The blissful tones bounce off the walls
And fall to the ground.”
- Death Cab For Cutie, “We Laugh Indoors”
It’s been said that stand-up comedians are the new philosophers. This was certainly true of Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, Bill Hicks, and more current comics, such as Louis C.K., Marc Maron, and Greg Proops. Pointed and profound messages can be cleverly, but perhaps not easily, couched in humor. That’s not to say that all comedy has to be incredibly deep, philosophical, or political. It can just as easily be absolutely absurd. The three comedy films discussed below are all groundbreaking in some way, but what they all share is that they are hilariously funny.
What’s Up, Tiger Lily? (1966, Woody Allen)
Having just come off of writing and starring in What’s New Pussycat?, Woody Allen made his directorial debut with another film whose title asks a question. Long before the Mystery Science Theater gang started their meta commentary project, Woody Allen was breaking new ground in postmodern comedy. What’s Up, Tiger Lily? was certainly a unique project at the time. Allen took footage from two Japanese films, called International Secret Police: A Barrel of Gunpowder and International Secret Police: Key of Keys, and essentially made a remix / dub. So, instead of a taut spy thriller, we get to see Woody enmeshed in a mob battle over the hunt of the best egg salad recipe.
Any essay or article about the content of the film could not do it justice. Woody Allen’s writing, acting, scene construction, and jokes are so meticulous that they have to be seen and heard in context. For instance, his early nebbish delivery of how death is his bread and danger is his butter does not come over well in print. But, out of his performance, I was laughing out loud. I could be wrong about this, but this film seems to me to be the first of its kind, certainly influencing MST3K and perhaps even such Bond spoofs as Austin Powers. And, even though some wildly funny films had been made during the 60s and before, I don’t think the general public had seen anything as absurd as this, especially the non-sequitur ending featuring China Lee.
Woody Allen would go on to make not only some of the funniest films ever made, in Bananas, Take the Money and Run, and Sleeper, but he would also start to make films that were poignant, deep, philosophical, and related to the human condition. I’m not sure one can make that claim about Tiger Lily, but sometimes funny is just funny. Okay, so there are some Asian stereotypes that are played with a little fast and loose for today’s politically correct and progressive audiences, such as the sisters with the names Suki Yaki and Teri Yaki, but overall it is fairly unobjectionable. It has been said that The Graduate has every type of humor in it, from farce to puns, slapstick to sight gags, and I would argue that What’s Up, Tiger Lily has this wide range of elements as well. Had anyone else shown a visual of a supposed hair caught in the projector, and then a silhouetted hand trying to remove it? In this film, plot didn’t matter and the jokes were everything.
The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967, Roman Polanski)
After the truly disturbing films Repulsion and Knife in the Water, and before the equally disturbing Rosemary’s Baby, Roman Polanski made a farce, though it might be hard for American viewers to make any kind of attribution to Roman Polanski. What am I talking about? Well, apparently, an editor at MGM reedited Polanski’s film and made it even more kooky and cartoony than the director had originally envisioned. I couldn’t tell you which version I saw. From all the research I have gathered, it appears that the American recut of the film is now rare, and the original version must be the one I screened. (Yes, I don’t watch films, I “screen” them.)
In this film, we follow the titular “vampire killers,” one old and exceedingly eccentric, Professor Abronsius, played by Jack McGowan, the other young, shy, and enormously excitable, Alfred, played by Polanski himself. Like with Tiger Lily, there are different types of humor on display here, from Polanski’s physical humor, to the broad slapstick of a high speed coffin / sledding chase, to the abstract silliness and stupidity of the two spying on a hunchback building a coffin with the memorable exchange, “What’s he doing?” “He’s woodworking!”
Polanski had not really been known for comedy before this film and hasn’t really since, but this film is certainly not to be dismissed. It is not only funny, it also retains some of Polanski’s hallmark dark undertones, especially in the fact that the vampires end up defeating out heroes and evil wins out in the end. A scene that stands out as one that certainly inspired such later films as Young Frankenstein, the two hunters try to fit in with a group of vampires, participating in an elaborate dance, and try to have a conversation while being constantly interrupted by the movements and changing of partners. The vivid colors also make it a near-perfect Hammer Horror homage. Of course, this film is now notorious for featuring the gorgeous Sharon Tate, just one year before she married Polanski, and two years before her tragic murder.
Putney Swope (1969, Robert Downey, Sr.)
The aforementioned Louis C.K. has gone out of his to praise Putney Swope and how it directly influenced his comedy. The film, written and directed by Robert Downey, Sr., (yes, that Robert Downey, Sr.) is at once uproariously funny and socially as well as politically potent. The idea is simple: the CEO of an advertising agency dies, and in the pursuit of becoming his successor, the rest of the board vote for the one African-American member, as they can’t vote for themselves. Putney Swope becomes the new CEO and drastically changes the direction of the company, to hilarious results.
At first, Swope is dead set against the firm’s involvement with companies that produced alcohol, tobacco, and war toys. As such, he renames the company “Truth and Soul, Inc.” and tries to align the company philosophy with his own, replacing every white board member in the process. We are treated to some of the commercials they make, intercut throughout the film, and they are some of the funniest things I have ever seen, surely influencing later likeminded films, such as the Zucker and Abrahams movies. As the company grows in success, and profits, we see the new militant members of the firm become just as corrupted by money as their predecessors, including Putney, who has to come to some kind of reconciliation with himself.
Downey dubbed in his own voice over that of the actor who portrayed Swope, Arnold Johnson, claiming that the actor had a hard time memorizing his lines. The resulting effect is jarring, but also adds to the humor. The film was somewhat before its time in its skewering of Capitalism and modern advertisement, but right on time for its incisive commentary on the misunderstanding of the Black Power movement. I tend to think that those who gave this film a bad review, claim it isn’t funny, or that it misses the mark, just didn’t get it. It’s well beyond time that Putney Swope was reevaluated as one of the funniest films of the 60s. Appropriately enough, Downey’s son was later criticized in much the same manner for his portrayal of method actor Kirk Lazarus in Tropic Thunder, which was equally funny.
*Note: The poster for Putney Swope is the DVD cover, as the theatrical poster is somewhat more risqué.
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