Currents of Comedy on the American Screen: How Film and Television Deliver Different Laughs for Changing Times

by Nicholas Laham

This book analyzes the evolution of film and television comedy from the 1930s through the present, defining five distinct periods and discussing the dominant comedic trends of each. Chapters cover the period spanning 1934 to 1942, defined by screwball comedies that offered distraction from the Great Depression; the suspense comedy, reflecting America's darker worldview during World War II; the 1950s battle-of-the-sexes comedy; the shift from the...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786442646
• ISBN13: 9780786442645
• Release Date: May 2009
• Publisher: McFarland & Company
• Length: 216 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.9" x 8.9"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher