A Question Inspired By HIS KIND OF WOMAN

[Palmerin]

HIS KIND OF WOMAN is a perfect mix of comedy and action. The witticisms and the performance of Price keep everybody amused, but when the climax comes the action is relentless: will Price rescue Mitchum before the latter is injected with the drug that will erase his mind?

Obviously many filmmakers like HKOW, for they constantly strive for its successful mix of comedy and action--usually without success. The LETHAL WEAPON series is embarrassing; I cannot believe I actually liked it. The Indiana Jones series is even worse, for it's full of historical inaccuracies and illogical plot holes; for ex., how did Indy and Marion manage to escape the island at the end of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK? There were other Germans in the submarine base, and they had no way to take the Ark to the USA with them!

So this is my question: what adventure movies would you recommend to me that are as successful at mixing humor with thrills as is the case with the Mitchum-Russell-Price-Burr classic?

All my thanks in advance.

[mrroberts]

I really like the Mitchum film THE BIG STEAL  (have you ever seen that one?) It may not have the deep supporting cast like HKoW but it is a fun  fast paced film to watch, especially with Jane Greer as his leading lady (sharp contrast to OUT OF THE PAST).

[JamesJazGuitar]

HIS KIND OF WOMAN is a perfect mix of comedy and action. The witticisms and the performance of Price keep everybody amused, but when the climax comes the action is relentless: will Price rescue Mitchum before the latter is injected with the drug that will erase his mind?

Obviously many filmmakers like HKOW, for they constantly strive for its successful mix of comedy and action--usually without success. The LETHAL WEAPON series is embarrassing; I cannot believe I actually liked it. The Indiana Jones series is even worse, for it's full of historical inaccuracies and illogical plot holes; for ex., how did Indy and Marion manage to escape the island at the end of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK? There were other Germans in the submarine base, and they had no way to take the Ark to the USA with them!

So this is my question: what adventure movies would you recommend to me that are as successful at mixing humor with thrills as is the case with the Mitchum-Russell-Price-Burr classic?

All my thanks in advance.

 

I can't think of many films that have that perfect mix of comedy and action like HKOW.   Either the films are mostly dark comedies; e.g. Unfaithfully Yours,  Wonder Man,   Murder He Says,  Whistling in the Dark,  The Trouble with Harry or they are mostly thrillers with some comedy;  The Big Sleep has a lot of funny moments but they are Bogie one-liners and not extended scenes like we see in HKOW.

[film lover 293]

There aren't many (successful) films that mix comedy & action so deftly.

 

1st, an enthusiastic second to the films jamesjazzguitar named, especially "Murder He Says" (1945), & "The Trouble With Harry" (1955).

 

2nd, some films I especially enjoy:

 

"Across the Pacific"--(1942)--Humphrey Bogart & Mary Astor reteamed in a film that can't decide if it wants to be actioner, comedy, or mystery--it goes for all 3, & somehow works--a delightful surprise.

 

"To Have and Have Not" (1944)--Bogie & Bacall actioner where wisecracks reign supreme--great fun.

 

"Charade"--(1963)--Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn comedy thriller-Wonderful.

 

"How to Steal a Million"--(1966)--Audrey Hepburn & Peter O'Toole--more comedy than actioner--but Audrey & O'Toole have Chemistry,   

[AndyM108]

There aren't many (successful) films that mix comedy & action so deftly.

 

1st, an enthusiastic second to the films jamesjazzguitar named, especially "Murder He Says" (1945), & "The Trouble With Harry" (1955).

 

2nd, some films I especially enjoy:

 

"Across the Pacific"--(1942)--Humphrey Bogart & Mary Astor reteamed in a film that can't decide if it wants to be actioner, comedy, or mystery--it goes for all 3, & somehow works--a delightful surprise.

 

"To Have and Have Not" (1944)--Bogie & Bacall actioner where wisecracks reign supreme--great fun.

 

"Charade"--(1963)--Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn comedy thriller-Wonderful.

 

"How to Steal a Million"--(1966)--Audrey Hepburn & Peter O'Toole--more comedy than actioner--but Audrey & O'Toole have Chemistry,   

 

Of course there's the Daddy of All Such Films:  The Thin Man.

[film lover 293]

Thank you, AndyM108--& the 1st 2 sequels are almost as good

 

After the Thin Man (1936)

 

Another Thin Man (1939)

[TomJH]

 

A lavish Techicolor adventure of 1948 which served as Errol Flynn's last great hurrah as a screen swashbuckler (though he would appear in a few lesser efforts afterward).

 

The film is noteworthy for its unexpectedly delightful tongue-in-cheek screenplay, often poking fun at balcony wooings and escapes from paramours' husbands unexpectedly returning home.

 

And the dialogue, at times, is noticeably witty:

 

 

Juan: "I have loved you since the beginning of time."

 

Katherine: "But you only met me yesterday."

 

Juan: "Why that is when time began."

 

Katherine: "But you've made love to so many women."

 

Juan: "Katherine, an artist may paint a thousand portraits before achieving one work of art. Would you deny a lover the same practice?"

 

 

 

But the film combines this humour with the big action sequences expected of a Flynn epic at Warners. There's a duel with soldiers in a tavern, an impressive prison dungeon sequence, as well as the production climaxing with Don Juan's well choreographed, exciting duel with the dastardly villain on a giant palace staircase.

 

Adventures of Don Juan is a most satisfactory adventure, with humourous supplements, which has, unfortunately, been dwarfed in reputation over the years by Flynn's far more famous Robin Hood.

 

This film, too, is worthy of numerous viewings.

[JamesJazGuitar]

Of course there's the Daddy of All Such Films:  The Thin Man.

 

While The Thin Man series does involve crime they don't have much of a noir quality to them even the ones made in the 40s.

 

Yes there were many crime centric films that featured comedy;  Star of Midnight (Powell \ Rogers), The Ex-Mrs Bradford (Powell \ Arthur),  Remember the Night (Robert Young \ Ed Arnold),   Fast Company and Fast and Loose (Robert Montgomery),   There Always a Women and There's That Women Again (Melvyn Douglas)  etc..  none of these films had noir qualities.

[wouldbestar]

As the photo shows Don Juan is also a chance for those who still fondly remember Search for Tomorrow  to see their beloved Mary "Joanne" Stuart in her younger days and in glorious color.  I'd had no idea she'd done films until I first saw this.  Their loss was TV's gain as she became not just a soap star but a real pioneer in the medium.  TomJH, thanks for that shot.  REDHEADS RULE!       

[CaveGirl]

You've probably seen these but "The Crimson Pirate" and also "The Flame and the Arrow" with Burt Lancaster are classy adventure yarns.

And though any Errol Flynn film is marvy, I think "The Sea Hawk" has some great scenes. This is assuming you've already seen all his more famous film like Sabatini's "Captain Blood" and the Robin Hood epic.

 

Silent films with Douglas Fairbanks can be a revelation for excitement if never seen before.