Screwball Comedy

Farcical, fast talking slapstick comedies gave cynical writers and worldly directors an opportunity to make romantic movies from the mid 1930’s to the mid 1940’s. Frank Capra, Howard Hawks and Preston Sturges escaped the mawkish and melodramatic with sharp, witty characters in outlandish situations. Contemporary practitioners include Andrew Bergman, Joel and Ethan Coen, and David O. Russell.