A Good Time to Laugh
This spring, the Park Ridge Public Library Classic Film Series concludes its “Legends of Laughter” trilogy with a look back at the great screwball comedies of the 1930s and early 1940s. The screwball comedy was a more madcap version of the romantic comedy. Often featuring strong heroines matching wits and verbally sparring with their male counterparts, these films typically revolved around a “battle of the sexes.” Their themes also highlighted class division in which a character from one social class enters another, usually as a poseur. There was always an emphasis on slapstick with plotlines more outlandish (but more kinetic) than your typical romance. In essence, the screwball genre turned traditional courtship on its head.
“Comedies have always been a successful component of what we do at the Park Ridge Public Library,” explains series host Matthew C. Hoffman, who recently programmed a series of British comedies in 2018. “LOL 3 is a powerhouse line-up of the biggest films and stars of the era, including The Philadelphia Story (May 7), which won James Stewart an Academy Award for Best Actor.”
Certain Hollywood legends are more associated with screwball comedy, particularly Carole Lombard and Cary Grant, both of whom thrived in the genre. Lombard excelled as a comedienne and will kick off our Opening Night on March 5 with My Man Godfrey. In this film, she plays an eccentric socialite who gets a lesson about money—and humanity– from vagrant-turned-butler William Powell. Lombard will also appear in Nothing Sacred (March 26) with Fredric March. In addition to Lombard, another actress with great comedic timing was Irene Dunne, whom we honored in 2014 with a visit from her granddaughter. Dunne stars in The Awful Truth (March 19), a comedy of remarriage, as well as My Favorite Wife (April 23)– both opposite Cary Grant.
The incomparable Cary Grant will appear in nearly half of the films shown, including two of the best known: Bringing Up Baby (April 2) and His Girl Friday (April 16). Besides stars like Grant and Lombard, directors such as Leo McCarey, Howard Hawks, and Preston Sturges made some of their most famous films in the genre. LOL 3 features two by Sturges– back-to-back–to wrap up the series: The Lady Eve (May 14) with Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda and The Palm Beach Story (May 28) with Claudette Colbert and Joel McCrea.
Join us Thursday nights this spring for a wild ride of misadventures with flighty heiresses, fast-talking reporters—and a pet leopard named Baby.
All film presentations at the Library begin at 7:00 p.m. with a special introduction by Matthew C. Hoffman. Doors to the first floor meeting room open at 6:30 p.m. Free. No registration required.
*It Happened One Night (1934) will be screened on Wednesday, April 15, as part of the Pickwick Theatre Classic Film Series. Admission is $12/$10 advance or $8 for the 1 p.m. matinee. All other LOL3 screenings are at the Library.
March 5: MY MAN GODFREY (1936) 95 min.
March 12: EASY LIVING (1937) 86 min.
March 19: THE AWFUL TRUTH (1937) 92 min.
March 26: NOTHING SACRED (1937) 75 min.
April 2: BRINGING UP BABY (1938) 102 min.
April 9: MIDNIGHT (1939) 94 min.
*April 15: IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934) 105 min. (Presented at the Pickwick Theatre.)
April 16: HIS GIRL FRIDAY (1940) 92 min.
April 23: MY FAVORITE WIFE (1940) 88 min.
May 7: THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940) 112 min.
May 14: THE LADY EVE (1941) 94 min.
May 28: THE PALM BEACH STORY (1942) 87 min.
