The Drop Dead Funny '70s: American Film Comedies Year by Year

This work offers a critical examination of 130 commercially-released film comedies of the 1970s. It considers the socio-political circumstances of each year of the decade, then critiques each film released that year with a focus on its effect on the film industry and the art of big screen comedy, as well as the emergence of talents whose work influenced (or was influenced by) the zeitgeist of the decade. Covering popular titles like M*A*S*H, Blazing Saddles, American Graffiti, The Bad News Bears, Smokey and the Bandit and many more, it argues that the 1970s may rightly be considered the last golden age of film comedy.

Table of Contents:
Table of Contents Introduction Prologue: The Graduate (1967) 1970 Brewster McCloud 8 delete• delete­Catch-22 9 delete• deleteCotton Comes to Harlem 12 delete• deleteHi, Mom! 13 delete• deleteThe Landlord 14 delete• deleteLittle Big Man 16 delete• deleteLovers and Other Strangers 18 delete• deleteM*A*S*H 19 delete• deleteThe Out-of-Towners 22 delete• deleteThe Owl and the Pussycat 24 delete• deleteThe Private Life of Sherlock Holmes 26 delete• deleteQuackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx 27 delete• deleteStart the Revolution Without Me 28 delete• deleteThe Twelve Chairs 30 delete• deleteWatermelon Man 31 delete• deleteWhere’s Poppa? 32 1971 Bananas 35 delete• deleteCold Turkey 37 delete• deleteThe Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight 39 delete• deleteHarold and Maude 40 delete• deleteThe Hospital 42 delete• deleteKotch 43 delete• deleteLittle Murders 44 delete• deleteMade for Each Other 45 delete• deleteA New Leaf 47 delete• deletePlaza Suite 48 delete• deleteWho Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? 50 1972 Avanti! 52 delete• deleteButterflies Are Free 54 delete• deleteEvery Thing You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* *But Were Afraid to Ask 55 delete• deleteThe Heartbreak Kid 56 delete• deleteLast of the Red Hot Lovers 59 delete• deletePlay It Again, Sam 60 delete• deleteThe War Between Men and Women 62 delete• deleteWhat’s Up, Doc? 63 1973 American Graffiti 67 delete• deleteBlume in Love 69 delete• deleteCops and Robbers 71 delete• deletePaper Moon 73 delete• deleteSleeper 74 delete• deleteSlither 76 delete• deleteThe Sting 77 delete• deleteA Touch of Class 78 1974 The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz 80 delete• deleteBlazing Saddles 81 delete• deleteCalifornia Split 84 delete• deleteFor Pete’s Sake 86 delete• deleteFreebie and the Bean 88 delete• deleteThe Front Page 90 delete• deleteUptown Saturday Night 92 delete• deleteYoung Frankenstein 94 1975 The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother 97 delete• deleteCooley High 98 delete• deleteDeath Race 2000 99 delete• deleteThe Fortune 100 delete• deleteHearts of the West 101 delete• deleteLet’s Do It Again 103 delete• deleteLove and Death 104 delete• deleteLucky Lady 105 delete• deleteThe Prisoner of Second Avenue 106 delete• deleteRafferty and the Gold Dust Twins 108 delete• deleteThe Return of the Pink Panther 109 delete• deleteShampoo 111 delete• deleteSmile 113 delete• deleteThe Sunshine Boys 115 1976 The Bad News Bears 118 delete• deleteThe Big Bus 120 delete• deleteThe Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings 121 delete• deleteBuffalo Bill and the Indians 123 delete• deleteCar Wash 124 delete• deleteThe Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox 125 delete• deleteThe Gumball Rally 126 delete• deleteMother, Jugs and Speed 127 delete• deleteMurder by Death 128 delete• deleteNetwork 129 delete• deleteNext Stop, Greenwich Village 131 delete• deleteNickelodeon 133 delete• deleteThe Pink Panther Strikes Again 134 delete• deleteThe Ritz 135 delete• deleteSilent Movie 137 delete• deleteSilver Streak 138 1977 Annie Hall 140 delete• deleteThe Bad News Bears in Breaking Training 142 delete• deleteCitizens Band 143 delete• deleteFun with Dick and Jane 145 delete• deleteThe Goodbye Girl 146 delete• deleteHigh Anxiety 147 delete• deleteThe Last Remake of Beau Geste 148 delete• deleteThe Late Show 149 delete• deleteOh, God! 150 delete• deleteA Piece of the Action 153 delete• deleteSemi-Tough 154 delete• deleteSlap Shot 156 delete• deleteSmokey and the Bandit 157 delete• deleteWhich Way Is Up? 160 delete• deleteThe World’s Greatest Lover 161 1978 Animal House 162 delete• deleteThe Bad News Bears Go to Japan 164 delete• deleteThe Cheap Detective 165 delete• deleteThe End 166 delete• deleteEvery Which Way But Loose 167 delete• deleteFM 168 delete• deleteFoul Play 169 delete• deleteHeaven Can Wait 171 delete• deleteHooper 172 delete• deleteHouse Calls 173 delete• deleteI Wanna Hold Your Hand 175 delete• deleteMovie Movie 177 delete• deleteThe One and Only 178 delete• deleteRabbit Test 179 delete• deleteRevenge of the Pink Panther 180 delete• deleteSame Time, Next Year 181 delete• deleteUp in Smoke 183 delete• deleteWho Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? 185 1979 …And Justice for All 186 delete• deleteBeing There 187 delete• deleteBreaking Away 189 delete• deleteCalifornia Suite 190 delete• deleteChapter Two 191 delete• deleteThe Frisco Kid 192 delete• deleteHot Stuff 193 delete• deleteThe ­In-Laws 194 delete• deleteThe Jerk 196 delete• deleteLove at First Bite 199 delete• deleteThe Main Event 200 delete• deleteManhattan 201 delete• deleteMore American Graffiti 203 delete• deleteThe Muppet Movie 204 delete• delete1941 206 delete• deleteA Perfect Couple 207 delete• deleteReal Life 209 delete• deleteRock’n’Roll High School 210 delete• deleteScavenger Hunt 212 delete• deleteStarting Over 213 delete• delete10 214 delete• deleteThe Villain 215 Conclusion: So… Drop Dead Funny? Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Dan Lalande is a screenwriter based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. For thirteen years, he served as an adjunct instructor of screen-based storytelling at Algonquin College.

Review :
“Lalande is an astute and thoughtful critic, who offers tasty behind-the-scenes tales of how the films were made and weighs their merits... A knowledgeable, entertaining, and useful critical review of comedy films of the 1970s.”—Library Journal