony CurtisJoan O'BrienDuring World War II, a commander finds himself stuck with a decrepit (and pink) submarine, a con man executive officer, and a group of army nurses.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsSpencer TracyJoan BennettElizabeth TaylorThe father of a young woman deals with the emotional pain of her getting married, along with the financial and organizational trouble of arranging the wedding.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsClark GableClaudette ColbertWalter ConnollyA rogue reporter trailing a runaway heiress for a big story joins her on a bus heading from Florida to New York and they end up stuck with each other when the bus leaves them behind at one of the stops along the way.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsJune AllysonPeter LawfordMargaret O'BrienThe four daughters of a New England family fight for happiness during and after the Civil War.
- DirectorGarson KaninStarsIrene DunneCary GrantRandolph ScottMissing for seven years and presumed dead, a woman returns home on the day of her husband's second marriage.
- DirectorStuart HeislerStarsGary CooperLoretta YoungWilliam DemarestA good-natured saddle tramp traveling with his sidekick is mistaken for a ruthless outlaw with a price on his head.
- DirectorIrving ReisStarsCary GrantMyrna LoyShirley TempleA high school girl falls for a playboy artist, with screwball results.
- DirectorCharles WaltersStarsDoris DayDavid NivenJanis PaigeDrama professor turned theater critic balances his home life and career when he moves to the country with his wife and their four sons.
- DirectorHenry KosterStarsCary GrantLoretta YoungDavid NivenA debonair angel comes to Earth to help an Episcopalian bishop and his wife in their quest to raise money for the new church.
- DirectorRobert Z. LeonardStarsJoan CrawfordRobert TaylorGreer GarsonA successful novelist falls in love with her married publisher, to the consternation of her boyfriend, who arranges for her to meet the publisher's wife.
- DirectorCharles VidorStarsGrace KellyAlec GuinnessLouis JourdanWhen a crown prince visits, the princess's mother tries to push the prince into marrying her daughter by presenting a "rival" at the ball - her children's handsome tutor.
- DirectorHenry KosterStarsDeanna DurbinCharles LaughtonRobert CummingsIn order to please his dying father, a man convinces a hat-check girl to impersonate his fiancée, but complications arise when the father's health suddenly improves.
- DirectorLewis MilestoneStarsRonald ColmanGinger RogersJack CarsonTwo strangers share a sweepstakes ticket and then embark on an "imaginary" honeymoon with their "winnings".
- DirectorWalter LangStarsSpencer TracyKatharine HepburnGig YoungTwo extremely strong personalities clash over the computerization of a television network's research department.
- DirectorRichard ThorpeStarsSandra DeeBobby DarinDonald O'ConnorSandra Dee stars as Joan Howell, a young and pretty maid-for-hire, who begins dating wealthy New York City businessman Tom Milford (Bobby Darin) in That Funny Feeling.
- DirectorCharles VidorStarsIrene DunneCharles BoyerCharles CoburnA prim and proper widow who has succeeded him as mayor of a provincial Vermont town hires a worldly New York sculptor for her husband's statue.
- DirectorWalter LangStarsClifton WebbMyrna LoyJeanne CrainMyrna Loy plays the wife of the persnickety father of her 12 children, Clifton Webb, who has uniquely humorous methods for dealing with the ordeals such an unwieldy family undoubtedly encounters.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsSpencer TracyJoan BennettElizabeth TaylorShortly after coming to terms with his daughter's marriage, a father faces the prospect of becoming a grandfather.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsCary GrantJean ArthurRonald ColmanAn escaped prisoner has to prove his innocence to a stuffy law professor with the help of a spirited school teacher.
- DirectorMelville ShavelsonStarsLucille BallHenry FondaVan JohnsonA widower with ten children falls for a widow with eight, and they must decide about forming a huge, unconventional family.
- DirectorAlexander HallStarsFredric MarchLoretta YoungRobert BenchleyA playwright attempts to stop his wife from retiring so she can star in his next play.
- DirectorDon HartmanStarsRobert MitchumJanet LeighWendell CoreyA young widow is torn between a boring attorney and a romantic ne'er-do-well.
- DirectorJean NegulescoStarsMarilyn MonroeBetty GrableLauren BacallThree women set out to find eligible millionaires to marry, but find true love in the process.
- DirectorFrank TashlinStarsDick PowellDebbie ReynoldsAnne FrancisA Hollywood screenwriter takes in a runaway girl who's more woman than he can handle.
- DirectorMitchell LeisenStarsBarbara StanwyckFred MacMurrayBeulah BondiLove blooms between a sympathetic attorney and the comely shoplifter he has taken home for the Christmas holiday.
- DirectorMichael GordonStarsRock HudsonDoris DayTony RandallAn interior decorator and a playboy songwriter share a telephone party line and size each other up.
