Best screwball comedies
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- DirectorWilliam KeighleyStarsBette DavisAnn SheridanMonty WoolleyAn acerbic critic wreaks havoc when a hip injury forces him to move in with a Midwestern family.
- DirectorPeter GodfreyStarsBarbara StanwyckDennis MorganSydney GreenstreetA food writer who has lied about being the perfect housewife must try to cover her deception when her boss and a returning war hero invite themselves to her home for a traditional family Christmas.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsCary GrantKatharine HepburnJames StewartWhen a rich woman's ex-husband and a tabloid-type reporter turn up just before her planned remarriage, she begins to learn the truth about herself.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsKatharine HepburnCary GrantCharles RugglesWhile trying to secure a $1 million donation for his museum, a befuddled paleontologist is pursued by a flighty and often irritating heiress and her pet leopard, Baby.
- DirectorPreston SturgesStarsClaudette ColbertJoel McCreaMary AstorA New York inventor needs cash to develop his big idea, so his adoring wife decides to raise it by divorcing him and marrying an eccentric Florida millionaire with a capricious high-society sister.
- DirectorPreston SturgesStarsJoel McCreaVeronica LakeRobert WarwickHollywood director John L. Sullivan sets out to experience life as a homeless person in order to gain relevant life experience for his next movie.
- DirectorGregory La CavaStarsWilliam PowellCarole LombardAlice BradyA scatterbrained socialite hires a vagrant as a family butler - but there's more to Godfrey than meets the eye.
- DirectorPreston SturgesStarsBarbara StanwyckHenry FondaCharles CoburnA trio of classy card sharks targets a socially awkward brewery heir, until one of them falls in love with him.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsJean ArthurJoel McCreaCharles CoburnDuring the World War II housing shortage in Washington, two men and a woman share a single apartment and the older man plays Cupid to the other two.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsGary CooperBarbara StanwyckOscar HomolkaA group of professors working on a new encyclopedia while living in a Manhattan mansion take in a mouthy nightclub singer who is wanted by the police to help bring down her mob boss lover.
- DirectorTay GarnettStarsTyrone PowerLoretta YoungDon AmecheA financier's daughter spars with a newspaper reporter: he by writing about her, she by announcing their engagement.
- DirectorNorman Z. McLeodStarsConstance BennettBrian AherneAlan MowbrayDizzy society matron Emily Kilbourne has a habit of hiring ex-cons and hobos as servants. Her latest find is a handsome "tramp" who shows up at her doorstep and soon ends up in a chauffeur's uniform. He also catches the eye of her pretty Geraldine.
- DirectorGeorge FitzmauriceStarsRobert MontgomeryRosalind RussellRobert BenchleyBob is a struggling artist who paints for his own amusement. Julie is a rich society girl. When they meet, it is cute and they are soon married. Living in a small apartment with the constant company of close friend Oscar, they are poor, but happy. When the papers run the story about his riot in the park, Bob is suddenly news. With his private showing he becomes the society's newest sensation. Bob becomes serious, devoid of fun and adventure. Money becomes his prime concern and all the introductions are handled by Lilly. But this is not the life that either Julie or Oscar want.
- DirectorJack ConwayStarsWilliam PowellMyrna LoyGail PatrickA wife suspecting infidelity starts divorce proceedings, so the husband pretends to be insane in order to delay the divorce and clear up the misunderstanding.
- DirectorMitchell LeisenStarsClaudette ColbertDon AmecheJohn BarrymoreA chorus girl stranded in Paris is set up by a millionaire to break up his wife's affair with another man, while being romantically pursued by a cab driver.
- DirectorMitchell LeisenStarsJean ArthurEdward ArnoldRay MillandWhen a wealthy banker throws his wife's expensive fur coat off a roof and it lands on the head of a stenographer, everyone assumes she is his mistress and has access to his millions.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsKatharine HepburnCary GrantDoris NolanA young man in love with a girl from a rich family finds his unorthodox plan to go on holiday for the early years of his life met with skepticism by everyone except for his fiancée's eccentric sister and long-suffering brother.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsCary GrantRosalind RussellRalph BellamyA newspaper editor uses every trick in the book to keep his ace reporter ex-wife from remarrying.
- DirectorWesley RugglesStarsBarbara StanwyckHenry FondaEdgar BuchananA jealous and insecure newlywed man interferes with his wife's medical work in order to prevent her from seeing attractive male patients.
- DirectorWalter LangStarsTyrone PowerLoretta YoungStuart ErwinNewly remarried woman finds her businessman husband boring and runs into her wealthy playboy first husband.
