- 12 years ago
The swinging '60s were a time of crazy style and hilarious comedy. Join http://www.WatchMojo.com as we count down our picks for the top 10 comedy movies of the 1960s. This is part of a series of videos spanning the decades of comedic films from the 1930s to the 2000s.
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00:05It is designed to explode if any attempt is ever made to un-trigger it.
00:10Automatically.
00:10It's an obvious commie trick, Mr. President. We're wasting valuable time.
00:14Look at the people. They're getting ready to clobber us.
00:16The swingin' 60s were a time of crazy style and hilarious comedy.
00:20What's with the little kiddie bicycle? What are you, some kind of a nut?
00:23Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 comedies of the 1960s.
00:33For our series on the top comedies of all time, we've chosen comedy films per decade based on their iconic
00:40status, critical acclaim, box office success, watchability, and, of course, how funny they are.
00:51This is part of a series of videos spanning the decades of comedic films from the 1930s to the 2000s.
00:58I'm the Horned One, the Devil. Let me give you my card.
01:02Number 10. Be Dazzled.
01:05Back in the swingin' 60s, the comedy pairing of Dudley Moore and Peter Cook was all the rage.
01:10You're quite right, of course.
01:11An updated take on the Faustian tale, Be Dazzled pits Cook as the Devil against Moore as Stanley Moon, in
01:19a story that sees the latter selling his soul to the former for happiness.
01:22Is there anything in the world you really desire?
01:25What follows is a hilarious sequence of what-if type sketches, in which Moon sees what his life would be
01:31like under different terms.
01:33Would you help me with my buttons? I seem to be off thumbs this morning.
01:38While the film wasn't an instant classic, it slowly gained a cult following over the years, thanks to its acting,
01:45smarts, and laughs.
01:46Do you want me to come in with you on it, or do you wish to pull out, or should
01:52we just call the whole thing, um...
02:08Jack Lemmon was also a hot property back in the 60s, and this comedy-drama manages to balance his pitch
02:15-perfect comedic timing with the actor's more vulnerable side.
02:18I've decided to become a mensch. Do you know what that means? A human being.
02:22While The Apartment stays mostly within the realms of the possible, the movie does go over the top, and even
02:29screwball at times.
02:30And that's just the way Lemmon likes it.
02:32How many drinks did you have?
02:34Three!
02:35I thought so.
02:36The result is a comedy classic with risque themes that managed to pull off five Oscar wins out of a
02:41total ten nominations.
02:43You take a girl out a couple of times a week, just for laughs, and right away she thinks you're
02:46getting serious, marriage-wise.
02:49Big shot! For you, I wouldn't lift a finger, but for her, I'll fix a little something to eat.
02:55Those icy fingers up and down my spine, the same old witchcraft when your eyes meet mine.
03:05Number eight, The Nutty Professor.
03:07They have very, very good taste, I might add.
03:10Before Eddie Murphy portrayed an entire cast of characters in the 90s remake, there was this flick starring Jerry Lewis.
03:16This is Julius. Yeah, I... Julius. J. Yes, your son.
03:22Lewis, as Dr. Julius Kelp, becomes a Jekyll and Hyde-type character when he ingests a strange elixir and transforms
03:29into the suave and sophisticated buddy love.
03:32There's my date. That sharp-looking chick's my date.
03:37Before special effects and fat suits, Lewis had to play two completely different characters purely based on his acting skills,
03:44and a couple of costume changes.
03:46Ah, that is, uh, class to smith.
03:48The result is a hilarious comic sci-fi tale about a scientist who strives to become more.
03:54I think that'll be it.
03:55For a while. Uh, kids, uh, not.
03:58Number seven, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.
04:02Baby, that's what I'm here for. That's where you had me, mama, the savior.
04:05The funniest comedians of the time were assembled to create this gut-busting epic comedy about a group of treasure
04:12hunters trying to outrun each other to collect a hidden fortune.
04:15I know where it is. It's under a big W. That's what he said. It's under a big W.
04:19Like a windmill or a waterfall or something like that.
04:21The ensemble comedy's pairing of actors, like Mickey Rooney and Buddy Hackett, make for some of the most hilarious scenes
04:27in cinema history.
04:28What do you mean who's flying the plane?
04:32Nobody's flying the plane.
04:33The premise is simple, but allows for each separate actor to stretch their comedy muscles and make this an Oscar
04:40-winning, critically acclaimed, and box office hit.
04:51Number six, The Odd Couple.
04:53Listen, you want to talk to me, buddy? Put down that spoon.
04:56Spoon!
04:57You dumb ignoramus! That is a ladle! You did not know that's a ladle!
05:02Mix Walter Matthau's always grumpy disposition...
05:05If I've just been told off, I think I may have missed it.
05:07...and Jack Lemmon's wild personality.
05:09Stupid, damned idiot!
05:11...and what do you get? Not your average couple, that's for sure.
05:14We are what we are.
05:16This film's comedy comes from the contrasting interplay between its two divorced male characters,
05:22as they begin to take on roles similar to that of husband and wife.
05:25I didn't know I irritated you that much.
05:27Leave my pictures alone.
05:29In contrast to the black comedy's title, the two actors and comedians actually make the perfect pair here.
05:40At least they do when it comes to knowing how to get the critics raving and movie watchers rolling in
05:45the aisles.
05:46Oh, Felix, Felix, Felix, Felix.
05:50I know, I know, I know.
05:55Number five, The Party.
05:57What do you say?
