Movie Comedians of the 1950s
Print ISBN: 978-0-7864-9996-0
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-4766-2692-5
36 photos, notes, bibliography, filmography, index
212pp. softcover (7 x 10) 2016
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.
"Beyond a general
revisionist look at 1950s film comedy, the goals of the work were to
knock down Lewis' perspective that Martin was just a straight
man, to undercut the dumb blonde stereotype, and to examine
game-changing TV, often via the neglected Frank Tashlin" said Gehring. "I really think I provided important new insight on Tashlin by reading his films through his children's books."
About the Author
Wes D. Gehring is a
distinguished professor of film at Ball State University and associate
media editor for USA Today magazine, for which he also writes the column
"Reel World." He is the author of 36 film-related books, including
award-winning biographies of James Dean, Carole Lombard, Steve McQueen,
Robert Wise, Red Skelton and Charlie Chaplin.
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