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).

Thomas C. Renzi is an administrator and instructor at Buffalo State College in Buffalo, New York.

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

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

“concentrates on the classical periods of film noir and screwball comedy, roughly 1930 to 1960”—Reference & Research Book News.

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