05:58Well, I'm on a diet, but to hell with it.
06:02Peter Sellers was a man of a thousand faces, and he never fails to put a smile on ours.
06:08Pretty num-num.
06:09This Blake Edwards-directed film was very much a vehicle for his improv skills and brilliant physical humor.
06:20From the opening scene to the very last shot, Sellers plays a clumsy Indian actor who pratfalls and sputters his
06:27way through a Hollywood party,
06:28to which he was inadvertently invited.
06:30But I can tell from the way that you are enjoying yourselves, it must have been a very humorous anecdote.
06:35The result is many an awkward conversation.
06:37Tonight is one big round of laughter.
06:39All fun and laughter.
06:41Multiple hilarious misunderstandings.
06:43Well, just enough to get myself into trouble.
06:45And a cult comedy classic.
06:48Anyway, I have to get back to feed Opu.
06:51Opu?
06:52Yes, my monkey.
06:53Oh.
06:55Number four, The Producers.
06:57Max, let's call it a night.
06:58It's two in the morning.
06:59I don't know what I'm reading anymore.
07:01Read, read.
07:02We've got to find the worst play ever written.
07:05Mel Brooks' very first theatrical effort foreshadows his meteoric rise in the comedy genre.
07:10Remarkable.
07:12Remarkable.
07:13The Producers is a riot from start to finish, thanks to hilarious performances from Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel.
07:21I have taken steps to make sure that Springtime for Hitler will be a total disaster.
07:25As Leo Bloom and Max Bialystok.
07:27You're working with Max Bialystok, right?
07:29The actors play two conniving men who are attempting to produce a play that'll be a flop in order to
07:35make more money.
07:36But under the right circumstances, a producer could make more money with a flop than he could with a hit.
07:41Complete with crazy and colorful musical numbers that continue to impress even to this day.
07:45The dark comedy is an enticing satire and tons of fun.
07:50Springtime for Hitler and Germany.
07:56Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me.
07:59Number three.
08:00The Graduate.
08:02Aren't you?
08:03If you want to take a break from the slapstick comedies of the decade,
08:06this film starring Dustin Hoffman in his breakout role should do the trip.
08:10Mrs. Robinson, I can't do this.
08:12You what?
08:12This is all terribly wrong.
08:14Do you find me undesirable?
08:16Oh, no, Mrs. Robinson.
08:17I think you're the most attractive of all my parents' friends.
08:20I mean that.
08:20Instead of sight gags and puns,
08:22The Graduate gets the job done with subtle satire and wonderful Oscar-nominated performances.
08:28What are you going to do now?
08:29I was going to go upstairs for a minute.
08:31I meant with your future.
08:33Your life.
08:34Well, that's a little hard to say.
08:35And Bancroft is enchanting as the older woman,
08:38who alternately tries to seduce Hoffman's character and ruin his life.
08:42I'll get undressed now.
08:43Is that all right?
08:44Sure.
08:44It's funny, sharp, and touching.
08:47Point is, I don't love your wife.
08:48I love your daughter, sir.
08:50Number two.
08:51The Pink Panther.
08:52Jack, I thought you were on your wedding.
08:54That phone call was a ruse.
08:57Oh, dear.
08:58It was his role as the bumbling inspector Jacques Clouseau
09:01that catapulted Peter Sellers to international fame as a comedic actor.
09:06What are you suggesting?
09:07Sellers may have only been a supporting actor in The Pink Panther.
09:10Correct?
09:10Yes.
09:11No, no, not correct.
09:13Of course not correct.
09:14Of course.
09:15But his scene-stealing performance as the inept officer
09:18who pratfalls his way through a mystery
09:20that has everyone else baffled
09:22is what made the film such a classic.
09:24I might die.
09:26Oh!
09:27It's no mistake that it spawned a cartoon series
09:30and many sequels,
09:31including 1964's equally successful A Shot in the Dark.
09:36I have a plan.
09:38What sort of plan?
09:40A plan that cannot possibly fail.
09:44Before we unveil our pick for comedy of the 1960s,
09:47here are a few honorable mentions.
09:49He wants nothing more than to belong,
09:52if only to a street gang.
09:53It is here he thinks he will prove his manhood.
10:00What do you say?
10:01A tragedy or a comedy?
10:03With the fans, I don't know.
10:05A spot of rum before going into action is always permissible.
10:09This is brandy.
10:10Same effect.
10:11You?
10:11Oh, no.
10:12No, thank you.
10:14Some of this nerve tonic.
10:20Number one.
10:21Doctor Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
10:25Gentlemen, you can't fight in here.
10:27This is the war room.
10:28Stanley Kubrick was the master of genre-bending films,
10:31and this Cold War pre-apocalyptic political black comedy
10:35is widely regarded as one of his greatest efforts.
10:38Mr. President, it is not only possible,
10:42it is essential.
10:43While the movie isn't outright hilarious,
10:46Who are you?
10:46the intense performances by all the supporting actors,
10:49in contrast to Peter Sellers' own master of disguise style of comedy,
10:53Monsieur!
10:55are genuinely funny
10:56and cement Doctor Strangelove as a cinematic piece of art.
11:07Do you agree with our list?
11:09Well, if you say so.
11:10What's your favorite 1960s comedy?
11:12Didn't sink in until just this minute.
11:14For more hilarious top tens published every day,
11:17be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
11:19Well, I'm glad that you're enjoying yourselves,
11:22because you're going to be here for the next 20 years.