The screwball comedy has proven to be one of the most elusive of the film genres. Very little consensus among students of film has been gathered on the film genre conventions that comprise the screwball comedy genre. As a result, the description "screwball comedy" has continued to be used even when a better descriptor would be slapstick film or situation comedy film. A film genre is a rough categorization of films into genres, which describe the typical subject matter—what the film is about: Western films are about the American West, love stories are about love, and so on. ... Slapstick films are a type of comedy film that employ slapstick comedy with six main conventions: Pain with no real consequence, Editing to turn a situation more unrealistic, Impossible stiuations, Zooms to confuse the audience, Off screen use, using sounds for impossible stunts and tension for audience anticipation. ...

One proposed definition, is "to paraphrase Andrew Sarris, the screwball comedy can be described as a sex comedy without the sex." [1] Andrew Sarris is a film critic and a leading proponent of the Auteur theory of criticism. ...

However, some have suggested the genre has several characteristics:

• Comedies produced by the American Hollywood Studio system between 1933 and 1942 that contain certain story or stylistic elements (mentioned below). Most acknowledge that the screwball comedy had stragglers through the late 1940s and 1950s, but the onset of World War II and the end of the Depression undermined some of the thematic codes that acted as a spine to the genre.
• Reverse class snobbery. The implied or explicit belief that common folk were superior to the wealthy. Associated with this was the belief that even the wealthy had the potential to exhibit the nobility of ordinary folk.
• Romantic element. The screwball comedies always depicted a couple who were destined to complete each other but had a difficult time getting together.
• The stories almost always revolved around the idle rich and often came into conflict with the guy who has to work for a living.
• Divorce and Remarriage. Some scholars point to this frequent device as evidence of the shift in the American moral code. There was a move toward freer divorces but with the reassurance that marriage is ultimately a superior way of life.
• Fast-talking, witty repartee. This stylistic device did not originate in the screwballs, but can be found in many of the old Hollywood Cycles including the gangster, journalism, romantic comedies, and others.
• Ridiculous, farcical situations.

Some characteristic examples: 1933 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1942 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km (over 11 miles) into the air, August 9, 1945. ... The Great Depression was a massive global economic recession (or depression) that ran from 1929 to 1941. ... In the classic era of Hollywood cinema (1930 - 1945) the cycles or genres matured. ... Definition A farce is a comedy written for the stage, or a film, which aims to entertain the audience by means of unlikely and extravagant - yet often possible - situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include puns and sexual innuendo, and a fast...

• It Happened One Night (1934) d. Frank Capra
• Twentieth Century (1934), d. Howard Hawks
• My Man Godfrey (1936)
• The Awful Truth (1937), d. Leo McCarey
• Nothing Sacred (1937)
• Bringing Up Baby (1938), d. Howard Hawks
• His Girl Friday (1940), d. Howard Hawks
• The Philadelphia Story (1940), d. George Cukor
• The Lady Eve (1941), d. Preston Sturges
• Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941), d. Alfred Hitchcock
• The Palm Beach Story (1942), d. Preston Sturges
• To Be or Not to Be (1942), d. Ernst Lubitsch

