screwball comedy

Category of US comedy film of the 1930s. It was typified by a vein of madcap humour, often involving an irreverent view of the establishment and the moneyed classes, as well as relations between the sexes. Key examples include My Man Godfrey (1936), The Awful Truth (1937), Bringing Up Baby (1938), and My Favourite Wife (1940).

Small-town values were upheld in contrast with those of city slickers, as in Nothing Sacred (1937). Directors of this genre include Frank Capra and Howard Hawks. The outbreak of World War II saw the end of this type of comedy, but occasional attempts have been made to revive it, such as What's Up Doc? (1972).