Screwball Comedy and Film Noir
Unexpected Connections
$29.95
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About the Book
This is a comprehensive comparative analysis of the screwball comedy and film noir genres—two popular Hollywood staples that emerged around the same time. Despite their contrast in tone and theme, “Screwball” and “Noir” have many narrative elements in common.
The author defines the two genres, discusses their historical development and inter-related conventions, and offers detailed comparative analyses of a number of films, among them The Lady Eve and His Girl Friday (screwballs), and Gilda and Sunset Blvd. (noirs).
About the Author(s)
Bibliographic Details
Thomas C. Renzi
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 231
Bibliographic Info: 43 photos, appendices, filmographies, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2012
pISBN: 978-0-7864-6672-6
eISBN: 978-0-7864-8860-5
Imprint: McFarland
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Preface 1
1. Toward Definitions of Screwball Comedy and Film Noir 5
2. Historical Context of Classical Screwball Comedy and Classical Film Noir 29
3. Genre Analysis: Classifying Noir and Screwball as Genres 75
4. Cinematic Conventions Connecting Screwball Comedy and Film Noir 101
5. Comparative Analyses of Films from the Two Genres 132
Appendix A: Filmography of Screwball Comedies, 1934–1954 187
Appendix B: Filmography of Films Noirs, 1941–1958 201
Bibliography 211
Index 213
Book Reviews & Awards
“concentrates on the classical periods of film noir and screwball comedy, roughly 1930 to 1960”—Reference & Research Book News.
