The comedy of remarriage is a subgenre typical of American cinema in the 1930's and 1940's. At the time, the Production Code (aka Hays Code) banned any explicit references to or attempts to justify adultery and illicit sex. The comedy of remarriage enabled filmmakers to evade this provision of the Code. The protagonists divorced, flirted with strangers without risking the wrath of censorship, and then got back to each other. This typical pattern often generated great tension between the characters, for the greatest pleasure of the audience. The Production Code (also known as the Hays Code) was a set of industry guidelines governing the production of American motion pictures. ... Man and woman undergoing public exposure for adultery in Japan, around 1860 Adultery is generally defined as consensual sexual intercourse by a married person with someone other than his or her lawful spouse. ...

Famous comedies of remarriage

• The Awful Truth (1937), d. Leo McCarey (starring Cary Grant & Irene Dunne)
• The Philadelphia Story (1940), d. George Cukor (starring Cary Grant & Katharine Hepburn)
• His Girl Friday (1940), d. Howard Hawks (starring Cary Grant & Rosalind Russell)
• That Uncertain Feeling (1942), d. Ernst Lubitsch (starring Melvyn Douglas & Merle Oberon)

The Awful Truth is a 1937 romantic comedy (also screwball comedy) film. ... Leo McCarey (October 3, 1898 - July 5, 1969) was a movie director, screenwriter and producer. ... Cary Grant Archibald Alexander Leach (January 18, 1904 – November 29, 1986), better known by his screen name, Cary Grant, was a British-born American film actor. ... Irene Dunne in Love Affair (1939) Irene Dunne (December 20, 1898 - September 4, 1990), was born Irene Marie Dunn in Louisville, Kentucky. ... The Philadelphia Story is a 1940 romantic screwball comedy starring Jimmy Stewart, Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. ... George Cukor George Cukor (July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an American film director. ... Cary Grant Archibald Alexander Leach (January 18, 1904 – November 29, 1986), better known by his screen name, Cary Grant, was a British-born American film actor. ... Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an iconic four-time Academy Award-winning American star of film, television and stage, widely recognized for her sharp wit, New England gentility and fierce independence. ... His Girl Friday is a 1940 screwball comedy, a remake of the 1931 film The Front Page, itself an adaption by Charles Lederer, Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur of their play of the same name. ... Howard Hawks Howard Hawks (May 30, 1896 – December 26, 1977) was an American film director, producer and writer of the classic Hollywood era. ... Cary Grant Archibald Alexander Leach (January 18, 1904 – November 29, 1986), better known by his screen name, Cary Grant, was a British-born American film actor. ... Rosalind Russell (June 4, 1907 - November 28, 1976) was an American film and stage actress. ... Ernst Lubitsch (January 28, 1892 – November 30, 1947), was a German-born Jewish film director. ... Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg (April 5, 1901 – August 4, 1981), better known as Melvyn Douglas, was a United States actor who won all three of the entertainment industries highest awards, two Oscars, one Tony and a televison Emmy. ... Actress Merle Oberon in Berlin Express (1948) Merle Oberon (February 19, 1911 – November 23, 1979), born Estelle Merle OBrien Thompson, was a film actress, known for her sultry looks. ...

Further readings

• Pursuits of Happiness: The Hollywood Comedy of Remarriage (Harvard Film Studies, 1981) by Stanley Cavell.