El. knyga: Movie Comedians of the 1950s: Defining a New Era of Big Screen Comedy

The 1950s were a transitional period for film comedians. The artistic suppression of the McCarthy era and the advent of television often resulted in a dumbing down of motion pictures. Cartoonist-turned-director Frank Tashlin contributed a funny but cartoonish effect through his work with comedians like Jerry Lewis and Bob Hope. A new vanguard of comedians appeared without stock comic garb or make-up—fresh faces not easily pigeonholed as merely comedians, such as Tony Randall, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis. Some traditional comedians, like Charlie Chaplin, Red Skelton and Danny Kaye, continued their shtick, though with some evident tweaking. This book provides insight into a misunderstood decade of film history with an examination of the “personality comedians.” The talents of Dean Martin and Bob Hope are reappraised and the “dumb blonde” stereotype, as applied to Judy Holliday and Marilyn Monroe, is deconstructed.

Wes D. Gehring presents readers with a comprehensive examination of the comedic work produced by Hollywood in the wake of the Second World War, utilizing comedians to drive filmmaking in an entirely new direction. The author covers Judy Holliday’s work in Born Yesterday, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis’s work in Sailor Beware, Bob Hope’s work in Son of Paleface, and many other comedians and their films in the 1950s. The author is a faculty member of Ball State University and the associate media editor for USA Today magazine. Annotation ©2017 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)