ZAIN-UL-ABIDEEN GOPLANI BSMS III-B Registration Number: 1015171

HISTORY OF CINEMA FINAL PAPER SCREWBALL COMEDIES

It has been said that laughter is the best medicine to all ills. And thus, comedy was born.

Comedy is any work written, spoken or shown which is intended to amuse and cause laughter by poking fun at everyday people, events, problems, etc. At times it has an ultimate motive, usually in political satire, but is mainly meant to entertain. As mankind has developed and technology advanced, so have the forms of comedy branched and evolved. Once, long ago, the only types of comedy were humourous poems and satirical plays. With the progression of time, its main platform has changed from the written word, public shows and exclusive theatres to home television and films. A lot of comedy works depend on shock, absurdity, redundancy, disagreement, exaggeration and endings contradictory to what was expected; however, not all comedy follows the same theme.

One such type of comedy is screwball. The word screwball is a slang term which came in vogue in the early 20th century, and literally is a pitch (throw) in baseball which is extremely unpredictable.

Theres a pitch in baseball called a screwball, which was perfected by the pitcher named Carl Hubbell back in the 1930s. Its a pitch with a particular spin that sort of flutters and drops, goes in different directions, and behaves in very unexpected waysScrewball comedy was unconventional, went in different directions, and behaved in unexpected ways Andrew Bergman, Were in the Money: Depression America and Its Films

Figuratively, it means someone who is very strange, crazy, irrational or unbalanced. Screwball is said to be an old and distinct genre of comedy, for while it is mainly used to describe a specific genre of films which became popular in America during The Great Depression (1930s and 1940s), many of its defining characteristics, such as the largerthan-life characters, impossible situations, physical humour, witty repartee, mistaken identity and the pursuit of the opposite sex can be traced back to early plays such as William Shakespeares Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Nights Dream (which were in turn inspired by ancient Roman theatrical comedies) and Oscar Wildes The Importance of Being Earnest. Recently, comedy has been divided into two types: comedian (which focuses on a single person) and romantic (a series of events happening to a couple which leads to their union). Screwballs are definitely romantic comedies.

Screwball comedy films and programmes initially came into the spotlight after the rigid Production Code of 1934, which banned topics such as adultery, homosexuality, prostitution and sex from being addressed or shown on the big screen. Before it, all movies had at least one risqu scene. As such, screwball comedy can be seen as a form of rebellion against the totalitarian Code (which took away realism, amongst other things, in man small ways, i.e. not allowing even married couples to sleep on the same bed in any scene), for they have been correctly called sex comedies without the sex. So verbal sparring (fast dialogue; the use of insults, puns and double entrendes, etc.) as well as physical fights (running, mild hitting and slight damage to clothes not enough to tear, mind you) replaced overt lovemaking (and thus were the first Public Displays of Affection defined). Furthermore, the childishness of the main characters is another style

of defiance, depicting that the puerile antics of both the eccentric heiresses (i.e. Claudette Colbert in It Happened One Night, Katherine Hepburn in Bringing Up Baby and Carole Lombard in My Man Godfrey) and their opposite yet just as messed up (and oftentimes alcoholic) counterparts (i.e. Clark Gable in It Happened One Night).

Unlike modern movies, which have beautiful stills of scenery, clever light and shadow techniques, multiple cameras and clean editing, screwball comedies feature a few long takes in which all the characters are easily visible, the lights are set to highlight the set and compliment the stars and when a phrase has to be pointed out, a small change in the single cameras position is conducted.

While there is, as of yet, no consensus definition of the screwball style of films, and works from other genres (i.e. slapstick, romantic comedies) are often improperly classified under it, a true screwball has a few distinct themes which need to be fulfilled for the term to apply.

1) Reverse class snobbery. Class snobbery is when the rich believe they are superior to the poor because of their social status. The opposite is rampant in screwball comedies, which imply or believe that normal (poor) folk have more common sense and hence are better than the wealthy. Or, vice versa, that even the elite had the ability to be as dignified as ordinary people. This is one of the reasons they became so popular, for during The Great Depression those

normal folk needed to feel that they were better off than the rich, if not in terms of money, than at least in wits.

2) Opposites attract. Then there was the ever-important romantic element, and not just any old romance would do; it had to be one in which two people with completely differing personalities, habits, and backgrounds fall for each other, two people who appear to be total opposites and yet are fated to be together (i.e. It Happened One Night, in which Claudette Colbert is a young rich girl who runs away from home and ends up meeting a witty yet failing journalist, Clark Gable; they initially hate each other but in the end realize how wellsuited they are). It let people believe, even if for only a while, that anything is possible; that for some time, they were Clark Gable or Katherine Hepburn, living in a world where the impossible is everyday.