- DirectorMark SandrichStarsClaudette ColbertRay MillandBrian AherneAs her fifth wedding anniversary approaches, a woman realizes that she is fed up with always coming in second to her husband's advertising business. Just at the moment when she is trying to decide what to do, she meets a handsome attorney, and their innocent flirtation begins to turn into something a bit more serious.
- DirectorRichard ThorpeStarsWilliam PowellMyrna LoyFlorence RiceTwo sisters of differing temperaments, the younger's milquetoast fiancé, and a free-spirited artist in an auto trailer are all experiencing romantic complications.
- DirectorRichard WallaceStarsJoan BennettCary GrantGeorge BancroftWhen Charlie Mason is promoted from irresponsible reporter to hard-nosed city editor, it costs him his girlfriend, ace reporter Rusty Fleming. After he hears she's engaged to another, he quits and tries to win her back.
- DirectorH.C. PotterWalter LantzStarsJoan FontaineJames StewartEddie AlbertA spoiled heiress who has jilted multiple fiancés embroils a commercial pilot in a series of wacky misadventures.
- DirectorGarson KaninStarsIrene DunneCary GrantRandolph ScottMissing for seven years and presumed dead, a woman returns home on the day of her husband's second marriage.
- DirectorW.S. Van DykeStarsWilliam PowellMyrna LoyFrank McHughBoring businessman Larry Wilson recovers from amnesia and discovers he's really a con man...and loves his soon-to-be-ex wife.
- DirectorA. Edward SutherlandStarsAllan JonesNancy KellyRobert CummingsJim "Lucky" Moore (Allan Jones), an insurance salesman, comes up with a novel policy for his friend, Steve (Robert Cummings): a 'love insurance policy', that will pay out $1-million if Steve does not marry his fiancee, Cynthia (Nancy Kelly). The upcoming marriage is jeopardized by Steve's ex-girlfriend, Mickey (Peggy Moran), and Cynthia's disapproving Aunt Kitty. The policy is underwritten by a nightclub owner, Roscoe (William Frawley), who sends two enforcers - Abbott and Costello - to ensure that the wedding occurs as planned. Everyone involved in the situation winds up sailing or flying to San Marcos (a fictional South American country), where another complication arises, when Lucky falls for Cynthia. Lucky winds up marrying Cynthia, but Roscoe does not have to pay the $1-million because Steve ends up marrying Mickey.
- DirectorWesley RugglesStarsJean ArthurFred MacMurrayMelvyn DouglasLong-missing Bill Cardew returns to find his wife Vicky remarried...and in no hurry to settle for just one husband.
- DirectorRouben MamoulianStarsHenry FondaGene TierneyLaird CregarTwo con artists take a shopgirl under their wing, but she disrupts their marrying-for-money scheme by falling for a mathematician.
- DirectorSam WoodStarsClaudette ColbertDon AmecheDick ForanA newspaper correspondent who has convinced his publisher he is married implores his friend's wife to pose as his bride.
- DirectorLewis MilestoneStarsRonald ColmanGinger RogersJack CarsonTwo strangers share a sweepstakes ticket and then embark on an imaginary honeymoon with their winnings.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsCarole LombardRobert MontgomeryGene RaymondA couple who have been married for three years are shocked to learn that their marriage is not legally valid.
- DirectorW.S. Van DykeStarsRosalind RussellDon AmecheKay FrancisAn author writing a book on jealousy discovers his wife is an expert on the subject.
- DirectorJames V. KernStarsErrol FlynnEleanor ParkerLucile WatsonAfter divorce, 7-year-old Flip is unhappy. She begins corresponding with a Marine, sending him a photo of Ellen pretending she wrote the flirtatious letters. When the Marine arrives to meet his pen pal, Ellen uses it to make Phil jealous.
- DirectorAlexander HallStarsLoretta YoungRay MillandReginald GardinerA best-selling author of women's issues and a medical academic find it is to their mutual advantage to falsely claim that they are married.
- DirectorAlexander HallStarsRosalind RussellLee BowmanAdele JergensSusan Lane is a gifted psychiatrist, grounded in self-control. Before returning by train to her practice in Chicago, she spends time back East with war veterans, building their self-esteem, but frowning on the impulsive, as represented by a favorite comic strip called "The Nixie." She bumps into Michael Kent, an officer and the comic strip's author. He likes her instantly and she dislikes him. He's headed to the Pacific, sees her on the train, gets off in Chicago, and with her father's help, pursues her and hatches a plan to marry her. Meanwhile, she has her own plan to get rid of him with the help of a blond patient. Will the Nixie get into her psyche?
