Comedies from the 1960s


   

The laughDB database is dedicated to the funniest comedy movies, stand-up comedy and TV series.

This section is for comedies from the 1960s. By default they are presented starting with the ones ranking highest on the laugh-o-meter, but you can also sort them by year, title or IMDB rating.


Movies from the 1960s sorted by Laugh-o-meter (descending) / page 1 of 4


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The Party DVDThe Party
      1968 | USA | Laughs: 8.8 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 7.5
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

A clumsy actor from India causes one disaster after another at a Hollywood big wig's party where he has been invited by mistake. This is close to being a perfect movie. You may grin and chuckle more than you laugh, but you'll probably remember laughing more than you actually did because the movie is just so good. I have watched it every few years for a long long time, and it refuses to age, which is remarkable when you consider that other famous comedies from the 1960s (such as One, Two, Three and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World) are now unwatchable. (Last viewed: Nov 2008 October 2012)

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Pink Panther DVDThe Pink Panther
      1963 | USA | Laughs: 7.8 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 7.1
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

A slow start at a ski resort in Italy where Sir Charles plans to steal the Princess's diamond under Inspector Clouseau's eyes. No hard laughter in this first Pink Panther movie (where Clouseau is not yet the main character), but a number of surreal scenes make it a 1960s art classic that you'll be glad to watch again. Clouseau is much more human—and endearing—than the caricature to come in the following installments. (Last viewed: September 2009)

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A Shot in the Dark DVDA Shot in the Dark
      1964 | USA | Laughs: 7.7 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 7.5
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

Jacques Clouseau in a movie without the Pink Panther diamond (or the Pink Panther theme music). Since his first film, Clouseau has acquired a silly accent, a servant (Kato), a superior (commissioner Dreyfus), while his erstwhile innocent charm has turned into mild idiocy. Clouseau is convinced that Maria Gambrelli, a cute maid at the Balland residence, is innocent of the murder of Miguel the driver, even though she was found with the murder weapon in her hand. This early Pink Panther may not make you laugh out loud, but it has an enduring charm, thanks in part to magnificent photography of Paris streets in the 1960s and of unlikely settings, in trademark Blake Edwards style. Unfortunately, so memorable it cannot be watched often. (Last viewed: September 2009)

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I Mostri DVDThe Monsters (a.k.a Opiate '67) (I Mostri)
      1963 | Italy | Laughs: 7.5 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 7.5
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Italian film by Dino Risi. A collection of vignettes showing men at their ordinary worst. Beautiful black and white photography. Akin to Seinfeld in the sense that the laughter comes from recognizing actions that are part of everyone's psychology, if only as a seed. (Last viewed: August 2009)

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Sallah Shabati posterSallah (סאלח שבתי / Sallah Shabati)
      1964 | Israel | Laughs: 7.5 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 7.4
      wikipedia | who was involved?

I was a bit weary about watching this movie when I saw it was made in 1964 because most works that age (especially those shot in black-and-white) seem to have lost much of their comical power. It turned out to be the Israeli movie that had the most success (so far) in making me laugh.

A family of newcomers to the country is sent to a temporary camp. The accommodation is poor, so the head of the family schemes to obtain an apartment in the housing project under construction nearby. Meanwhile, one one of his sons and one of his daughters fall in love with members of the neighboring kibbutz.

Some of the themes are local—for instance, the culture gap between the Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews—but the humor is universal. A delight. (Last viewed: April 2014)

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Les Grandes Vacances DVDThe Long Holiday (Les Grandes Vacances)
      1967 | France | Laughs: 7.2 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 6.6
      wikipedia | who was involved?

The stern owner of a private school sends his son to England so he'll improve his English over the Summer holiday, but the son sends a friend as a substitute and goes sailing with his gang. Meanwhile, the daughter of the English family arrives at the private school in France and causes a stir among the boys. Too much happens during this 85-minute movie to properly summarize the plot, which hovers between France, England and Scotland. It's funny, I laughed, and I'll watch it again with pleasure ten years from now. (Last viewed: September 2012)

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The Gendarme of Saint-Tropez DVDThe Policeman from Saint-Tropez (a.k.a The Gendarme of Saint-Tropez) (Le Gendarme de Saint-Tropez)
      1964 | France | Laughs: 7.2 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 7.2
      wikipedia | who was involved?

The chief policeman of a village of Provence (a region in the South of France) is transfered to the "big city": Saint-Tropez, tourist mecca on the Riviera. There, he must confront nudists, art thieves and the boys who circle around his lovely daughter. Past a certain age, comedies often lose their power to make me laugh. This 1964 movie was a beautiful exception. (Last viewed: October 2011)

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Le Corniaud DVDThe Sucker (Le Corniaud)
      1965 | France | Laughs: 7.1 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 7.4
      wikipedia | who was involved?

