American Film Comedy - Softcover

Siegel, Scott; Siegel, Barbara

4.2

5 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0671892037 ISBN 13: 9780671892036

Publisher: Macmillan General Reference, 1994

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Offers three hundred alphabetically-arranged entries on actors, writers, directors, and comedy genres and terminology covering the history of comedy films from the silent movie era to the 1990s

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From Booklist:

Intended to be "as comprehensive and as thorough a volume on American film comedy as reasonably possible," this work comes close, but not quite to, the mark. More than 300 alphabetically arranged entries describe writers, actors, directors, and film terms in concise form. There are no entries on specific film titles. When appropriate, filmographies are added at the ends of entries. Black-and-white photographs, many of them stills, add to browsing interest. Also appended are a selected bibliography and lists of Oscars won for comedies (acting, writing, directing, and best-picture awards) and the author's picks for the best comedy of the year from 1927 to 1993. The index supplements the A-Z arrangement of the entries. The time period covered is wide, from the silent film era to today. Although years of birth (and death) are included in the articles on individuals, nowhere are complete birth and death dates provided: this is one feature that movie fans often expect. One of the work's strengths is the inclusion of many contemporary comedic figures not likely to be found in other film reference works, for example, Rick Moranis, Martin Short, and Mike Meyers. The articles on film terms offer overviews of comedy genres, (e.g., musical comedy, screwball comedy, and series comedy) in essays that include film titles as examples.

A comparable work is Larry Langman's Encyclopedia of American Film Comedy (Garland, 1988), which is still in print. However, the film titles cited in that work stop at 1984, while many 1992 and 1993 films are referred to in the work under review. American Film Comedy will function as a supplement to the earlier work in collections that own it and a modestly priced choice for collections that don't and need a current comedy reference source.

From Library Journal:

The Siegels (Encyclopedia of Hollywood, LJ 11/1/89) here offer over 300 entries on American film comedy, covering stars from the Three Stooges to Mike Myers, producers, studios, supporting players, comedic terms such as "slapstick" and "farce," and writers. Complete filmographies are listed at the end of personal entries, and major films-e.g., It Happened One Night, Harold and Maude-are given their own entries. "Comedy Oscar Winners" and "Best Comedy of the Year 1927-93" are also indexed. While there is little here that couldn't be found elsewhere (e.g., Who's Who in Comedy, LJ 9/15/92), this is a good compilation of a specific film genre. A great value for the price, this would be a fine addition to any substantial film collecion. (Photos not seen.)-Sherle Abramson, Williamsburg Regional Lib., Va.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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