Category: Comedy

Carefree (1938)

Fred Astaire stars as Tony, a psychiatrist who longs for a patient with “real problems”.  Into his office comes Amanda (Ginger Rogers) who is brought there because she keeps cancelling her wedding.  There is an instant attraction that Tony doesn’t feel is professional, not so for Amanda who pursues him with a will.  She even goes so far as to invent more neurosis for him to treat.  Things get more wacky and hilarious as it culminates with Tony hypnotizing Amanda (to help her get over him) and her leaving his office before he can bring her out of it!

1hr. 23min.

 

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)

Quirky inventor Wayne Szalinski (Rick Moranis) is on the verge of a scientific breakthrough, but no one except his wife (Marcia Strassman) and their kids (Amy O’Neill and Robert Oliveri) believe in him.  When an accident causes the Szalinski kids and their neighbors (Thomas Wilson Brown and Jared Rushton) to be shrunk to the size of bugs and put out with the trash, it’s up to the resourceful kids to battle through the biggest adventure of their lives; the Backyard!

Featuring some (still) impressive special effects, this film was a box office smash, opening at #2 behind Batman.

1hr. 33min.

An Affair to Remember (1957)

In 1957 Leo McCarey remade his 1939 classic ‘Love Affair’.  This time around he chose for his leads Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr.  The story tells of their shipboard romance, that leads the two to (wanting to test the strength of their love) want to meet in 6 months at the top of the Empire State Building.  Getting their lives togethar in the meantime, they both anticipate a happy ending, but they come to learn that “the course of true love never did run smooth”.

Always one to let his actors improvise during filming, Leo McCarey’s parring of Grant and Kerr proved a stroke of genius in this romantic/comedy/drama.

1hr. 58min.

Charade (1963)

When charming stranger Peter Joshua (Cary Grant) meets beautiful and equally charming Regina “Reggie” Lambert (Audrey Hepburn) there is an immediate attraction.  There’s just one little complication, her husband has just died mysteriously and there are three dangerous men after something that he had and they’re positive he gave it to Reggie.  Peter and Reggie must get to the bottom of the mystery while evading the three men, but Peter might not be who he says he is.

Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn were finally teamed in this film that has been called, “the best Hitchcock movie that Hitchcock never made”.

1hr. 53min.

The Paleface (1948)

Legendary Bob Hope gives a hilarious performances as “Painless” Peter Potter, a dentist in the old west who got his degree by correspondence.  Through a misunderstanding with a patient he is forced to flee town, joining a wagon train headed west.  He also picks up a stowaway, beautiful and tough Calamity Jane (Jane Russell) who has a mission of her own. These two opposites form a dynamic duo as they must face outlaws, Indians and each other!

1hr. 32min.

 

The Sound of Music (1965)

Probably one of the most well known musicals of all time, this tells the story of young nun in training Maria (Julie Andrews), who is sent to be the governess of widower Captain Von Trapp’s (Christopher Plummers) 7 children. After their initial wariness of her, the children quickly grow to love Maria as she shares her love of music and life.  It isn’t long before the stern captain begins to realize that he needs Maria there as much as his children do. Things could easily settle into a happy-go-lucky tale, but it’s set in Austria in 1938 and the world is about to change.

Based on a true story, this film along with winning 5 Academy Awards also broke many box office records around the world.

2hr. 54min.

 

You Can’t Take It With You (1938)

Frank Capra directs this 1938 film based on the hit play of the same name.

James Stewart plays the son of a wealthy ammunition supplier, who needs to buy out all the houses in a twelve block area.  Jean Arthur is the daughter of an eccentric family, that are the only ones that won’t sell their house.  The two develop a romance that leads to chaos in a restaurant, the destruction of a basement full of homemade fireworks and lands both of their families in jail.

This movie won the Academy Award for best picture and also features the legendary Lionel Barrymore.

2hr. 6min.