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Comedy Genius
Celebrating side-splitting film and TV, from slapstick legends to today's anarchic voices.
Fooling about became a fine art through the early decades of cinema, but comedy genius is too often under-recognised.
It’s the gift of perfect timing, an expertly executed sight-gag, a zinging wise-crack, a giddy rush of manic energy. Whether perfectly choreographed, brutally raw, or conjured out of improvisation and collaboration, the best comedy is ultimately disruptive.
It punctures pomposity, and blows a raspberry at social convention: the proto-feminist whiplash of screwball wit, the rambunctious working-class revolt of Carry On, the purposeful anarchy of alternative comedy.
Our three online collections (Rentals, Subscription, Free) celebrate the changing face of what – and who – we find funny.
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The Perfect WomanThe Perfect Woman
Comedy194987 mins
In a bid to improve on nature, a scientist creates a robot female. But the experiment doesn't quite turn out as planned...
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Le PetomaneLe Petomane
Comedy197933 mins
The immortal Leonard Rossiter makes flatulence a fine art in this short, poignant comedy-drama from Hancock writers Galton and Simpson
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Tilly and the Fire EnginesTilly and the Fire Engines
Comedy19112 minsSilent
Mischievous sisters Tilly and Sally borrow a fire engine and take it for a joy ride in this spirited film comedy.
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Something Completely DifferentSomething Completely Different
19744 minsSilent Location: Doune
Join John Cleese and the cast of Monty Python and the Holy Grail on location in Scotland
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Arthur? Arthur!Arthur? Arthur!
Comedy1969101 mins Location: Camden
A hen-pecked inventor plots murder while he leads a bizarre double life as a bewigged playboy who runs a dating agency
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MirandaMiranda
Comedy194880 mins
A man goes fishing and comes home with a most unusual catch in this comedy feature.
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Is This a Record?Is This a Record?
Animation & Artists Moving Image197322 mins
Pythons join Frank Muir, Connie Booth and Willie Rushton celebrating the Guinness Book of Records.
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Shooting StarsShooting Stars
Comedy193732 mins
Black music hall stars Scott and Whaley perform stereotypical minstrel routines in blackface in this 1937 touring revue.
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Morecambe and Wise - Be Wise Don't Drink and Drive Morecambe and Wise - Be Wise Don't Drink and Drive
Public Information Filler19631 mins
Ernie tells Eric to ‘be wise’ and not drive home after their Christmas party
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A Couple of BeautiesA Couple of Beauties
Comedy197229 mins
Innuendo-laden crime caper, a star vehicle for Manchester-based drag queen Bunny Lewis
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It All Goes to ShowIt All Goes to Show
Comedy197027 mins Location: Margate
Arthur Lowe is hilarious as a hen-pecked husband in this cheeky seaside-set comedy, shot in Margate.
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AfterlifeAfterlife
Comedy201510 mins
After Martin Stevens is killed in a car accident he finds himself in a waiting room, pending judgement.
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The Happy FamilyThe Happy Family
Comedy195282 mins
A defiant London family fights valiantly to retain their South Bank home in this cheerful comedy set around 1951's Festival of Britain.
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Britannia of BillingsgateBritannia of Billingsgate
Comedy193378 mins Location: Southwark Park
A star is born in this effervescent musical comedy that moves between Billingsgate Fish Market and the glamour of the film world.
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No Monkey BusinessNo Monkey Business
Comedy193678 mins
A man goes ape when his boss' performing monkey is impounded by creditors.
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Charlie Drake tees offCharlie Drake tees off
Comedy19621 minsSilent Location: Devon
Drake muses on why he carries two pairs of trousers - just in case he has a hole in one.
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Roy Hudd in TorquayRoy Hudd in Torquay
Comedy19664 mins Location: Torquay
Roy Hudd plays to a sell-out Princess Theatre.
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Terry-Thomas returns to the stageTerry-Thomas returns to the stage
Comedy19724 mins Location: Torquay
Terry-Thomas talks effusively in this interview about his return to the stage.