3) Conservative endings. Divorce and remarriage are also present enough to warrant their own sub-genre, known as The Comedy of Remarriage (i.e. The Awful Truth). However, such films have also been said to be evidence that while Americans had freer attitudes and open minds about divorce at the time, marriage was considered the most superior way of life and so always won out. In the end, the main protagonists would either be married or end up engaged or committed to each other, but with redefined roles. In addition, when talking about remarriage, it would be the female protagonist whod opinions would change, contrary to the accepted screwball style.

4) Witty repartee. Quick and clever dialogue, (i.e. His Girl Friday) is a must, the faster and smarter the better. While this trend did not originate in screwball comedies, it has been argued that this is one of screwballs most common features, and hence can be categorized as a defining characteristic.

The world of screwball courtship is a world of talk. Eliot Rubinstein

5) Hyperbole and slapstick. Ludicrous situations which rarely happen in real life, with some slapstick elements also present, though in a much lesser and more everyday extent than in actual slapstick (i.e. Bringing Up Baby, The Lady Eve).

6) Identity crisis or loss. Mistaken identity and/or cross-dressing, in which simple explanations are overlooked or ignored for incomprehensible reasons (i.e. I Was a Male War Bride).

7) Role reversal. Women are often the ones who dominate in these types of films. Even though the male lead might resolve the plot in the end, it is the female lead who dominates over him. It is the female lead who is the stronger one and takes the initiative, and who comes from a richer and higher class background. They usually plan on ending up with the male lead

from the start. The male lead, on the other hand, is usually of a lower class and worse off financially, though not necessarily poor. He is also made to look silly and slightly idiotic, though this is deemed necessary to make him relax in the end. The 1930s brought some changes to a lot of old, widely held concepts, especially in movies. Screwball comedies were one of the first to transfer some of those concepts onto the screen. One of the things which changed was the image of women. They were on more equal terms with men, and allowed to have pink-collar jobs. Their lifestyle was more consumer-oriented. However, the ultimate goal of a woman was still supposed to be marriage and their thoughts domestically oriented. This mind set is reflected in screwball comedies.

The essential feature of the screwball comedies, though, is how the entire plot depends on contrasts: elite versus poor, educated versus illiterate, honesty versus lies, clever versus stupid, and most importantly of all, male versus female. These were not the classic meeting cute stories in which the hero and heroine saw each other, fell in love instantly, succumb to their feelings and live happily, perfectly ever after. Nor are they straight out clowning around, hitting each other for the heck of it. No; in screwball comedies, the protagonists must battle their love out, see if it stands the test. They lie to one another, adopt separate personalities when it suits them, play terrible jokes and tricks on each other, and insult each other continuously until finally running out of ammo, they realize that they were in love with the other person all along, and kiss and make up. It is a clash of wits, raw and often moving, but with humour and sophistication, depending completely on droll and ingenious dialogue.

Exactly, what, though, made screwball comedies so popular to begin with? Why did a genre, which is simply a mixture of slapstick, romantic comedies and the dialogue of more sophisticated movies, attract such a large audience? They were released during Americas most economically defunct period; at such a time, luxuries such as movies should have been the first to go.

"Throughout most of the Depression, Americans went assiduously, devotedly, almost compulsively, to the moviesthe movies offered a chance to escape the cold, the heat, and loneliness; they brought strangers together, rubbing elbows in the dark of movie palaces and fleapits, sharing in the one social event available to everyone." - Carlos Stevens, From the Crash to the Fair, The Public Theatre, 1979

Comedies such as screwballs offered an escape, a chance to forget ones problems for an hour or two, to be able to live in luxury and experience the high life at least, until the movie ended. It was the second decade after women could vote; people wanted to see movies which not only showed them a glamorous lifestyle but also highlighted the major social changes of their day. However, there was unrest in Europe at the time, and the average Joe and Jane already read about the current political crisis every day in the newspaper and heard about it on the radio; they did not want to go into a theatre and have to experience it again. Screwball comedies are politically apathetic; the protagonists are too busy dealing with the irrational world around them to take notice of the economic or political state of affairs in their country. During these years, many writers from New

York started going West for the movies, and so the dialogues were much better than those of earlier works. Furthermore, screwball comedies were one of the first movies with sound, increasing their appeal.

And then, of course, there were the stars. Carole Lombard, Claudette Colbert, Katherine Hepburn, Clark Gable, Cary Grant not only very good-looking but also with extremely charismatic personalities. If one is going to spend their money on watching a movie anyways, why not one in which the actors and actresses have character, instead of just looks?

While there are many directors who made the golden age of screwball comedies possible, there are a few who deserve mention: W.S Van Dyke (Thin Man), Jack Conway (Libeled Lady), Frank Capra (It Happened One Night, Meet John Doe).

