The screwball comedy is a subgenre of the comedy Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. Also, films in this style typically have a happy ending . One of the oldest genres in film, some of the very first silent movies were comedies. Comedy, unlike other film genres, puts much more focus on individual stars, with many former stand-up comic transitioning to the film film genre In film theory, genre refers to the method of film categorization based on similarities in the narrative elements from which films are constructed. Most theories of film genre are borrowed from literary genre criticism. As with genre in a literary context, there is a great deal of debate over how to define or categorize genres.[citation needed]. It has proven to be one of the most popular and enduring film genres. It first gained prominence in 1934 with It Happened One Night It Happened One Night is an 1934 American comedy film with elements of screwball comedy directed by Frank Capra, in which a pampered socialite tries to get out from under her father's thumb, and falls in love with a roguish reporter (Clark Gable). The plot was based on the story Night Bus by Samuel Hopkins Adams, which provided the shooting title,[1] and, although many film scholars would agree that its classic period ended sometime in the early 1940s,[2] elements of the genre have persisted, or have been paid homage to, in contemporary film.
While there is no authoritative list of the defining characteristics of the screwball comedy genre, films considered to be definitive of the genre usually feature farcical situations, a combination of slapstick with fast-paced repartee, and a plot involving courtship and marriage or remarriage. The film critic Andrew Sarris Andrew Sarris is a U.S. film critic and a leading proponent of the auteur theory of criticism. He is generally credited with popularising this theory in the Americas and coining the term "auteur theory" in his essay, "Notes on the Auteur Theory," which was inspired by critics writing in Cahiers du Cinéma has defined the screwball comedy as "a sex comedy without the sex."[3]
The screwball comedy has close links with the theatrical Theatre is a branch of the performing arts. While any performance may be considered theatre, as a performing art, it focuses almost exclusively on live performers creating a self contained drama. A performance qualifies as dramatic by creating a representational illusion. By this broad definition, theatre has existed since the dawn of man, as a genre of farce A farce is a comedy which aims to entertain the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include sexual innuendo and word play, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases, culminating in an ending which often, and some comic plays are also described as screwball comedies. Many elements of the screwball genre can be traced back to such stage plays as Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing Much Ado About Nothing is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare set in Messina, Sicily. The story concerns a pair of lovers named Claudio and Hero who are due to be married in a week. To pass the time before their wedding day, they conspire with Don Pedro, the prince of Aragon, to trick their friends, Beatrice and Benedick, into confessing, As You Like It As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The work was based upon the novel Rosalynde by Thomas Lodge. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility. As You and A Midsummer Night's Dream A Midsummer Night's Dream is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare. It was suggested by "The Knight's Tale" from Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales and written around 1594 to 1596. It portrays the adventures of four young Athenian lovers and a group of amateur actors, their interactions with the Duke of Athens, Theseus, the Queen and Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish playwright, poet and author of numerous short stories and one novel. Known for his biting wit, he became one of the most successful playwrights of the late Victorian era in London, and one of the greatest "celebrities" of his day. Several of his plays continue to be widely performed,'s The Importance of Being Earnest The Importance of Being Earnest is a comic play by Oscar Wilde. It premiered on 14 February 1895 at the St. James's Theatre in London. Other genres with which screwball comedy is associated include slapstick Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated physical violence and activities which exceed the boundaries of common sense[citation needed]. These hyperbolic depictions are often found in children's cartoons, and light film comedies aimed at younger audiences, situation comedy A situation comedy, usually referred to as a sitcom, is a genre of comedy that usually consists of recurring characters in a common environment such as a home or workplace and can include laugh tracks or studio audiences. Such programs originated in radio. Today, sitcoms are found almost exclusively on television as one of its dominant narrative, and romantic comedy Romantic comedy films are movies with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as a true love able to surmount most obstacles. Romantic comedy films are a sub-genre of comedy films as well as of romance films and often have elements of screwball comedies and stoner comedies. Romantic comedy can also be used to describe.
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