November includes some wonderful classic comedies ranging from the 1936 black-and-white, mostly silent film Modern Times starring Charlie Chaplin to 1968’s Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, known for its saturated color, silly banter, catchy songs, and sound effects namesake. Journey back to a simpler time when comedy was cleaner, movie ratings were non-existent or G (general), and people spontaneously burst into song and dance for no apparent reason.
TCM Greatest Classic Film Collection: Astaire & Rogers
Turner Home Entertainment presents this collection of four classic romantic comedies, The Gay Divorcee (1934), Top Hat (1935), Swing Time (1936), and Shall We Dance (1937). This two-disc collection offers delightful dancing and light-hearted romance from Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers at their best. Nominated for three Academy Awards, The Gay Divorcee uses a failing marriage as an excuse for lots of singing and dancing. Top Hat introduces Jerry Travers, a showman who can’t resist flaunting his new dance moves. Swing Time tells the story of a performer who falls in love with a dancer while he’s engaged to someone else. In Shall We Dance, a growing romance between two dancers is complicated by rumors.
- Also starring Alice Brady, Edward Everett Horton, Erik Rhodes, Eric Blore, Lillian Miles (The Gay Divorcee); Edward Everett Horton, Erik Rhodes, Eric Blore, Helen Broderick (Top Hat); Victor Moore, Helen Broderick, Eric Blore, Betty Furness, Georges Metaxa (Swing Time); Edward Everett Horton, Eric Blore, Jerome Cowan, Ketti Gallian, William Brisbane, Ann Shoemaker, Harriet Hoctor (Shall We Dance)
- Directors: Mark Sandrich (The Gay Divorcee, Top Hat, Shall We Dance); George Stevens (Swing Time)
- Genre: Musical, Romantic Comedy
- Discs: 2
- Run Time: 418 minutes (4 films)
- Rating: Not Rated
- DVD Release Date: November 2, 2010
- Additional Information: Special edition in full screen black and white includes commentary and featurettes.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo)
In this goofy romantic comedy from 1968, an eccentric inventor and his children have an adventure involving a lovely lady and a flying car. Caractacus Potts toils away as an obscure inventor who barely makes a living from his work. However, when a foreign government becomes aware of his project, suddenly Caractacus and his work become of great interest to certain disreputable parties. Bright colors, happy music, and fantastical situations define this classic comedy, now available in this Blu-ray/DVD combination package.
- Starring Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries, Gert Frobe, Anna Quayle, Benny Hill, James Robertson Justice, Robert Helpmann, Heather Ripley, Adrian Hall
- Director: Ken Hughes
- Writers: Roald Dahl, Ken Hughes (screenplay); Richard Maibaum (additional dialogue); Ian Fleming (novel)
- Genre: Musical, Family Comedy
- Discs: 2
- Run Time: 145 minutes
- Rating: G
- DVD Release Date: November 2, 2010
- Additional Information: The song “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” (Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman) was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Music, Original Song.
Arsenic & Old Lace
In this 1944 comedy, newspaper drama critic Mortimer Brewster learns on his wedding day that insanity run rampant in his family. His two aunts are not just insane, but criminally insane with the dead bodies to prove it. So how much of the craziness gene has he inherited?
- Starring Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Raymond Massey, Jack Carson, Edward Everett Horton, Peter Lorre, James Gleason, Josephine Hull, Jean Adair, John Alexander
- Director: Frank Kapra
- Writers: Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein (screenplay); Joseph Kesselring (play)
- Genre: Dark Comedy, Crime Thriller
- Discs: 1
- Run Time: 114 minutes
- Rating: Not Rated
- DVD Release Date: November 9, 2010
- Additional Information: Originally filmed in black and white, this DVD is a full screen colorized version.
Modern Times (Criterion Collection Full Screen, Criterion Collection Blu-ray)
In Charlie Chaplin’s last film as the Little Tramp, he plays an incompetent factory worker enamored with a young woman. It’s man against machines as the worker struggles against technology and a series of misadventures that get him sent to a mental hospital and to jail. This comedy was filmed in black and white with some music and sound effects.
- Also starring Paulette Goddard, Henry Bergman, Tiny Sandford, Chester Conklin, Hank Mann, Stanley Blystone, Al Ernest Garcia, Richard Alexander, Cecil Reynolds
- Director: Charles Chaplin
- Writer: Charles Chaplin
- Genre: Family Comedy
- Discs: 2
- Run Time: 87 minutes
- Rating: Not Rated
- DVD Release Date: November 16, 2010
- Additional Information: The Criterion Collection comes with an extra disc filled with special features such as visual essays, interviews, deleted segments, trailers, and more.
For more information about this month’s comedy releases, read Best New Comedy Movie DVD Releases for November 2010.
Leslie C. Halpern - Leslie C. Halpern, Romantic Films/Comedies Topic Editor, authored Passionate About Their Work, Reel Romance, & Dreams on Film.
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