An unsuspecting "nice guy" cannot believe his luck when a business man asks him to convey a brand new Cadillac from Naples to Bordeaux. Unaware that the car contains heroin, gold and contraband diamonds, our tourist does everything wrong, to the despair of the two crews of slumbags on his tail. This charming movie has aged surprisingly well. It made me smile throughout and gave me at least one good laugh. (Last viewed: October 2011)

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Ervinka poster topol kishonErvinka (a.k.a Arvinka)
      1967 | Israel | Laughs: 7.0 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 6.8
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Sometimes, watching an old movie can feel like a job, and I end up watching the clock while eagerly waiting for the film to end. Not with this one. The movie follows a happy-go-lucky fellow as he seduces everyone around him and flutters effortlessly from one small scam to the next. Apart from the delightfully light plot (or lack of plot), one treat was to encounter once again the police officer from The Big Dig (Shaike Ophir), who would become the lead character in The Policeman four years later. (Last viewed: July 2014)

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Oscar DVDOscar
      1967 | France | Laughs: 7.0 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 7.5
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A young man rings his employer's doorbell asking for a huge raise, then for the hand of his boss's daughter. A series of comical turnarounds follows. The first half-hour is very funny and could serve as textbook example for this particular flavor of French farce—in some ways it reminded me of The Dinner Game. The comedy does lose steam in the second half, but this is still a very satisfying movie overall. Recommended. (Last viewed: September 2012)

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The Big Dig PosterThe Big Dig (a.k.a Blaumilch Canal) (תעלת בלאומילך / Te'alat Blaumilch)
      1969 | Israel | Laughs: 6.6 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.7
      wikipedia | who was involved?

One bright morning, an escapee from a lunatic asylum steals a compressor and starts digging up the road in the busiest part of Tel Aviv. Everyone naturally assumes that the digging is part of the city's public works, and through a series of misunderstandings the madman is soon joined by a team of workers and bulldozers.

The movie does a great job of showing the rivalries and inefficiencies of government offices. In many ways, it reminded me of contemporary movies by Blake Edwards, such as The Party (1968). In fact one of the film's main characters looks a lot like Peter Sellers.

As with most movies whose formula is to steadily build up mayhem, The Big Dig was a bit long—but it was quite funny and I found it to be good value. I enjoyed seeing Shaike Ophir as the policeman, a role he would bring to full fruition two years later in another movie by Ephraim Kishon, The Policeman (after tuning it further in Ervinka). It was also interesting to have a glimpse at Israeli society (and streetscape) of nearly fifty years ago.

Well worth a watch. (Last viewed: April 2014)

More About The Big Dig:
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The Gendarme Gets Married DVDThe Gendarme Gets Married (Le Gendarme se Marie)
      1968 | France | Laughs: 6.5 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 6.8
      wikipedia | who was involved?

In this sequel to The Policeman from Saint-Tropez, against the same backdrop of the French riviera, the gendarme and a high-society lady fall in love. When I find myself chuckling all by myself, that's a sign that a movie is funny. This cute movie might be as funny as the original—I'm not sure as I watched them one year apart. If you watch them back to back, let me know. (Last viewed: September 2012)

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Operation Y and Shurik's Other Adventures posterOperation Y and Shurik's Other Adventures (Операция Ы и другие приключения Шурика)
      1965 | Soviet Union | Laughs: 6.0 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 8.6
      wikipedia | who was involved?

This film is made of three shorts featuring a geeky but honorable student, Shurik, later to appear in the same director's Kidnapping, Caucasian Style. In the first, Shurik works on a construction site with a scoundrel. In the second, he studies for exams with a young lady who becomes a romantic interest. In the third, he foils a burglary attempt. I liked the first two the best. Although I didn't laugh out loud, these segments probably contained the funniest comedy I've seen so far in a film out of the USSR. (Last viewed: August 2015)

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Thirty Three posterThirty Three (Tridtsat tri (Тридцать три))
      1965 | Soviet Union | Laughs: 5.8 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 7.1
      wikipedia | who was involved?

After his dentist discovers that he has one more tooth than everyone else, a man is paraded to Moscow where he becomes a celebrity on a level comparable to Beatle-mania on the other side of Europe. The last third of this short movie was a bit long, but overall it was delightful, with a full load of irony and lots of chuckles. (Last viewed: August 2015)

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If It's Tuesday, this must be Belgium DVDIf It's Tuesday, this must be Belgium
      1969 | USA | Laughs: 5.8 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.3
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A group of Americans travel to Europe for a tour of nine countries in eighteen days. Clean, cute and full of chuckles. (Last viewed: September 2010)

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