Comedy films, just like comedy itself, have changed over the years. In the early 20th century, before the advent of sound (as graphics were low, and sound was incompatible at the time, actors were discouraged from talking to support the film), slapstick movies were the norm. Unlike screwball comedies, which use toned down gags and utilize dialogues as well, slapsticks used only cartoonish visual gags and exaggerated body movements. Basically, a slapstick was an instrument used by clowns which consisted of two small wooden slabs tied together which produced a loud smacking sound when hit against something. The pointless laughter generated from such an action sudden and

loud and just plain silly is what defines this genre. Remember those old, classic gags like pie-in-face, squirting flower, seltzer bottle? All slapstick gags. Some of the most famous slapstick comedians were Charles (Charlie) Chaplin and The Keystone Bros.

After the advent of sound, silent movies went out of fashion. People wanted something more than just visual gags; they wanted funny and interesting dialogues. And it was around this time that romantic comedies became common (i.e. Its A Wonderful World). The plot would be one of many variations on the same theme: boy meets girl, boy loses girl, they make up; but as they were new at the time, people kept coming to see them. Screwball comedies, being a sub-genre of rom coms (as romantic comedies are typically called), were also introduced at around this time. Contrary to popular belief, even though they are a sub-genre of rom coms, screwball comedies are also a parody of them. However, unlike rom coms, which are still a prevalent genre even now, the popularity of screwball comedies dropped after the 1940s, the last authentic one being Whats Up Doc in 1972. Perhaps it was the invasion by television, which nearly obliterated the film industry and almost wiped out Hollywood (had they not started sending their movies abroad). There was, of course, the anti-feminist movement after the war, which caused any media which depicted strong and upfront women to be shunned. It took over 30 years for women and hence directors to realize that screwball heroines are much better role models than the meek, quiet, docile women being shown in the movies for the past few decades. And by then it would be nearly too late.

Some other comedy films include comedy of manners, which use irony and satire to mimic the manners and personalities of a specific social class, generally with some illicit love affair or shocking scandal included but mainly revolving around interesting dialogue. Fish-out-of-water style comedies place the protagonist in new and unknown situations, from which most of the laughs come from. Parodies can be said to be tongue in cheek versions of a popular movie, show or text, borrowing heavily from the original context and then presenting it from a different point of view. Parodies may or may not be condemning (i.e. The Road Runner Show was a parody honouring Tom and Jerry). Black comedy is dark humour; jokes and wisecracks about the evils in society, dealing with taboo subjects like race, sex, suicide, war. One of the most influential black comedy filmmakers was Preston Sturges, and even though he flopped during his lifetime, he was the inspiration for many future filmmakers such as the Coen brothers and Woody Allen. Anarchic comedy films use strange-thoughts humour which often simply ridicule a form of power. They rarely have plots, nor sequence. Duck Soup is one of the oldest and most well-known films of this sub-genre. Then there are gross-out films, which make use of vulgar or potty humour for entertainment (i.e. American Pie).

Screwball comedies do not just include films; they extend into the world of animation too. Many of us have grown up watching the antics of Daffy Duck and Woody Woodpecker. How about Bugs Bunny? Did you know they were screwball characters, introduced by Warner Bros in an effort to replace normal, everyman (relatable, sane) characters such as Mickey Mouse and Popeye the Sailor Man? Tex Avery, the man

behind all three, is also responsible for perhaps every single screwball character in animation. In contrast to the everyman characters, Daffy Duck and Woody Woodpecker are known for their energy, literally bouncing off the screen, laughing their unique laughs. And everyone knows about Bugs and his Whats up, Doc? and his strange behaviour. All three fit into the classic screwball lead role, having a love-hate relationship with the antagonist: Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, or Daffy and Bugs, or all three.

Honestly speaking, Ive never seen a screwball comedy in theatres. There are many neoscrewballs, but none fit into the classic definition. The last genuine screwball comedy was Whats Up Doc made in 1972, starring Barbara Streisand and Ryan ONeal. In classic screwball style, an extremely witty girl named Judy happens to meet an extremely disconcerted researcher named Howard. And from the moment they meet, she turns his life around, while at the same time trying to make him hers. A dry and boring male, a street smart woman who leads him around, crazy and insane circumstances, and then a nice little happy ending to boot: the perfect screwball.

I believe, that in our countrys current situation, rather similar to Americas during The Great Depression (economically and socially), a few screwball comedies will not do any harm. The box office is full of action films, skin-crawling thrillers, summer blockbusters, Bollywood backwash, gory horror movies, cheesy and clichd romantic comedies; the TV has nothing but morning shows or reality shows or the same old movies once shown

at the cinema. One may say that rom coms ARE screwball comedies, but I disagree. Romantic movies, no matter how happy the ending, always have their moments of seriousness, the characters have moments when they are totally relatable, and then it stops being a larger-than-life movie and becomes just another depiction of our lives. To be able to watch a movie or a show, about two people who meet under the most impossible of circumstances, and who at first despise each other and end up together; a larger-than-life movie or show in which one can forget ones own problems in the wackiness of the world depicted, even if for just a while. A movie or show with events which we know will never happen to normal people in real life, but maybe we are just tired of real life.

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