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsErrol FlynnOlivia de HavillandRosalind RussellRobert will do anything to get the big account that has eluded him. His public relations business makes public angels of rich scoundrels. Jean needs someone to save the paper and she wants Robert.
- DirectorGregory La CavaStarsGinger RogersWalter ConnollyVerree TeasdaleFeeling unwanted by his wife and children, a wealthy industrialist hires an unemployed young woman to pose as his mistress.
- DirectorWilliam A. SeiterStarsLoretta YoungJoel McCreaDavid NivenThree sisters take their small inheritance and move from Kansas to California in search of rich husbands. To start with, Pamela poses as a socialite and Moira and Elizabeth pretend to be her staff.
- DirectorAlfred E. GreenStarsBette DavisGeorge BrentEugene PalletteIt's the Florida party season for heiresses, with both Oklahoma oil heiress Hortense Burke-Meyers and New York face cream heiress Daisy Appleby in the state. And where the single American heiresses are, the European bachelor set wanting their hand in marriage are close at hand. While nouveau riche, uncouth Hortense courts the attention, the excitement and the European bachelors clamoring after her, Daisy is more reclusive, wanting to stay out of the party scene and limelight by hiding aboard her yacht. Daisy desperately wants to marry for love, and not marry because it makes good print (and thus sell more face cream for her father), especially as she knows those European men are only after her money. So Daisy offers a proposition to Johnny Jones, a Florida Star newspaper reporter she befriends: marry her out of convenience. What she wants is that marriage license to dissuade all those European suitors while she quietly searches for that true love, a man with simple, American values. In turn, she knows that Johnny doesn't want her money or a society life, all he wanting is a quiet place to write his novel and a small stipend equal to his meager newspaper wage just to live on his own terms. In entering into this agreement, Daisy doesn't count on her father's PR man Jorgenson trying to make Johnny into a society man he doesn't want to be. Daisy is also hiding two secrets from Johnny, one of those secrets being that she has found the man she truly loves: him. She is afraid that if she reveals the other bigger secret, she may never get the opportunity to make him fall in love with her.
- DirectorAlfred SantellStarsBarbara StanwyckHerbert MarshallGlenda FarrellTexan debutante Valentine Ransome tries to reform a bankrupt playboy.
- DirectorRay EnrightStarsDick PowellOlivia de HavillandCharles WinningerWhen spoiled young heiress Maggie Richards (Olivia de Havilland) tries to charge some gasoline at an auto camp run by Bill Davis (Dick Powell), he makes her work out her bill by making beds. Resolving to get even, she pretends to have forgiven him, and sends him to her father (Charles Winninger) to get financing for a plan Bill has. What happens next was not part of her original revenge plan.
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsCarole LombardJack BennyRobert StackDuring the German occupation of Poland, an acting troupe becomes embroiled in a Polish soldier's efforts to track down a German spy.
- DirectorGregory RatoffStarsTyrone PowerLinda DarnellWarren WilliamAfter a young wife discovers her husband of two years is involved with his beautiful secretary, she applies for a job as secretary to a business rival.
- DirectorAlexander HallStarsRosalind RussellBrian AherneJanet BlairTwo sisters move from Ohio to New York with hopes of stardom.
- DirectorMitchell LeisenStarsRosalind RussellFred MacMurrayMacdonald CareyA struggling painter takes a job as a secretary to a female advertising executive. While working to obtain an account from a tobacco company, they end up falling in love.
- DirectorJack ConwayStarsJean HarlowWilliam PowellMyrna LoyWhen a socialite sues a big paper for libel, the editor responsible calls in the help of his ignored fiancée and a former employee to frame her and make the false story seem true.
- DirectorNorman Z. McLeodStarsRobert TaylorGreer GarsonLew AyresA jilted man gives his divorced best friend and his ex-wife - to whom he was previously engaged - a potion that causes them to forget each other. Will they fall in love all over again?
- DirectorMitchell LeisenStarsCarole LombardFred MacMurrayRalph BellamyA loafer and a manicurist, both planning to marry money, meet and form an uneasy alliance.
- DirectorFrank TuttleStarsCary GrantFrances DrakeEdward Everett HortonThe switchboard operator in an apartment building falls in love with a businessman who lives in the building, whom she has gotten to know only over the phone. When she discovers that the man's current girlfriend is actually part of a scheme to swindle him out of some mineral rights he owns, she devises a plot to save him and expose the con artists.
