THE ART OF THE SCREWBALL COMEDY (2013) Doris Milberg

Part One of this entertaining exploration of screwball comedies and their later offspring begins in the mid–1930s discussing the careers of popular stars such as Cary Grant and Carole Lombard and well-known supporting players like Walter Connally and Ralph Bellamy (also Asta the dog, top animal star of the 1930s!). Writers and directors are given their due: Frank Capra, Howard Hawks and Preston Sturges, just to name a few.

Part Two, the meat of the book, takes an in-depth look at the films, from the genre’s inception (1934’s It Happened One Night) to the recent 2003 Down with Love, and the stars that appear in them—Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Julia Roberts, Richard Gere—ending with some thoughts about the future. (Book Cover)

Contents

Preface

Part I: The Essence of Screwball

One. Cut and Print: The Anatomy of Screwball

Two. Screwball Personnel: The Stars

Three. Screwball Personnel: They Also Serve

Four. Screwball Personnel: Behind the Scenes

Part II: The Sub-Genres of Screwball

Five. Screwball Guys and Gals: Heirs and Heiresses

Six. Screwball Guys and Gals: The Working Stiffs

Seven. Screwball Cinderellas and Cinderfellas

Eight. Show Business Screwballs

Nine. The Screwball Literati: Anything for a Story

Ten. Love on the Rocks: Marital ­Mix-­Ups, Screwball Style

Eleven. William and Myrna: Nick and Nora et al.

Twelve. Mixing Murder and Mayhem: Screwball Comedy Mysteries

Thirteen. Screwball Families: The Mamas, the Papas, the Kids

Fourteen. Morale Boosters: Screwball Goes to War

Fifteen. Screwball Lives On: Part One

Sixteen. Screwball Lives On: Part Two

Epilogue

Bibliography

Index