Parody Film
A parody film or spoof film is a subgenre of comedy film that parodies other film genres or films as pastiches, works created by imitation of the style of many different films reassembled together. Although the subgenre is often overlooked by critics, parody films are commonly profitable at the box office. 1900s *''Sherlock Holmes Baffled'' (1900) *'' The Little Train Robbery'' (1905) Clay (9) (2009) 1910s *'' The Mystery of the Leaping Fish'' (1916) *''Teddy at the Throttle'' (1917) 1920s *''Mud and Sand'' (1922) *''Three Ages'' (1923) *''Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pryde'' (1925) *''Yes, Yes, Nanette'' (1925) 1930s * '' Free and Easy'' (1930) * ''Movie Crazy'' (1932) * ''Number Seventeen'' (1932) * '' Once in a Lifetime'' (1932) * '' Sons of the Desert'' (1933) * '' Babes in Toyland'' (1934) * ''Satan Met a Lady'' (1936) * ''The Man Who Was Sherlock Holmes'' (1937) * ''Ali Baba Goes to Town'' (1937) * '' Sh! The Octopus'' (1937) * '' The Gorilla'' (1939) 1940s *''The Great ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Comedy Film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the oldest genres in film and it is derived from the classical comedy in theatre. Some of the earliest silent films were comedies, as slapstick comedy often relies on visual depictions, without requiring sound. When sound films became more prevalent during the 1930s, comedy films took another swing, as laughter could result from burlesque situations but also dialogue. Comedy, compared with other film genres, puts much more focus on individual stars, with many former stand-up comics transitioning to the film industry due to their popularity. In '' The Screenwriters Taxonomy'' (2017), Eric R. Williams contends that film genres are fundamentally based upon a film's atmosphere, character, and story. Therefore the labels "drama" and "comedy" are t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Babes In Toyland (1934 Film)
''Babes in Toyland'' is a Laurel and Hardy musical Christmas film released on November 30, 1934. The film is also known by the alternative titles ''Laurel and Hardy in Toyland'', ''Revenge Is Sweet'' (the 1948 European reissue title), and ''March of the Wooden Soldiers'' (in the United States), a 73-minute abridged version. Based on Victor Herbert's popular 1903 operetta '' Babes in Toyland'', the film was produced by Hal Roach, directed by Gus Meins and Charles Rogers, and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film was originally printed in Sepiatone, but there are two computer-colorized versions. Although the 1934 film makes use of many of the characters in the original play, as well as several of the songs, the plot is almost completely unlike that of the original stage production. In contrast to the stage version, the film's story takes place entirely in Toyland, which is inhabited by Mother Goose (Virginia Karns) and other well-known fairy tale characters. Plot Stanni ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Wistful Widow Of Wagon Gap
''The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap'' is a 1947 black-and-white comedy Western film directed by Charles Barton and starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. It was released on October 8 and distributed by Universal-International. Plot Chester Wooley and Duke Egan are traveling salesmen who make a stopover in Wagon Gap, Montana while en-route to California. During the stopover, a notorious criminal, Fred Hawkins, is murdered, and the two are charged with the crime. They are quickly tried, convicted, and sentenced to die by hanging. The head of the local citizen's committee, Jim Simpson, recalls a law whereby the survivor of a gun duel must take responsibility for the deceased's debts and family. The law spares the two from execution, but Chester is now responsible for the widow Hawkins and her seven children. They go to her farm, where Chester is worked by Mrs. Hawkins from dawn to dusk. To make matters worse, Chester must work at the saloon at night to repay Hawkin's debt to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Along Came Jones (film)
''Along Came Jones'' is a 1945 American Western comedy film directed by Stuart Heisler and starring Gary Cooper, Loretta Young, William Demarest, and Dan Duryea. The film was adapted by Nunnally Johnson from the 1944 novel ''Useless Cowboy'' by Alan Le May. It was the only feature film produced by Cooper during his long film career. Much of the film was shot at the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, California. Cooper had previously worked at the movie ranch in '' The Lives of a Bengal Lancer'' (1935) and other productions. Cooper had a Western town built at the movie ranch for ''Along Came Jones''; this Western set was subsequently used in many other productions over the next 20 years and became a fixture in B-Westerns in particular. Premise Easygoing Melody Jones (Gary Cooper) and his friend George Fury (William Demarest) wander into a town. Jones is mistaken for a wanted bandit named Monte Jarrad (Dan Duryea), which causes him no end of trouble. Meanwhile, the real Jarrad ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Crazy House (1943 Film)