- DirectorW.S. Van DykeStarsRobert MontgomeryJoan CrawfordClark GableDill leaves Mary standing at the altar in order to marry his old flame, Connie, instead. Knowing that Mary still has feelings for Dill, Jeff keeps quiet about his own love for her.
- DirectorWalter LangStarsCarole LombardPreston FosterCesar RomeroA rich businessman stalks another man's fiancée.
- DirectorW.S. Van DykeStarsJoan CrawfordBrian AherneFrank MorganKay, a bored society girl from New York, takes a trip to Greece, where she meets Terry, an archaeologist. She flirts with him and he falls for her. She heads back to New York and he follows her to propose marriage, but finds her lifestyle uncomfortable. He decides to leave, but Mrs. Gage, Kay's grandmother, encourages him to stay. Kay and Terry become engaged, but just before the wedding they have a huge quarrel. Will Terry be left at the altar?
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsCary GrantPriscilla LaneRaymond MasseyA Brooklyn writer of books on the futility of marriage risks his reputation after he decides to tie the knot. Things get even more complicated when he learns on his wedding day that his beloved maiden aunts are habitual murderers.
- DirectorJohn CromwellStarsCary GrantCarole LombardKay FrancisAfter a wealthy man finds out his wife is a gold digger, he meets and falls for a widowed mother, and complications ensue.
- DirectorEdward H. GriffithGeorge CukorStarsJoan CrawfordRobert MontgomeryCharles RugglesA society girl tries to reform her playboy husband by making him jealous.
- DirectorWilliam A. SeiterStarsRosalind RussellBrian AherneVirginia BruceCEO Stephen marries his secretary Kendal in name only, an arrangement made to protect his finances from an attempt at a hostile business takeover. Once the threat is neutralized, he asks Kendal for a divorce but she refuses.
- DirectorIrving CummingsStarsRosalind RussellBrian AherneWillard ParkerA literary agent is pursued by the charming writer of a popular magazine while she attempts to sway one of her clients, a handsome but innocent college professor, to star in an upcoming movie based on his best-selling novel The Whirlwind.
- DirectorNorman FosterStarsRosalind RussellRobert CummingsGig YoungMarsha Meredith, an attorney-at-law, is nominated for a Federal judgeship but her nomination is opposed by a 'Good-Government' group who think her divorce makes her unfit for the job. This evolves into situations happening in Florida, New England, Washington D.C. and the Adirondacks, such as the misunderstood husband trying to win back his wife, and the misunderstood wife trying to make her husband jealous, and one case of mistaken identity after another, after another.
- DirectorNorman TaurogStarsRosalind RussellWalter PidgeonEdward ArnoldTo save his job, newsman Jeff Sherman offers to help his boss get out of a swingeing alimony settlement. But his devious plan to compromise Cornelia Porter, the judge on the case, while she is on holiday at Cape Cod soon proves to be - well - too devious!
- DirectorEdward H. GriffithStarsAnn HardingRobert MontgomeryEdward Everett HortonEveryweek Newsmagazine editor Richard Kurt pursues psuedo-portait artist Marion Forsythe on her arrival from Europe after painting (and possibly being involved with) notables all over the continent. He convinces her to write her biography as a feature for his magazine. An old "beau" of hers also looks her up in New York; he is running for U.S. Senator from their home state, and is engaged to an influential publisher's daughter. He is fearful that Marion's tales could embarass him, so he tries to persuade her and Kurt to abandon the idea.
- DirectorJack ConwayStarsRobert MontgomeryNora GregorHeather ThatcherThe Clements father and son live by the generosity of rich women. Max, the son, sets his sites on Lady Joan, who is rich, but down-to-earth and charming. At her house he meets Rosine Brown, an Austrian widow involved with a rich man. Instantly infatuated with her, Max pursues Rosine until she relents and agrees to marry him. But the elder Clement loses 4500 pounds gambling and Max decides he must marry Joan to prevent his father's imprisonment.
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsMarion DaviesRobert MontgomeryFrank McHughLecherous bosses make it difficult for an attractive secretary to keep jobs, so she decides to appear considerably more homely in hopes of holding onto work.
- DirectorRichard ThorpeStarsJanet GaynorRobert MontgomeryFranchot ToneA small-town country homebody goes to New York to find her missing fiancé and gets romantically involved with two sophisticated men.
- DirectorGeorge FitzmauriceStarsRobert MontgomeryMyrna LoyReginald OwenA lonesome wireless operator delays a couple who become stranded in Labrador.
