One of the most painful aspects of our declining culture is the loss of drawing room comedy. The kind of movie where there is no violence, no vulgar language, no car chases, just witty repartee, gentle satire and clever plot surprises. Those writers (and the audience that appreciated them) are mostly dead and gone.
One of the most painful aspects of our declining culture is the loss of drawing room comedy. The kind of movie where there is no violence, no vulgar language, no car chases, just witty repartee, gentle satire and clever plot surprises. Those writers (and the audience that appreciated them) are mostly dead and gone.
Absolutely right. I watched an OLD, OLD movie the other night with Constance Bennett and Brian Aherne and Billie Burke about a wealthy lady who kept “adopting” homeless guys and trying to reform them against the objections of her stylish daughter, teenage daughter and stern but amused husband. The haughty but neurotic butler disapproved of all of them! One day handsome Brian Aherne shows up as another supposedly homeless guy-—but is he?.
Well, it was on at 12:00 p.m at night so I didn’t see the end of it! - but the entire thing was one witty line after another. Some of the comedies of the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s are truly funny with good writing and good acting.
I just found out the title of the Brian Aherne movie that is hilarious. It’s called “Merrily We Live” (1938). I don’t know if it’s even available in DVD but is on TV sometimes. Very very funy.
Hollywood, it was once said (not by me) was jewish writers making films based upon catholic morals for protestant audiences (or something like that. I actually appreciate the old-time TV shows, because it’s not that people are any less raunchy, but for whatever reason it wasn’t permitted, so humor had to take a different tack. Cynicism and “antihero” gets old too.