- DirectorDon WeisStarsJanet LeighPeter LawfordLewis StoneMark MacLene owes the IRS, the banks, and others a lot of money. The problem is that his trust makes $1,000,000 a year, but he spends $150,000 every month. His trustee Sam uses the power of attorney and the spendthrift clause to hire frugal Lucille Duncan to manage Mark's finances. Presented with thousands of dollars for gifts and charges from the previous night, she immediately cancels his charge accounts and returns as many gifts as she can. Then she puts Mark on a allowance of $50 a week, which upsets him even more. To get rid of Lucy, Mark moves in with her and makes sure that her boyfriend Tom receives a huge raise, thinking that Tom will marry Lucy and free him from her tight control.
- DirectorHenry LevinStarsClifton WebbJane WymanJill St. JohnWhen his oldest daughter decides to stay in South America while on a school tour, her father decides to take the rest of the family there for vacation to find out why.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsGary CooperBarbara StanwyckOscar HomolkaA group of professors working on a new encyclopedia while living in a Manhattan mansion take in a mouthy nightclub singer who is wanted by the police to help bring down her mob boss lover.
- DirectorGeorge SidneyStarsClark GableLoretta YoungFrank MorganTwo mayors meet at a convention and, despite their contrasting personalities and views, find themselves attracted to one other.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsJudy HollidayJack LemmonPeter LawfordWhen a young woman with dreams of fame rents a billboard to advertise herself, her life changes overnight.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsHumphrey BogartAudrey HepburnWilliam HoldenA playboy becomes interested in the daughter of his family's chauffeur, but it's his more serious brother who would be the better man for her.
- DirectorMark SandrichStarsFred AstaireGinger RogersRalph BellamyA psychiatrist falls in love with the woman he's supposed to be nudging into marriage with someone else.
- DirectorWilliam A. SeiterStarsLoretta YoungJoel McCreaDavid NivenThree sisters take their small inheritance and move from Kansas to California in search of rich husbands. To start with, Pamela poses as a socialite and Moira and Elizabeth pretend to be her staff.
- DirectorBlake EdwardsStarsAudrey HepburnGeorge PeppardPatricia NealA young New York socialite becomes interested in a young man who has moved into her apartment building, but her past threatens to get in the way.
- DirectorAndrew V. McLaglenStarsJohn WayneMaureen O'HaraPatrick WayneWealthy rancher G. W. McLintock uses his power and influence in the territory to keep the peace between farmers, ranchers, land-grabbers, Indians and corrupt government officials.
- DirectorNorman KrasnaStarsOlivia de HavillandRobert CummingsCharles CoburnA pilot falls in love with a woman he believes is heading cross country to become a maid, little suspecting that she's actually a princess.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsJudy GarlandMargaret O'BrienMary AstorYoung love and childish fears highlight a year in the life of a turn-of-the-century family.
- DirectorJack ConwayStarsJean HarlowWilliam PowellMyrna LoyWhen a socialite sues a big paper for libel, the editor responsible calls in the help of his ignored fiancée and a former employee to frame her and make the false story seem true.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsJeanne CrainThelma RitterScott BradyMarriage broker Mae Swasey, who somewhat cynically arranges her loser clients' affairs, meets model Kitty Bennett and can't resist meddling in her life, by disentangling her from a married man and fixing her up with a nice radiologist. Of course things go wrong...
- DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsRex HarrisonKay KendallJohn SaxonWhile visiting her father, an American teenage girl is thrown into London society during its "Debutante Season."
- DirectorNorman TaurogStarsJudy GarlandVan HeflinFay BainterSmall-town Indiana girl Lily Mars dreams to be a stage actress. She begs visiting Broadway producer John Thornway for a role but he dismisses her as an amateur. She follows him to New York and worms her way into his show, and his heart.
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsMargaret SullavanJames StewartFrank MorganTwo employees at a gift shop can barely stand each other, without realizing that they are falling in love through the post as each other's anonymous pen pal.
- DirectorRichard ThorpeStarsWallace BeeryJane PowellElizabeth TaylorHyperactive teenager Judy Foster (Jane Powell) challenges, and is challenged by, her overly-proper parents, pesky brother Randolph (Jerry Hunter), and boyfriend Ogden "Oogie" Pringle (Scotty Beckett).
- DirectorMichael GordonStarsKim NovakJames GarnerTony RandallFour men bored with their Thursday nights out from their wives (and mom) rent a love nest in New York City, equipped with a blonde. What they don't know is that she's writing a postgraduate thesis on sexual fantasies of urban men.
- DirectorHenry LevinStarsGlenn FordEvelyn KeyesRon RandellMan tries to help a woman trap a husband so she can adopt a child, but he falls for her himself.
- DirectorNorman Z. McLeodStarsConstance BennettBrian AherneAlan MowbrayDizzy society matron Emily Kilbourne has a habit of hiring ex-cons and hobos as servants. Her latest find is a handsome "tramp" who shows up at her doorstep and soon ends up in a chauffeur's uniform. He also catches the eye of her pretty Geraldine.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsRock HudsonPaula PrentissMaria PerschyThe author of a best-selling fishing guide is actually extremely inexperienced in the sport, which causes mayhem when he is entered into a competition.
- DirectorRobert Z. LeonardStarsGinger RogersLana TurnerWalter PidgeonThe misadventures of a group of diverse guests at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Manhattan.
- DirectorEdward BuzzellStarsRosalind RussellRay MillandEdmund GwennIce-cold college dean Susan Middlecott feels there's no room in her life for romance. Enter Prof. Alec Stevenson, British lecturer on astronomy, touring North America and in possession of a keepsake of Susan's he wants to return. Desperate for publicity, lecture bureau press agent Teddy Evans magnifies this into a great romance. The efforts of both dignified principals to quash the story have the opposite effect; matters get more and more involved...
- DirectorWilliam A. SeiterStarsFred AstaireRita HayworthAdolphe MenjouIn Buenos Aires, a man who has decreed that his daughters must marry in order of age allows an American dancer to perform at his club under the condition that he play suitor to his second-oldest daughter.
- DirectorRalph NelsonStarsCary GrantLeslie CaronTrevor HowardDuring World War II, a man persuaded to live on an isolated island and spot aircraft finds himself responsible for a teacher and several students, all female.
- DirectorSam WoodStarsJean ArthurRobert CummingsCharles CoburnA tycoon goes undercover to ferret out agitators at a department store, but gets involved in their lives instead.
- DirectorNorman TaurogStarsCary GrantBetsy DrakeLurene TuttleNew Jersey couple Anna and Poppy Rose become foster parents to several kids born into less fortunate circumstances, including a desperately unhappy 13-year-old girl and a physically handicapped boy with a penchant for getting into serious trouble.
- DirectorHenry KingStarsJeanne CrainGlenn LanganLynn BariA woman reminisces about her teenage years in the 1920s, when she fell in love with her teacher.
- DirectorHenry LevinStarsDolores HartHugh O'BrianKarlheinz BöhmThree flight attendants combine their work crossing the Atlantic with searching for rich, handsome men to marry.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsLana TurnerRicardo MontalbanJohn LundNora Taylor has $37,000,000 but thinks every man she meets prefers her bankbook figure to her own, and that includes her current fiancé, Paul Chevron, who has $48,000,000 of his own. Paul goes to Brazil to play some polo, and Nora follows along. There, she meets and falls for Roberto Santos, whom she thinks has no money, who is really overjoyed when he discovers she has a lot of money. This depresses her somewhat. But, this being a big-budget MGM film, which means that the two top-billed characters have to end up together, winds up with Metro-plot-218 that says Roberto has a few potatoes (or bananas) of his own and is just pleased to find out she isn't a gold digger after his money. The rich get richer and the poor need not apply.
- DirectorHenry KosterStarsJune AllysonDavid NivenJessie Royce LandisThe spoiled daughter of a rich American family hires as butler an Austrian vagrant she finds on a pier, without knowing that he illegally jumped ship.
- DirectorDelbert MannStarsRock HudsonDoris DayTony RandallA series of misunderstandings leaves an advertising executive with a campaign for a product which has not yet been invented, while he romances his rival in the guise of its inventor.
- DirectorGeorge MarshallStarsFred MacMurrayEleanor ParkerRichard CarlsonA secretary is sent on a business trip to inform a radio personality he's just inherited two million dollars. She falls for him instantly, but he's on his way to get married.
- DirectorDon HartmanStarsCary GrantBetsy DrakeFranchot ToneA willful woman concocts an elaborate scheme to trap a handsome pediatrician into marriage.
- DirectorVincent ShermanStarsIda LupinoSydney GreenstreetWilliam PrinceA traveling saleswoman convinces an army lieutenant to pose as her husband so that she can rent an apartment during the World War II housing shortage.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsMarilyn MonroeYves MontandTony RandallWhen billionaire Jean-Marc Clement learns that he is to be satirized in an off-Broadway revue, he passes himself off as an actor playing him in order to get closer to the beautiful star of the show, Amanda Dell.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsBurt LancasterLee RemickJim HuttonOn its way to Denver, a cargo of whiskey destined for the miners, is sought after by the Temperance League, the U.S. Cavalry, the local Indians and the miners themselves.
- DirectorLeigh JasonStarsBarbara StanwyckHenry FondaSam LeveneAfter the murdered body discovered by beautiful, vivacious socialite Melsa Manton disappears, police and press label her a prankster until she proves them wrong.
- DirectorJack ConwayStarsGreer GarsonWalter PidgeonPeter LawfordA London chorus girl tries to rekindle her relationships with her daughter, whom she gave up as an infant, and her estranged husband, when the former becomes engaged.
- DirectorHarold FrenchStarsStewart GrangerJean SimmonsHelen CherryWhen a friend dies, a gambler adopts his daughter. Complications ensue.
- DirectorBretaigne WindustStarsDennis MorganBetsy DrakeZachary ScottA working girl rises in an ad agency after impressing a baby-food client with her lifelike dolls.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsGregory PeckLauren BacallDolores GrayA sportswriter and a fashion-designer marry after a whirlwind romance, and discover they have little in common.
- DirectorClaude BinyonStarsClifton WebbGinger RogersAnne FrancisThornton Sayre, a respected college professor, is plagued when his old movies are shown on TV and sets out with his daughter to stop it. However, his former co-star is the hostess of the TV show playing his films and she has other plans.
- DirectorMichael CurtizBusby BerkeleyStarsJack CarsonJanis PaigeDoris DayRomantic misunderstandings abound when spouses suspect each other of being unfaithful, and a nightclub singer takes a cruise under a false identity.
- DirectorCharles WaltersStarsFrank SinatraDebbie ReynoldsDavid WayneSuccessful theater agent Charlie Reader lives a playboy's life in New York City. When his childhood friend shows up with a desire to leave his wife, the two are awestruck by each other's lifestyle.
- DirectorRichard QuineStarsLauren BacallTony CurtisNatalie WoodA womanizing reporter for a sleazy tabloid magazine impersonates his hen-pecked neighbor in order to get an expose on renowned psychologist Helen Gurley Brown.
- DirectorRobert Z. LeonardStarsMyrna LoyMelvyn DouglasRaymond WalburnA single magazine editor pretends to be married in order to avoid advances from male colleagues, but complications ensue when she meets a potential suitor.
- DirectorAlexander HallStarsLoretta YoungRay MillandReginald GardinerA best-selling author of women's issues and a medical academic find it is to their mutual advantage to falsely claim that they are married.
- DirectorAlexander HallStarsRobert MontgomeryClaude RainsEvelyn KeyesBoxer Joe Pendleton dies 50 years too soon due to a heavenly mistake, and is given a new life as a millionaire playboy.
- DirectorAnthony AsquithLeslie HowardStarsLeslie HowardWendy HillerWilfrid LawsonA phonetics and diction expert makes a bet that he can teach a cockney flower girl to speak proper English and pass as a lady in high society.
- DirectorGeorge SeatonStarsEdmund GwennMaureen O'HaraJohn PayneAfter a divorced New York mother hires a nice old man to play Santa Claus at Macy's, she is startled by his claim to be the genuine article. When his sanity is questioned, a lawyer defends him in court by arguing that he's not mistaken.
- DirectorRichard ThorpeStarsWilliam PowellMyrna LoyFlorence RiceTwo sisters of differing temperaments, the younger's milquetoast fiancé, and a free-spirited artist in an auto trailer are all experiencing romantic complications.
- DirectorJohn M. StahlStarsMonty WoolleyGracie FieldsLaird CregarFrom Arnold Bennett's novel "Buried Alive". An artist returning from years abroad takes the identity of his dead valet to escape the attentions of the press.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsJack LemmonShirley MacLaineFred MacMurrayA Manhattan insurance clerk tries to rise in his company by letting its executives use his apartment for trysts, but complications and a romance of his own ensue.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsKatharine HepburnCary GrantDoris NolanA young man in love with a girl from a rich family finds his unorthodox plan to go on holiday for the early years of his life met with skepticism by everyone except for his fiancée's eccentric sister and long-suffering brother.
- DirectorPreston SturgesStarsBarbara StanwyckHenry FondaCharles CoburnA trio of classy card sharks targets a socially awkward brewery heir, until one of them falls in love with him.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsSpencer TracyKatharine HepburnAldo RayPat is a women's sports sensation unless her fiancé is around. Her new shady manager Mike keeps them apart and develops feelings for her.
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsCharles BoyerJennifer JonesPeter LawfordA free-spirited parlor maid and a Czech refugee surprise an English village with their unconventional ways.
- DirectorJames V. KernStarsErrol FlynnEleanor ParkerLucile WatsonAfter divorce, 7-year-old Flip is unhappy. She begins corresponding with a Marine, sending him a photo of Ellen pretending she wrote the flirtatious letters. When the Marine arrives to meet his pen pal, Ellen uses it to make Phil jealous.