Romantic Comedy in Hollywood: From Lubitsch to Sturges [Paperback]

James Harvey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 22, 1998

In 1934 four movies—It Happened One Night, Twentieth Century, The Thin Man, and The Gay Divorcee—ushered in the golden age of the Hollywood romantic ("screwball") comedy. Slangy, playful, and "powerfully, glamorously in love with love," the films that followed were unique in their combination of swank and slapstick. Here are the directors—Lubitsch (Trouble in Paradise), Capra (It Happened One Night), Hawks (Bringing Up Baby, His Girl Friday), McCarey (The Awful Truth), La Cava (My Man Godfrey, Stage Door), Sturges (The Lady Eve, The Palm Beach Story, The Miracle at Morgan's Creek)—and their stars—Carole Lombard, Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Fred Astaire, Clark Gable, Barbara Stanwyck, William Powell, Myrna Loy, among others—all described and analyzed in one comprehensive and delightful volume.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

What could top the charm, the outlandishness, the wit, the loveliness of classic Hollywood romantic comedy? The triumph of James Harvey's book is its ability to convey the delights of the genre when it was at its best, during the 1930s and '40s. Though he devotes chapters to major filmmakers such as Frank Capra and Howard Hawks, and stars like Cary Grant, Claudette Colbert, Fred Astaire, and Ginger Rogers, Harvey's focus is on two of the finest directors of the period: Ernst Lubitsch and Preston Sturges. Harvey describes the joys of watching their movies as he offers many intriguing insights into their cinematic styles and comic techniques. One of the best things about this book is its author's willingness to discuss obscure, hard-to-find films. Of course, he covers popular entertainments such as Lubitsch's Ninotchka, Capra's It Happened One Night, and Sturges's The Lady Eve, but he also devotes equal time to little-known, fascinating works like Sturges's The Great Moment and Lubitsch's Angel. This is an invaluable companion for anyone interested in learning more about two of Hollywood's most wonderful auteurs or about romantic comedy in general. --Raphael Shargel

From Publishers Weekly

Why is a book titled Romantic Comedy such a depressing read? Two reasons: with the disappearance of the nation's revival houses and the movie studios' hesitation to put all but the most popular classic films of the '30s and '40s on video, many of the marvelous movies Harvey describes here are virtually unavailable to contemporary viewers; and, sadly, they don't make them like they used to. A State University of New York teacher, Harvey is an enthusiastic student and devotee of the genre, and he has assembled a wealth of information about its leading directors and performers. But as hard as he tries in his detailed film descriptions, he can't recreate the unique spark that characterized screwball comedies and their antecedents. Of course he can'tgenerations of filmmakers have failed to revive the screwball spirit, whose kinetic blend of polish, pacing and personality cannot possibly be captured by print alone. Nevertheless, like too many writers on the topic of film, Harvey attempts the impossible, and loses readers in a jumble of transcribed entrances, exits and asides that, regrettably, do not play on the page. This is aggravated by Harvey's tendency to spend his analytical energies on attempts to articulate viewers' reactions to the films he discussestrying to pin down exactly how we feel about Barbara Stanwyck in The Lady Eve, for examplewhich ultimately compels readers to put down the book and head for the video store to see for themselves. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 734 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (March 22, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306808323
• ISBN-13: 978-0306808326
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #453,053 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brainy, articulate romp through Hollywood's golden age ..., May 22, 2005

By 

Laurie Eno (New England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Romantic Comedy in Hollywood: From Lubitsch to Sturges (Paperback)

... Harvey's book brims with the kind of keen, enthusiastic observations that lovers of the screwball genre will embrace with glee. He casts a thoroughly knowing and intelligent eye on the films, the actors, the directors and the millieu that define what, for many film buffs, was Hollywood's real golden age.

For my money, this is THE de facto handbook to that great twenty years' worth of cinematic Americana. I have loved these old movies for a long time, but Harvey deconstructs why it is that these movies worked well and continue to entertain and draw admirers some seventy and eighty years on. Harvey's engaging prose is steeped not only in an obvious love of these movies, but is remarkably fine in and of itself; this man can write, really write, adroitly sidestepping a swathe of cliches in favor of original thinking and insights that will get and keep you reading, hoping the chapter -- and the book -- will never end.

Reading this book is nearly as much fun as watching the films he writes about with such affection and insight. Rare is the book of film study that affords a measure of tangible pleasure anywhere near that of watching the films themselves. The best of film criticism gets readers to re-thinking films seen perhaps dozens of times; Harvey's Romantic Comedy accomplishes not only that, but provides an irresistible impetus to revisit the entire canon of films post haste. And not a moment too soon.

Justly lauded, and terrific stuff. A five star-plus recommendation for this terrific tome!!!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best film book ever written, March 6, 2000

By 

A reader (Madison, Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Romantic Comedy in Hollywood: From Lubitsch to Sturges (Paperback)

This is a wonderfully intuitive and enjoyable book, as exuberant as romantic comedy itself. Like other reviewers here, I've been guided to many forgotten gems of romantic comedy (e.g. Theodora Goes Wild -- wonderful Irene Dunne film). Harvey explores these films with intensity and love and reveals the depth of a film tradition that is often misunderstood or taken too lightly. I'm a screenwriter and this book is my bible, I continually turn to it for inspiration.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books on film art, November 21, 2002

By 

George Matusek (St Louis, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Romantic Comedy in Hollywood: From Lubitsch to Sturges (Paperback)

Not only is this a comprehensive survey of the genre of romantic comedy (and its profound sub-genre, screwball comedy), but Harvey's digressions offer many wise comments on pre-1950 films in general. I came away convinced that comedy is more profound than tragedy. A good editor won't spoil "Hamlet" by cutting some of its dialogue, but it would be infinitely harder to cut dialogue from any of the great comedies written and directed by Preston Sturges. As a bonus, Harvey provides a glowing appreciation of the comic artistry of Irene Dunne, along with a wonderful interview with her.