Another fine mess : a history of American film comedy / Saul Austerlitz.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Austerlitz, Saul.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Comedy films--United States--History and criticism.

Comedy films.

Motion pictures--United States--History and criticism.

Motion pictures.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (529 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Chicago, Ill. : Chicago Review Press, 2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

From City Lights to Knocked Up, this history examines American film from the perspective of its unwanted stepbrother, the comedy, and puts the comic titans of the present in the context of their predecessors. The 30 chapters and 100 essays follow the connections that link Mae West to Marilyn Monroe and W. C. Fields to Will Ferrell. Offering unvarnished insight into comedians and directors such as Buster Keaton, Christopher Guest, Eddie Murphy, and Ben Stiller, this eye-opening, entertaining, and enlightening tour encompasses t

Contents:

Cover; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1. CHARLIE CHAPLIN: The Most Famous Man on Earth; 2 BUSTER KEATON: The Camera Man; 3. HAROLD LLOYD: The Striver; 4. LAUREL & HARDY: Straight Man and Little Boy; 5. THE MARX BROTHERS: Brothers of Anarchy; 6. W. C. FIELDS: The Juggler; 7. MAE WEST: "It's All Been Done Before, but Not the Way I Do It"; 8. ERNST LUBITSCH: The Touch; 9. PRESTON STURGES: The Cockeyed Caravan; 10. CARY GRANT: The Picture of Archie Leach; 11. KATHARINE HEPBURN: Spencer's Rib; 12. BILLY WILDER: "Nobody's Perfect!"; 13. MARILYN MONROE: Funny Blonde

14. DORIS DAY: Battle of the Sexless15. JERRY LEWIS: They're Crazy About Him in France; 16. PETER SELLERS: The Man Behind the Masks; 17. DUSTIN HOFFMAN: Stardom, Revised; 18. ROBERT ALTMAN: Overlapping Dialogue; 19. MEL BROOKS: The 2000-Year-Old Parodist; 20. WOODY ALLEN: Hope and Bergman; 21. RICHARD PRYOR: Rebel Without a Pause; 22. ALBERT BROOKS: The Return of Sully Sullivan; 23. STEVE MARTIN: The Jerk and the Genius; 24. EDDIE MURPHY: Incredible Shrinking Comic; 25. BILL MURRAY: Just the Usual Comic Inspiration- Frustration, Loss, and Death; 26. THE COEN BROTHERS: Oddball America

27. CHRISTOPHER GUEST: The Baron of the Mockumentary28. BEN STILLER: Good Jewish Boys; 29. WILL FERRELL: "A Pretty Nice Little Saturday"; 30. JUDD APATOW: Peter Pans and Frat Brothers; SHORT ENTRIES; Top 100 American Comedies; Bibliography; Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-56976-761-0

OCLC:

670429636