''Crazy House'' is a 1943 comedy film starring Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson. ''Crazy House'' is notable for its impressive cast of supporting comedians (Percy Kilbride, Cass Daley, Shemp Howard, Edgar Kennedy, Franklin Pangborn, Billy Gilbert, Richard Lane, Andrew Tombes, Chester Clute, and Hans Conried) and guest stars under contract to Universal at the time ( Allan Jones, Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, Robert Paige, Leo Carrillo, Johnny Mack Brown, and Andy Devine). Plot Two Broadway stars return to Universal Studios to make another movie. The mere mention of Olsen and Johnson's names evacuates the studio and terrorizes the management and personnel. Undaunted, the comedians hire an assistant director and unknown talent, and set out to make their own movie. Financed by an eccentric "angel", the completed feature is set to premiere when angry creditors confiscate most of the film. Olsen and Johnson keep the preview going, anyway, and their venture is a success. Cast * Ole O ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hellzapoppin' (film)
''Hellzapoppin'' is a 1941 film adaptation of '' Hellzapoppin'', the musical that ran on Broadway from 1938 to 1941. It was a production for Universal Pictures directed by H. C. Potter. Although the Broadway cast was initially slated to appear in the film, except for Olsen and Johnson and the Whitey's Lindy Hoppers, no one else from any of the stage productions appeared in the movie. The cast includes Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson, both of whom produced and starred in the Broadway musical, as well as Martha Raye, Mischa Auer, Shemp Howard, Slim and Slam, and Whitey's Lindy Hoppers. The film is fourth wall breaking and full of surreal humour. Plot Shemp Howard begins the film as Louie, the projectionist of a cinema, exhibiting what appears to be the start of a song-and-dance number including classily dressed performers walking down a staircase. The staircase collapses and turns into a slide, conveying the dancers straight to hell, where they are tortured by demons. Ole Olson and C ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Playmates (1941 Film)
''Playmates'' is a 1941 American comedy film directed by David Butler and written by James V. Kern. The film stars Kay Kyser, John Barrymore (in his final film), Lupe Vélez, Ginny Simms, May Robson and Patsy Kelly. It was released on December 26, 1941 by RKO Radio Pictures. Plot Lulu Monahan, press agent for John Barrymore, tries to attract a sponsor for Barrymore's radio program. Lulu and bandleader Kay Kyser's agent concoct a story that a great actor will teach Kyser how to play Shakespeare. Cast * Kay Kyser as Kay Kyser * John Barrymore as John Barrymore * Lupe Vélez as Carmen Del Toro * Ginny Simms as Ginny Simms * May Robson as Grandma Kyser * Patsy Kelly as Lulu Monahan * Peter Lind Hayes as Peter Lindsay * Ish Kabibble as Ish Kabibble * Sully Mason as Sully Mason * Harry Babbitt as Harry Babbitt * Leon Belasco as Prince Maharoohu * George Cleveland as Mr. Pennypacker (uncredited) * Alice Fleming Alice Fleming, (August 9, 1882 – December 6, 1952) was a character a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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A Chump At Oxford
''A Chump at Oxford'' is a Hal Roach comedy film produced in 1939 and released in 1940 by United Artists. It was directed by Alfred J. Goulding and was the penultimate Laurel and Hardy film made at the Roach studio. The title echoes the film '' A Yank at Oxford'' (1938), of which it is a partial parody. Plot Stan and Ollie are down to their last six bucks. They visit an employment agency, where a call comes from Mrs. Vanderveer looking for a maid and butler to help at a dinner party she is holding that night. Ollie tells the receptionist they can fill the post. They arrive and Stan is dressed in drag, pretending to be the maid "Agnes." At the dinner party, Stan is told to take the cocktails, but instead of clearing them away, he drinks them and becomes drunk. Mr. Vanderveer gets impatient with Ollie's incompetent attempts to seat the guests. When Mr. Vanderveer tells the drunken Stan to "serve up the salad ''without dressing''", Stan serves the salad in his underwear. Mrs. Va ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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You Nazty Spy!
