Tag Archives: screwball comedy

For Liberties: on Carole Lombard

My second article for my Liberties column is now live: Lombard: Queen of Screwball. The column has a Lombard-inspired name and logo – Movies Before Breakfast – which we chose before I even knew I’d write about her. And the … Continue reading

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March 2024 Viewing Diary

Conspiracy (2001; d. Frank Pierson) I went down a little Wannsee Conference rabbit hole so figured I’d re-watch this chilling nasty little movie. Lured (1947; d. Douglas Sirk) I had never seen this. I love discovering new Douglas Sirks! This … Continue reading

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“Personally, I resent being tagged ‘glamour girl’. It’s such an absurd, extravagant label. It implies so much that I’m not.” — Carole Lombard

It’s her birthday today! Carole Lombard played ditzy and impulsive, but she didn’t play dumb. One of her greatest gifts as a comedienne is her craftiness, how well she creates cunning and sometimes selfish women, women who are heedless, sometimes … Continue reading

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December 2022 Viewing Diary

The Whale (2022; d. Darren Aronofsky) I thought it was appalling, and not for the obvious reasons. His body is viewed as literally a movie monster, with all these horror-movie shots of his gigantic ankles, etc.) It felt tired and … Continue reading

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Falling in love in itty-bitty cars

Claudette Colbert and Don Ameche, Midnight (1939; d. Mitchell Leisen) Daniel Day-Lewis and Vicki Krieps, Phantom Thread (2017; d. Paul Thomas Anderson)

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August 2022 Viewing Diary

It took me a while to get this up. Shit’s BUSY. Here’s what I watched and saw in August. What Josiah Saw (2022; d. Vincent Grashaw) Pretty grim watch. I reviewed for Ebert. Married at First Sight, Seasons 10 and … Continue reading

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Ringing in the new year like …

… Phyllis Brooks in Shanghai Express. It’s such a great character because Shanghai Express is a super weird very dark noir … but SHE thinks she’s in a screwball comedy. … Which is a pretty healthy attitude, if you think … Continue reading

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October 2021 Viewing Diary

I really didn’t watch all that much, numerically, during October, for various reasons. 1. I was on the move. I think I spent, all told, about 7 days at home over the course of the month. Including one unexpected stay … Continue reading

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September 2021 Viewing Diary

Busy month. I found an apartment. I moved. AGAIN. Second time this year. Plus, a family wedding. Plus a new job. It’s been a full year of upheaval, no stability, nothing regular, my stuff scattered in storage units. I’m doing … Continue reading

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Now on Criterion: Bringing Up Baby

The Criterion Collection just released Howard Hawks’ 1938 screwball classic Bringing Up Baby, in a new 4k restoration. The special features are EXTENSIVE, including a video-essay on Cary Grant by Scott Eyman (author of the new biography of Grant), as … Continue reading

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