and: with additional funding from these foundations and individuals: and by: and the annual financial support of: hello, i m john lithgow. welcome to american cinema. american romantic comedies are bright, witty, silly and loaded. in 1934, the motion picture it happened one night broke hollywood records and won 5 academy awards. its appeal was in its modern version of romance, which played with certain acts, themes, words and implications. that same year, the motion picture production code was instituted which explicitly prohibited certain acts, themes words and implications. the code didn t mean you couldn t have romance. it meant there were limits. writers enjoyed testing the limits, changing a battle of the sexes into a playful intrigue that turned on double meanings and double dealings, launching a decade of fast-talking romantic comedies known as screwball. some of the most elegant actors and actresses in hollywood did their best work making wisecracks and taking
and by: and the annual financial support of: hello, i m john lithgow. welcome to american cinema. american romantic comedies are bright, witty, silly and loaded. in 1934, the motion picture it happened one night broke hollywood records and won 5 academy awards. its appeal was in its modern version of romance, which played with certain acts, themes, words and implications. that same year, the motion picture production code was instituted which explicitly prohibited certain acts, themes words and implications. the code didn t mean you couldn t have romance. it meant there were limits. writers enjoyed testing the limits, changing a battle of the sexes into a playful intrigue that turned on double meanings and double dealings, launching a decade of fast-talking romantic comedies known as screwball. some of the most elegant actors and actresses in hollywood did their best work making wisecracks and taking pratfalls proving the battle of the sexes is best as a battle of equ
an entertainment medium. so, how do you present this material to an audience and make it entertaining? and that really, uh a big credit goes to hal ashby, because he has the kind of non-sequitur sense of humor and he lays back on certain issues. paraplegics could be very grim. guys returning from the war in the state i was in could be very grim. a wife having to go through both sides of the triangle could be very grim. but ashby s got a great way of handling that. a sarcastic touch in there, from time to time. the humor is there, but at the same time, it s real. it s really the only way to approach subject matter for the thing we were trying to say like that. what the movie really is about is the war at home. it was a war that we all saw on television. every night for ten years, we saw what was going on. but you never saw what went on with these guys when they came home if they came home. yes. hundreds and thousands in this country. the thing i m proudest of is it
[ laughter ] you are good. last night, we had a group that was what s the word that i m looking for? they were not hip. dumb dumb. that s right. [laughter] last night was the kind of group they thought thompson park was a place where divorced fathers took their kids on sunday. [ laughter ] what are you going to do, when you have a crowd like that? i should remind you, i m former united states naval ensign. john w. carson, 450375. during tonight s monologue, the laughing lamp is lit. [ laughter ] they are like, hmm, yes. well, let s go to the news and see if leon spinks has located any six inch wide dental floss. [ laughter ] [ applause ] we can t do those jokes anymore. i saw a recent picture of leon two teeth. there goes half the monologue, right there. [ laughter ] we have a late report from the news room. you know bubbles the hippo? well, zoo parade s marlin perkins just tranquilized bubbles, the hippo. marlin put her to sleep by screening one of his re runs on h
with additional nding from these foundations and individuals: and by: and the annual financial support of: hello, i m john lithgow. welcome to american cinema. american romantic comedies are bright, witty, silly and loaded. in 1934, the motion picture it haened one night broke hollywood records and won 5 academy awards. its appeal was in its modern version of romance, which played with certain acts. that same year, the motion picture production code was instituted which explicitly prohibited certain acts, themes words and implicatio. the code didn t mean you couldn t have romance. it meant there were limits. writers enjoyed testing the limits, changing a battle of the sexes into a playful intrigue that turned on double meanings and double dealings, launching a dede of fast-talking romantic comedies known as screwball. some of the most elegant actors and actresses in hollywood did their best work making wisecracks and taking pratfalls proving the battle of the sexes is