Other films from this period in other genres incorporate elements of the screwball comedy. For example, Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 thriller The 39 Steps features the gimmick of a young couple who find themselves handcuffed together and who eventually, almost in spite of themselves, fall in love with one another. It Happened One Night is a 1934 romantic comedy in which an elite socialite (Claudette Colbert) tries to get out from under her fathers thumb, and falls in with a rogue reporter (Clark Gable). ... Frank Capra Frank Capra (May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an American film director and a major creative force behind a number of highly popular films. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s The 20th century lasted from 1901 to 2000 in the Gregorian calendar (often from (1900 to 1999 in common usage). ... Howard Hawks (May 30, 1896 – December 26, 1977) was an American film director, producer and writer of the classic Hollywood era. ... My Man Godfrey is a 1936 screwball comedy film in which a socialite hires a derelict as her butler, only to fall in love with him, to his dismay. ... 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. ... Nothing Sacred is a 1937 movie starring Carole Lombard and Fredric March, and directed by William A. Wellman. ... Grant and Hepburn Bringing Up Baby is a 1938 screwball comedy film which tells the story of a scientist who winds up falling in love with a woman who helps him to care for a leopard, named Baby. ... Howard Hawks (May 30, 1896 – December 26, 1977) was an American film director, producer and writer of the classic Hollywood era. ... His Girl Friday is a 1940 screwball comedy film which tells the story of a divorced couple of journalists who become involved in the escape of a convicted killer. ... Howard Hawks (May 30, 1896 – December 26, 1977) was an American film director, producer and writer of the classic Hollywood era. ... Categories: Movie stubs | 1940 films | AFI 100 Movies | AFI 100 Laughs | AFI 100 Passions | Comedy films | MGM films | Best Picture Oscar Nominee | Best Actor Oscar (film) | Best Actress Oscar Nominee (film) | Best Supporting Actress Oscar Nominee (film) | United States National Film Registry ... George Cukor (July 7, 1899 - January 23, 1983) was an American film director. ... The Lady Eve is a 1941 romantic screwball comedy film which tells the story of a couple who meet on shipboard, but breakup due to a misunderstanding. ... Preston Sturges (August 29, 1898-August 6, 1959), originally Edmund Preston Biden, was a screenwriter and director born in Chicago. ... Mr. ... Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was a British film director closely associated with the suspense genre. ... Preston Sturges (August 29, 1898-August 6, 1959), originally Edmund Preston Biden, was a screenwriter and director born in Chicago. ... To Be Or Not To Be is a 1942 comedy film about a troupe of actors in Nazi-occupied Warsaw who use their abilities at disguise and acting to fool the occupying troops. ... Ernst Lubitsch, the King of Comedy Ernst Lubitsch ( Berlin, January 28, 1892 – November 30, 1947 in Hollywood), was a German-born film director. ... Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was a British film director closely associated with the suspense genre. ... The thriller is a genre of fiction in which tough, resourceful, but essentially ordinary heroes are pitted against villains determined to destroy them, their country, or the stability of the free world. ... The Thirty-Nine Steps is an adventure novel by John Buchan, first published in 1915. ...

Some actors most common to the screwball comedies:

• Carole Lombard
• Cary Grant
• Katharine Hepburn
• Clark Gable

Some notable directors of screwball comedies include: Carole Lombard Carole Lombard (October 6, 1908 - January 16, 1942) was an American actress. ... Cary Grant Cary Grant (January 18, 1904 – November 29, 1986) was a British-born actor in mostly American films. ... Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an iconic star of American film, television and stage, widely recognized for her sharp wit, New England gentility and fierce independence. ... Clark Gable - Wikipedia /**/ @import /w/skins-1. ...

• Howard Hawks
• Preston Sturges

Howard Hawks (May 30, 1896 – December 26, 1977) was an American film director, producer and writer of the classic Hollywood era. ... Preston Sturges (August 29, 1898-August 6, 1959), originally Edmund Preston Biden, was a screenwriter and director born in Chicago. ...

More recent screwball comedies

Various later films are considered by some critics to have revived elements of the classic era screwball comedies. These include:

• Some Like It Hot (1959)
• What's Up, Doc? (1972)
• The Coen Brothers' film The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) has been described as a contemporary revival of the screwball genre.

The television series Moonlighting, which aired from 1985 to 1989, adapted elements of the screwball comedy genre for television. Some Like It Hot is a 1959 comedy film by Billy Wilder. ... Whats Up, Doc? is a classic, lighthearted and feeling-good screwball comedy directed by Peter Bogdanovich and starring Barbra Streisand, Ryan ONeal, and Madeline Kahn. ... Joel and Ethan Coen, commonly called The Coen Brothers, are United States film directors best known for their quirky comedies like Fargo and Raising Arizona . ... The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) is a screwball comedy film about the invention of the hula hoop. ... 1994 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... Moonlighting is a television series that first aired on ABC in the United States from 1985 to 1989 with a total of 67 episodes. ... 1985 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...