- DirectorAlexander HallStarsCary GrantJanet BlairJames GleasonA cash-strapped theater producer promotes a nine-year-old boy's dancing caterpillar.
- DirectorWalter LangStarsHenry FondaLynn BariDon AmecheDwight Dawson, who runs an unsuccessful success school, stages a contest to find the biggest failure in the USA, for publicity value when the "dope" takes his course. But winner Tad Page is contented with his idle, lazy life and threatens to convert Dawson's other students to his philosophy. Dawson captalizes on Tad's attraction to Claire Harris to win him over; but will Tad find out Claire is really engaged to Dawson?
- DirectorHarlan ThompsonStarsCary GrantGenevieve TobinHelen MackA handsome plastic surgeon has a beauty clinic, where many a beautiful client falls in love with him. His unnoticed secretary is in love with him, too.
- DirectorRobert Z. LeonardStarsMyrna LoyMelvyn DouglasRaymond WalburnA single magazine editor pretends to be married in order to avoid advances from male colleagues, but complications ensue when she meets a potential suitor.
- DirectorAlexander HallStarsMelvyn DouglasJoan BlondellWalter ConnollyA Midwesterner waitress, scheming to gold-dig her way to Paris, gets mixed up with a wealthy New York family.
- DirectorAlexander HallStarsRosalind RussellMelvyn DouglasBinnie BarnesA woman insists to her new husband that they must remain celibate for the first three months of their marriage, which he tries desperately to get around.
- DirectorRobert Z. LeonardStarsNorma ShearerMelvyn DouglasGail PatrickTwo titled aristocrats support themselves by being professional house guests in the homes of star-struck American nouveau riche.
- DirectorAlexander HallStarsMelvyn DouglasJoan BlondellClarence KolbKenny Williams, a lieutenant on the homicide squad, is engaged to Maxine Carroll, the Mayor's secretary--or is he married to his job? Every time he has a date with his longtime fiancée, he is prevented from keeping it by his devotion to duty. Maxine, in desperation, decides to take action and bring Kenny to the altar. Who will win, Maxine's curves or the glorious fight against crime?
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsMerle OberonMelvyn DouglasBurgess MeredithA psychoanalyst causes a woman to doubt her happy marriage.
- DirectorJohn M. StahlStarsMelvyn DouglasRuth HusseyEllen DrewJerry Marvin, a talented musician and composer, wallows in drunken self-pity after he is divorced by his wife Babe. Along comes new love Susan, who rescues Jerry and provides him with fresh inspiration to complete his trumpet concerto. He performs it, it's a hit, and the jubilant Jerry and Susan plan to marry. There's just one hitch: Now Babe wants him back... and the unscrupulous ex-wife will stop at nothing to recapture her man.
- DirectorAlexander HallStarsLoretta YoungMelvyn DouglasAlan MarshalIn Paris, the estranged wife of a wealthy banker hides a fiery communist fugitive in her apartment.
- DirectorRichard ThorpeStarsAnn SothernMelvyn DouglasLee BowmanWorld War II home front romantic comedy in which a war correspondent's wife wants a divorce along with his help in choosing her next husband.
- DirectorElliott NugentStarsMelvyn DouglasMary AstorEdith FellowsA bitter divorce and a grumpy widower find themselves stuck in a hotel cut off by a snowstorm, and begin to fall for each other. Their children, however, are determined to see that the romance never gets off the ground.
- DirectorRichard BoleslawskiStarsIrene DunneMelvyn DouglasThomas MitchellThe author of a controversially racy best-selling book tries to hide her celebrity status from her provincial small-town neighbors, who would be scandalized if they knew.
- DirectorHarold D. SchusterStarsDon AmecheJoan BennettBillie BurkeA South American in New York rents the apartment of a socialite who pretends to be his maid.
- DirectorArchie MayoStarsLeslie HowardBette DavisOlivia de HavillandAn actor of the stage finds himself pursued by a lovestruck fan while trying to patch up a tempestuous relationship with his actress lover.
- DirectorRay EnrightStarsGeorge BrentGenevieve TobinGlenda FarrellAlan Tanner's new play opens in a week, but Tanner just can't finish the third act. He's retreated to a snowbound cottage to work, but blonde neighbor Pat Quinn wants to play. Producer Arthur Layton sends Alice, Alan's first wife, to help him stick to business. But then Daisy, his second wife, shows up wanting her alimony. Stranded with two wives, a girlfriend, and a jug of applejack, Alan still has to finish his play!