The Screwball Comedy

In baseball, a screwball is a pitch characterized by a reverse spin; upon hitting, it breaks to the opposite direction. Out of the American pastime comes an adjective, screwball, for a person who is irrational, eccentric, and unreliable. 

It is unclear who coined the term "screwball comedy." Romantic comedy is a subgenre, and screwball comedy evolved within it. It began in the early thirties with the Great Depression. As people tried to forget about their financial problems by escaping to movie theaters. Given the grim social environment, movies began to reflect the bleakness people felt, hence the emergence of black comedy. 

The tension between the sexes starts from the beginning . Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable in It Happened One Night (1934)

In the early thirties, the Motion Picture Association, in response to several scandals in Hollywood, developed a series of recommendations for the production of movies, essentially self-censorship guidelines, to bring back the lost respect for the industry. It included an extensive list of objects and acts that should not be seen in movies, from nudity to violence, guns, blood, long kisses, inappropriate relationships, homosexuality, extramarital affairs, and so on. In 1934, the Production Code required the industry to follow its guidelines, and this remained mandatory until 1953, when Otto Preminger released Moon is Blue without the Production Code's approval. Some historians believe the sub-genre developed in response to the Production Code. In contrast, others believe the filmmakers felt they could present their controversial themes under the facade of comedy better. Either way, the sub-genre carried social themes such as class confrontations, which appeared in the early examples of the sub-genre, like It Happened One Night (1934) and My Man Godfrey (1936). 

The class difference continues as a recurring theme. Carole Lombard and William Powell in My Man Godfrey (1936)

Ironically, the subgenre borrowed noir elements from the gangster genre that was evolving simultaneously. The class conflict was introduced in It Happened One Night or My Man Godfrey, and became a thematic for screwball comedy. As I noted during our discussion, either a man or a woman must be wealthy, while the other is average or poor. By depicting the glamor of high society, the movies tend to criticize the class, which, given the Great Depression, often came to the forefront. The elements from film noir further highlighted the social criticism. The writers gradually learned how to implicitly express socially oriented themes, which turned the screwball comedy into a refined social exposé. 

It starts with a wealthy producer brings the woman under his spell, but then the independent woman takes over. Carole Lombard and John Barrymore in Twentieth Century (1934).

The battle of the sexes was part of the central narrative depicting the woman as intelligent, self-confident, and dominant (a reminder for the large number of critics and intellectuals who had called Hollywood a commercial machine). Fast-talking became another recurring feature of the movies. And subsequently, directors like Howard Hawks developed overlapping dialogue; in this technique, the following line starts before a character finishes the previous line. A comparison of The Front Page (1931) and the version Hawks made, His Girl Friday (1940), demonstrates the change: the former has 140 words per minute, and the latter 240. 

Herbert Marshal starts as a butler, but not for long, until the wealthy woman falls for his charm. Herbert Marshal and Key Francis in Trouble in Paradise (1932).

Often, historians credit Victor Fleming's Bombshell as the first screwball comedy, featuring Jean Harlow as a successful actress who is trapped by her publicist and family, trying to find a way out. It Happened One Night, directed by Frank Capra, and My Man Godfrey, directed by Gregory La Cava, are more polished examples of the screwball comedy. 

The Marital problems replace the class tension as the comedy evolves. Cary Grant and Irene Dunne in The Awful Truth (1937).

Other notable movies are:

Trouble in Paradise (1932), with Herbert Marshal, Miriam Hopkins, and Kay Francis, directed by Ernest Lubitsch. 

Twentieth Century (1934), with Carole Lombard and John Barrymore, directed by Howard Hawks.

She Married Her Boss (1935), with Claudette Colbert, Melvyn Douglas, directed by Gregory La Cava.

Theodora Goes Wild (1936), with Irene Dunne, Melvyn Douglas, directed by Richard Boleslawski.

The Awful Truth (1937), Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, directed by Leo McCarey.

His Girl Friday (1940) with Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell. Directed by Howard Hawks.

The Lady Eve (1941) with Henry Fonda, Barbara Stanwyck, directed by Preston Sturges.