168. COMEDY CINEMA 1: The Clowns episode artwork

EPISODE · Jan 31, 2025 · 1H 11M

168. COMEDY CINEMA 1: The Clowns

from The Filmlings · host The Filmlings

To kick off a new series on the history of American comedy films, Alex and Jonathan travel back to the early days of cinema and look at the physical comedy of the early film clowns in Safety Last! (1923), City Lights (1931), and Duck Soup (1933). We discuss the transition from live performances in theater and vaudeville to the movies, how Harold Lloyd and Charlie Chaplin helped to incorporate character development into comedy films, and how the Marx brothers blended physical and verbal comedy which set the stage for the new era of sound comedy. Skip to: (9:20) – Safety Last! (24:33) – City Lights (40:35) – Duck Soup (59:01) – Overall (1:05:44) – Coming Attractions Coming Attractions: Trouble in Paradise (1932) His Girl Friday (1940) Some Like It Hot (1959) For more information, visit the blog: https://thefilmlings.com/2024/01/31/the-clowns/ Join us on Discord for ongoing film discussion: https://discord.gg/MAF6jh59cF

To kick off a new series on the history of American comedy films, Alex and Jonathan travel back to the early days of cinema and look at the physical comedy of the early film clowns in Safety Last! (1923), City Lights (1931), and Duck Soup (1933). We discuss the transition from live performances in theater and vaudeville to the movies, how Harold Lloyd and Charlie Chaplin helped to incorporate character development into comedy films, and how the Marx brothers blended physical and verbal comedy which set the stage for the new era of sound comedy. Skip to: (9:20) – Safety Last! (24:33) – City Lights (40:35) – Duck Soup (59:01) – Overall (1:05:44) – Coming Attractions Coming Attractions: Trouble in Paradise (1932) His Girl Friday (1940) Some Like It Hot (1959) For more information, visit the blog: https://thefilmlings.com/2024/01/31/the-clowns/ Join us on Discord for ongoing film discussion: https://discord.gg/MAF6jh59cF

NOW PLAYING

168. COMEDY CINEMA 1: The Clowns

0:00 1:11:41

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of The Filmlings?

This episode is 1 hour and 11 minutes long.

When was this The Filmlings episode published?

This episode was published on January 31, 2025.

What is this episode about?

To kick off a new series on the history of American comedy films, Alex and Jonathan travel back to the early days of cinema and look at the physical comedy of the early film clowns in Safety Last! (1923), City Lights (1931), and Duck Soup (1933). We...

Can I download this The Filmlings episode?

Yes, you can download this episode by clicking the download button on the episode player, or subscribe to the podcast in your preferred podcast app for automatic downloads.
URL copied to clipboard!