Table of Contents

The Lubitsch Era, 1929-1933 * Lubitsch: The Naughty Operetta * Lubitsch: A Serious Film * Lubitsch: Comedies Without Music * The Classy Comedy: High Life and Smart Talk * The Tough Comedy: Low Life and Rough Talk The Romantic Comedy: Directors and Stars, 1934-1939 * 1934: Turning Point * Frank Capra * Powell and Loy * Astaire and Rogers * Irene Dunne * Leo McCarey * The Screwball Years: The Leading Men * Cary Grant * Ginger Rogers * Claudette Colbert * Jean Arthur * Lubitsch in the Late Thirties The Sturges Era, 1940-1948 * Decline of the Romantic Comedy * George Stevens * Howard Hawkes * Lubitsch in the Forties * Sturges: Genius at Work * Sturges: American Success * Sturges: The Stanwyck Films * Sturges: The McCrea Films * Sturges: The Eddie Bracken Films * Sturges: A Black Comedy * Conclusion

About the Author

James Harvey is a playwright, essayist, critic, and author several books on the movies. His most recent work has appeared in the New York Review of Books and the Threepenny Review. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.