<< December 27, 2006 - January 1, 2007 >>>

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Our fourth annual holiday comedy festival offers up another platter of delicious treats from the days when Hollywood could make folks laugh without the use of dangerous animals or sharp objects. From enchanting romance to scary monsters—and isn’t it sometimes hard to tell them apart?—we have a full score of mirth-making classics to perk you up after a brutal day of shopping…or looking for a parking space…or getting stuck in traffic...or reading the newspaper…There are the well known (THE AWFUL TRUTH, UNFAITHFULLY YOURS, THE MORE THE MERRIER) as well as the rarely-screened (THEODORA GOES WILD, CLUNY BROWN, THE EGG AND I) classics here featuring a mob of phenomenally talented people, including such legendary performers as Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Jack Benny, Lucille Ball, W. C. Fields, Fred MacMurray, Claudette Colbert, Judy Holliday, Jack Lemmon, Bob Hope and more!

Wednesday, December 27 - 7:30 PM

W.C. Fields Double Feature:

THE BANK DICK, 1940, Universal, 72 min. Dir. Eddie Cline. W.C. Fields’ most enduringly popular feature casts him as Egbert Sousé, a layabout who inadvertently catches a bank robber and is "rewarded" with a job as the bank’s security guard. A matchless cast, including Una Merkel, Jessie Ralph, Grady Sutton, Franklin Pangborn, Jack Norton and the one-and-only Shemp Howard helps make this an authentic American classic. Written by "Mahatma Kane Jeeves" (as in, "My Hat, My Cane, Jeeves").

IT’S A GIFT, 1934, Universal, 73 min. . Dir. Norman Z. McLeod. Considered by some to be The Great Man’s greatest film, this short, sweet W.C. Fields vehicle is little more than a series of zany sketches loosely tied to his desire to move to California and grow oranges. Includes the legendary "Mr. Muckle" and "Carl LaFong" scenes, as well as the hanging mirror and sleeping porch routines. Jean Rouverol, who co-wrote THE FIRST TIME (see above), plays Fields’ daughter. >> Also showing at the Egyptian, December 26

Newly Restored 35mm Print! THE AWFUL TRUTH, 1937, Sony Repertory, 92 min. Dir. Leo McCarey. McCarey won a Best Director Oscar for this side-splitting masterpiece in which Irene Dunne and Cary Grant decide to divorce…but darn it, it just doesn’t seem to take. With Ralph Bellamy (in his defining "other man" role), Alex D’Arcy, (Miss) Cecil Cunningham and Joyce Compton, who steals the show with her unique rendition of "Gone With The Wind." >> Also showing at the Egyptian, December 21.

RUGGLES OF RED GAP, 1935, Universal, 92 min. Dir. Leo McCarey. Another McCarey classic stars Charles Laughton as a veddy proper English valet who’s won in a poker game by a man from the Wild West (Charlie Ruggles). And thus the clash of cultures commences. With Mary Boland, ZaSu Pitts, Roland Young, Leila Hyams and many others. And remember: always bring the pot to the kettle! NOT ON DVD. >> Also showing at the Egyptian, December 22.

Friday, December 29 - 7:30 PM

Bums & Millionaires Double Feature:

MY MAN GODFREY, 1936, Universal, 94 min. Dir. Gregory La Cava. "You people have confused me with the U.S. Treasury!" barks Eugene Pallette to his spoiled, filthy-rich family, including daughter, Carole Lombard, who acquires tramp William Powell during a scavenger hunt and makes him her butler, whereupon he teaches her a few lessons about being human. Comeuppance for the wealthy was sure-fire material during the Depression, and no film ever did it better than this one. With Alice Brady, Mischa Auer, Gail Patrick and Alan Mowbray.

I'LL GIVE A MILLION, 1938, 20th Century-Fox, 75 min. Dir. Walter Lang. This undeservedly obscure jewel is about a millionaire (Warner Baxter) who rescues a tramp (Peter Lorre!) from drowning, musing that he'd give a cool "mill" to anyone else who would do a good deed. Try and guess what happens next. The supporting cast is practically a who's-who of wonderful character actors - far too many to list here - so just do yourself a good deed and come see it. Actually a remake of a 1935 Italian film; one of the adapters was Boris Ingster, who later directed Lorre in the creepy cult thriller STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR. NOT ON DVD!

Saturday, December 30 - 7:30 PM

Preston Sturges Double Feature:

UNFAITHFULLY YOURS, 1948, 20th Century Fox, 105 min. Dir. Preston Sturges. Sturges’ last truly great comedy has an ingenious premise: symphony conductor Rex Harrison suspects wife Linda Darnell is cheating on him, and imagines three courses of action as he conducts three different (and appropriate) pieces of music. As hilarious as it is audacious, this is a must-see. With Rudy Vallee, Barbara Lawrence, Lionel Stander, and an uproarious cameo by Edgar Kennedy, who admires the way Rex "handles Handel."

CHRISTMAS IN JULY, 1940, Universal, 67 min. Dir. Preston Sturges. Sturges’ second feature as director stars Dick Powell as a humble clerk who thinks he’s won a big contest and starts spending like it’s, well, you know. Big problem: he doesn’t know he’s the victim of a practical joke. Typical madcap mayhem with Ellen Drew, Raymond Walburn, William Demarest, Franklin Pangborn and the rest of the Sturges Stock Company. And if you can’t sleep at night…>> Both films showing at the Egyptian, December 25.

Monday, January 1 – 5:00 PM

Classic New Year’s Comedies:

A NIGHT AT THE OPERA, 1935, Warner Bros, 92 min. Dir. Sam Wood. The Marx Brothers’ first film for MGM, first without Zeppo, and their biggest box office hit. Heck, you know the plot, so just enjoy the stateroom scene, the contract routine, and tons of great one-liners. And remember: there ain’t no sanity clause! Numerous writers (many uncredited) include George S. Kaufman, Morrie Ryskind, Al Boasberg and even Buster Keaton. With Kitty Carlisle, Allan Jones, Sig Rumann, Walter Woolf King, and of course, Margaret Dumont.

MONKEY BUSINESS, 1931, Universal, 77 min. Dir. Norman Z. McLeod. The Marx Brothers’ first original screenplay — by S.J. Perelman and an uncredited Ben Hecht, among others — is perhaps their most bizarre (and the only one in which they have no character names). They’re stowaways on an ocean liner, wreaking havoc and getting mixed up with rival gangsters as well as Thelma Todd. Includes the famous scene where all four try to get through customs by pretending to be Maurice Chevalier. With Rockliffe Fellows, Harry Woods, Ruth Hall and Tom Kennedy (no relation to Edgar).