''You Nazty Spy!'' is a 1940 comedy film directed by Jules White and starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Curly Howard). It is the 44th short film released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 short films for the studio between 1934 and 1959. Plot The short begins with a title card disclaimer that reads: "Any resemblance between the characters in this picture and any persons, living or dead, is a miracle." In the fictional country of Moronika, three munitions manufacturers — Messrs. Ixnay (Richard Fiske), Onay (Dick Curtis), and Amscray (Don Beddoe) — are upset over their lack of profits due to the country's king, Herman the Sixth and Seven-Eighths (the role is an allusion to the German Kaiser Wilhelm II in exile), pursuing a policy of peace instead of war. They decide to oust the king, implement a dictatorship, and go about finding someone stupid enough to be a figurehead leader. Ixnay volunteers ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Great Profile
''The Great Profile'' is a 1940 American comedy film directed by Walter Lang and starring John Barrymore, Mary Beth Hughes, Gregory Ratoff and John Payne. Synopsis Barrymore lampoons himself. A famous actor, given to drink, nearly destroys the show, but his leading lady returns to save it. Meanwhile, a young girl tries to reform him. Cast *John Barrymore as Evans Garrick * Mary Beth Hughes as Sylvia Manners *Gregory Ratoff as Boris Mefoosky * John Payne as Richard Lansing *Anne Baxter as Mary Maxwell *Lionel Atwill as Dr. Bruce *Edward Brophy as Sylvester *Willie Fung as Confucious * Joan Valerie as Understudy * Charles Lane as Director *Marc Lawrence as Tony * Hal K. Dawson as Ticket Seller *William Pawley as Electrician * Eddie Dunn as Furniture Man *James Flavin as Detective *Dorothy Dearing as Debutante * John Dilson John Dilson (February 18, 1891 – June 1, 1944) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 250 films between 1934 and 1944. Selected filmog ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Gorilla (1939 Film)
''The Gorilla'' is a 1939 American horror comedy film starring the Ritz Brothers, Anita Louise, Art Miles, Lionel Atwill, Bela Lugosi, and Patsy Kelly. It was based on the 1925 play of the same name by Ralph Spence. The film is in the public domain. Plot When a wealthy man (Lionel Atwill) is threatened by a killer known as The Gorilla, he hires the Ritz Brothers to investigate. A real escaped gorilla shows up at the mansion just as the investigators arrive. Patsy Kelly portrays a newly hired maid who wants to quit because the butler, played by Bela Lugosi, scares her. Cast Production By October 1938, 20th Century Fox bought the rights to Ralph Spence's play '' The Gorilla''. Fox wanted production on the film to start in January, which would be when The Ritz Brothers finished their tour. The studio wanted Kane Richmond to play a part in the film, but Richmond was replaced by Edward Norris after Richmond signed on for the film ''Charlie Chan in Reno''. Fox signed on Bela Lugo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sh! The Octopus
''Sh! The Octopus'' is a 1937 comedy-mystery film produced by Warner Bros., directed by William McGann and starring Hugh Herbert, Allen Jenkins and Marcia Ralston. While contract players Herbert and Jenkins frequently appeared in the same picture, this is the only movie to present them as an actual team. The film's oddball qualities have made it something of a cult favorite. Premise Herbert and Jenkins play two bumbling detectives, who, in pursuit of a master criminal, The Octopus, find themselves inside a haunted lighthouse full of suspicious characters, including the titular character, who appears to be an actual octopus. Cast *Hugh Herbert as Kelly *Allen Jenkins as Dempsey *Marcia Ralston as Vesta Vernoff *John Eldredge as Paul Morgan *George Rosener as Captain Hook *Margaret Irving as Polly Crane *Elspeth Dudgeon as Nanny *Lew Harvey as Sinister plotter *Frank Hagney as Sinister plotter *Ed Biby as Sinister plotter *Molly Doyle as Nurse *Jack Jorgensen as Sinist ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |