Comedies from the 1970s


   

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

This section is for comedies from the 1970s. 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 1970s sorted by Laugh-o-meter (descending) / page 2 of 5


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Sleeper DVDSleeper
      1973 | USA | Laughs: 6.2 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.2
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

As a kid, I loved some of Woody Allen's movies. Later, I developed an allergy to him. This film is the one exception I've found. Frozen in 1973, Woody Allen comes back to life 200 years later and becomes involved in the revolution against the Great Leader. Fun and cute. A few cringe lines from Woody at the beginning, but he gets into the role as soon as Diane Keaton comes on the scene. (Last viewed: August 2009)

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La 7ème Compagnie Au Clair De LuneThe Seventh Company Outdoors (La 7ème Compagnie Au Clair De Lune)
      1977 | France | Laughs: 6.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.3
      who was involved?

During World War 2, three fumbling civilians are mistaken for a famous network of resistance fighters. Although it had no laugh-out-loud moments, this movie was consistently funny and had me smiling most of the time. Surprisingly, it's the funniest of the three movies in the series—while the first wasn't worth watching. (Last viewed: August 2014)

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Je Suis Timide Mais Je Me Soigne DVDJe Suis Timide Mais Je Me Soigne
      1978 | France | Laughs: 5.7 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.6
      who was involved?

A pathologically shy man meets a confidence coach who helps him pursue the girl of his dreams. The movie has good moments but loses the plot in the last half-hour. (Last viewed: April 2013)

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Le Distrait VHSThe Daydreamer (Le Distrait)
      1970 | France | Laughs: 5.7 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.3
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Through an acquaintance of his mother's, a pathologically absent-minded man is hired as a creative for an ad agency, where his blunders hover between disaster and genius. The film has many good moments, but the final ten minutes are tear-your-hair awful. Nevertheless, fans of Pierre Richard will want to watch. (Last viewed: April 2013)

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Giv'at Halfon Eina Ona posterHill Halfon Doesn't Answer (גבעת חלפון אינה עונה / Giv'at Halfon Eina Ona)
      1976 | Israel | Laughs: 5.5 (Watch Once) | imdb: 8.1
      wikipedia | who was involved?

This is an army comedy in the same lineage as the more recent Mash. It is fun and innocent in a similar way to French and Italian comedies of the same period. If you do well with subtitles then you're in luck because this little film is a fun little gem. Having more than a passing interest in the cultures of the Middle East, I enjoyed it even more. The major part of the film takes place on an outpost close to the Egyptian border, where a young sergeant must deal with the unexpected arrival of his girlfriend, her father and a con man. Like in Mash, there are colorful characters with distinct personalities. I wanted to cringe when for a short while the movie made fun at the expense of the Egyptians on the other side of the border, but could not actually cringe as the Israelis poked fun at themselves for the entire length of the film. Furthermore, as one of the Israeli characters, born in Egypt, bonded with the Egyptians over coffee, there did not seem to be a trace of cultural insensitivity. This may not be a movie that makes you laugh out loud, but it's a consistent burn devoid of the usual flat moments—it made me smile throughout. Enjoy! (Last viewed: January 2014)

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Alvin Purple DVDAlvin Purple (Alvin Purple Rides Again)
      1973 | Australia | Laughs: 5.2 (Watch Once) | imdb: 5.7
      wikipedia | who was involved?

For unknown reasons, a young man cannot keep women away, an "affliction" that he gets him into trouble at school then as he enters the workforce. You may not laugh, but Australians will enjoy images of Australia in the early 1970s. Prude alert: sexual content. As for the sequel (Alvin Purple Rides Again), the same story goes on a road trip, but it gets stranded in the weakest of casino robbery plots—firmly in the "Don't Bother Watching" category. (Last viewed: May 2010)

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French Fried Vacation DVDFrench Fried Vacation (Les Bronzés)
      1978 | France | Laughs: 5.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.8
      wikipedia | who was involved?

This classic French comedy follows a batch of vacationers during their eight-day stay in a holiday village in Africa. As ever, some find it easy to hook up, some find it harder. Even with the distance of time, the situations feel very real, and they're funny to watch. The movie is also full of the pranks and entertainment you would expect on such a package vacation. It didn't make me laugh out loud, but I found it highly entertaining. The sequel (which takes place at a ski resort) is stronger in the laughter department. Not so the third installment. (Last viewed: Sep 2009 September 2012)

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La Cage Aux Folles The Birdcage posterLa Cage aux Folles
      1978 | France | Laughs: 5.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.3
      wikipedia | dmoz | who was involved?

