Comedy
Q: How many surrealists does it take to change a light bulb? A: The fish. Much like that joke, comedy comes down to personal taste and what one finds funny or not. Some like their humour light and frothy and very generalised, while others like it to have an edge and go for a more twisted, darker humour. The motherlode of this genre can be scrolled below. Either way, we're sure there will be something for everybody in the subsections on the left.
Right: There's Something About Mary's hairdo...
The Smallest Show on Earth (1957)
Director: Basil Dearden
Starring: Bernard Miles, Bill Travers, Margaret Rutherford, Peter Sellers, Virginia McKenn...
Jean and Bill are a struggling married couple with Bill trying to scrape a living as a writer. Out of the blue they receive a telegram informing them... Read more
Abbott and Costello: Dance With Me, Henry (1956)
7.4/10
Director: Charles Barton
Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello
Bud and Lou are the owners of the amusement park Kiddieland. Bud, a compulsive gambler, gets in trouble with the mob, and Lou finds himself struggling... Read more
Private's Progress (1956)
6.6/10
Director: John Boulting
Starring: Dennis Price, Ian Carmichael, Richard Attenborough, Terry-Thomas
This splendid farce on army life tells the tale of an undergraduate with no visible talents who joins the army in WWII and soon learns the best ways o... Read more
The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956)
6.9/10
Director: Daniel Mann
Starring: Marlon Brando, Glenn Ford, Machiko Kyo, Eddie Albert, Paul Ford
A whimsical, poignant adaptation of the hit Broadway play about an American G.I.'s experiences in Okinawa in 1944. Glenn Ford is given the task of 'de... Read more
Pardners (1956)
6.3/10
Director: Norman Taurog
Starring: Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Lori Nelson, Jeff Morrow, Agnes Moorehead
Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis re-unite for another raucous comedy, this time poking fun at the Western genre. Wade Kingsley Jr (Lewis), brought up by hi... Read more
Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
6.8/10
Director: Michael Anderson
Starring: Cantinflas, Shirley MacLaine, David Niven, Finlay Currie, Robert Morley, Ronald...
This Jules Verne adventure classic stars David Niven as the globe-trotting Phileas Fogg, with Shirley MacLaine and loads of starry cameos from the lik... Read more
The Court Jester (1956)
7.9/10
Director: Melvin Frank, Norman Panama
Starring: Glynis Johns, Danny Kaye, Basil Rathbone, Angela Lansbury
Danny Kaye has one of his best roles in this beloved comedy classic which rates as one of the funniest comedies of all time. To help restore the thron... Read more
Funny Face (1956)
7.1/10
Director: Stanley Donen
Starring: Fred Astaire, Audrey Hepburn, Kay Thomas
Fred Astaire is a fashion photographer, Audrey Hepburn the shy young girl he makes over into a top model in this lavish musical with a winning Gershwi... Read more
The Iron Petticoat (1956)
5.3/10
Director: Ralph Thomas
Starring: Robert Helpmann, Katharine Hepburn, Bob Hope, James Robertson Justice, Noelle Mi...
This remake of 'Ninotchka' casts Katherine Hepburn as a no-nonsense Russian officer romanced by bodyguard Bob Hope. Two powerhouse stars at the top o... Read more
Sgt Bilko: Volume 1 (1955)
5.7/10
Starring: Harvey Lembeck, Phil Silvers, Paul Ford, Maurice Gosfield, Billy Sands
Comedy legend Phil Silvers is Sgt. Ernie Bilko, the ultimate con man. He runs the motor pool at a small Kansas US Army Camp, nominally run by Colonel... Read more