A young man whose dad runs a gay night club must introduce his "parents" to his girlfriend's ultra-conservative father in order to get married. I'm not a fan of over-acted drag queen acts as a comedic device, and there's quite a bit of that in this film. Fortunately there's also humor in other places thanks to a decent script and fine actors (such as Michel Galabru, who always makes me laugh). It turned into a pleasant watch with many chuckles and a lot of smiles. (Last viewed: July 2014)

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Peeping Toms posterPeeping Toms (מציצים / Metzitzim)
      1973 | Israel | Laughs: 5.0 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 7.2
      wikipedia | who was involved?

The owner of a soda stall on a beach in Tel Aviv is obsessed with women. So are his best friend and the boys and men of all ages who frequent the beach. This is a light-hearted movie rather than a laugh-out-loud comedy. Apparently, it's a cult movie in Israel, in part owing to dialog that perfectly captured the way people really spoke in the early 1970s. It may not be a roarer, but it's funny, and it's definitely worth watching for the raw texture and the memorable characters. (Last viewed: April 2014)

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A Nous Les Petites Anglaises DVDLet's Get Those English Girls (À Nous Les Petites Anglaises)
      1976 | France | Laughs: 4.5 (Watch Once) | imdb: 5.3
      wikipedia | who was involved?

After flunking their final high-school exam on account of English, two French boys are sent to study in England over the Summer. They show more interest (and talent) for chasing girls than for irregular verbs. The first third or so was funny and delightful as it brought back memories of a time of life long gone, and the film must have been calibrated to bring back the writer's own memories, as when it was made in 1976 there was no good reason to set it in 1959—apart from nostalgia. After the honeymoon phase, the movie loses steam: after all, what kind of dramatic interest can one expect from a true-to-life account of a study trip to a coastal English town? (Last viewed: August 2013)

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And Now for Something Completely Different DVDAnd Now for Something Completely Different
      1971 | U.K. | Laughs: 4.2 (Broken Comedies) | imdb: 7.6
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A compilation of early Monty Python skits and animations. I love John Cleese, but Monty Python rarely makes me laugh—we must be on a different channel. I dislike most of the animations in this film. It does include The Dead Parrot, one of the Pythons' best skits, but you hardly need to sit through this 90-minute montage just for that. (Last viewed: July 2010)

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Animals Are Beautiful People posterAnimals Are Beautiful People (a.k.a Beautiful People)
      1974 | South Africa | Laughs: 4.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 8.3
      wikipedia | who was involved?

This documentary about animal life in arid regions of South African countries is narrated with a lot of light humor. The images are also sometimes quite funny. But the draw of the film, more than forty years on, are the feats performed by animals, many of which feats I found hard to believe.

Some indigenous people are described in a way that many will find dismissive. Certainly the filmmakers didn't seem to think it was worth including them in the credits. That being said, I wouldn't be surprised if at the time the film's attitude to indigenous people would have come across as benevolent.

The soundtrack was on the heavy side, and I found the movie a bit long, but overall it's an interesting historical piece with many good moments, some funny, others educational. (Last viewed: Mar 1980 November 2015)

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El ministro y yo posterThe Minister and I (El ministro y yo)
      1976 | Mexico | Laughs: 4.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 6.7
      wikipedia | who was involved?

This was the first movie I watched in the 'Cantiflas' series, and I enjoyed it. A man who writes letter for the illiterate strikes up a friendship with a minister for the country's government and is offered a job within the administration, where he learns about bureaucracy.

Those who have known Cantiflas since the 1940 classic Ahí está el detalle may find this late entry (36 years later!) unsatisfactory, but for me it worked. (Last viewed: July 2018)

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I Nuovi Mostri DVDThe New Monsters (I Nuovi Mostri)
      1977 | Italy | Laughs: 4.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.1
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Fourteen years after the original Monsters, this sequel (in color) introduces us to more characters who under ordinary appearances are—according to the film's thesis—monsters of some kind. While the quality of the segments varies, the better ones are memorable. With a strong crew of actors such as Vittorio Gassman and Ornella Muti (who provides more to the roles than mere eye candy), it would be a shame to miss this classic film, as I had thus far. (Last viewed: April 2013)

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Up in Smoke posterUp in Smoke
      1978 | USA | Laughs: 4.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.0
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Alright, this movie may not have made me laugh, but I sure did grin a lot. Two potheads meet on the side of a road, decide to start a band and constantly have to dodge the fuzz. That's basically the plot. Apparently this is something of a cult among stoner movies. For a cult movie, it's surprisingly watchable. The song Low Rider by War over the credits gets you in the mood. Someone else would have to tell you what the movie is like under the influence of weed. (Last viewed: June 2015)

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