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Arthur Askey on How to Become a Dentist Lesson 1. How to PullArthur Askey on How to Become a Dentist Lesson 1. How to Pull
Advert19472 mins
Big-hearted Arthur Askey gets to grips with dentistry in this silly little advert for Gibbs SR toothpaste.
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Billy Burden Local YokelBilly Burden Local Yokel
Comedy197912 mins Location: Torquay
Local yokel comedian who delivered dialect and dialogue wherever he went.
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Bob Hope in PlymouthBob Hope in Plymouth
Comedy19621 mins Location: Plymouth
Bob Hope disembarks the Queen Elizabeth II in Plymouth.
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Turn-Up for TonyTurn-Up for Tony
Comedy196829 mins Location: Newcastle upon Tyne
A Tyne Tees Television comedy romance is a forgotten gem from a 1960s decade of radical urban change in Newcastle.
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The Over-amorous ArtistThe Over-amorous Artist
Sex comedy197445 mins Location: Walton on the Hill
Sample smutty suburban hijinks of an ultra-low budget kind in this shamelessly seedy 1970s sex comedy
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The Inn Way OutThe Inn Way Out
196730 mins
A man encounters all sorts of strange places and people when he goes out for cigarettes
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The BoatThe Boat
Comedy197522 mins Location: Loch Lomond National Nature Reserve
Scots comedian Chic Murray stars in this gentle comedy short about a man who inherits his uncle’s boat
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CluckCluck
Comedy199811 mins Location: Belfast
Black comedy about a teenage idealist who builds a bomb, hijacks a lorry and sets off on a most peculiar mission.
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B-DayB-Day
Amateur film19653 minsSilent
An experience many of us will be able to relate to, though there wouldn’t have been someone around to film the comic consequences.
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Bless 'em AllBless 'em All
Comedy194871 mins
AWOL for more than half a century, but now back on parade, this cheery army comedy is a showcase for variety star Hal Monty and a young Max Bygraves.
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Green Grow the RushesGreen Grow the Rushes
Comedy195178 mins Location: New Romney
Brandy-smuggling locals resist government interference in this Ealing-esque comedy, filmed on Romney Marsh
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FloatingFloating
Animation & Artists Moving Image199141 mins Location: Limehouse
Deliciously dark psychodrama about a Docklands bus driver who turns his family home into a second Noah's ark.
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The Missing LinkThe Missing Link
Comedy19172 minsSilent
British comic Lupino Lane stars in this surviving fragment from one of his earliest films, a slapstick school romp
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The DummyThe Dummy
Comedy191619 minsSilent
Lupino Lane comedy filmed in London before he became a Hollywood legend
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A La CarteA La Carte
Amateur film19659 mins Location: Colchester
Messy slapstick comedy featuring an ineptitude waiter, presented by Colchester Cine Club and starring an ensemble cast of club members.
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Kate Plus TenKate Plus Ten
Comedy193880 mins
Laughs and thrills come thick and fast in this Edgar Wallace comedy-thriller with a hair-raising car versus train chase.
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The Ghost TrainThe Ghost Train
Comedy193139 mins
Surviving footage of the first sound version of Arnold Ridley's famous railway station comedy thriller
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Hobson's ChoiceHobson's Choice
Comedy192080 minsSilent
The first film adaptation of Harold Brighouse's Salford-set play, humorously depicting the travails of a dipsomaniac cobbler.
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Sharps and FlatsSharps and Flats
Comedy191511 minsSilent
The Bamforth Company translate their saucy seaside postcard humour into film comedy.
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Scottie and the FrogsScottie and the Frogs
Comedy19157 minsSilent
A mischievous youth causes havoc with his amphibian-assisted antics.
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Pimple in the WhipPimple in the Whip
Comedy191722 minsSilent
Hilariously shambolic parody of an equestrian stage smash, by the prolific entertainer Pimple
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Pimple Has OnePimple Has One
Comedy19156 minsSilent
The mischievous Pimple takes to the bottle in this entertaining comedy
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Pimple's UnclePimple's Uncle
Comedy191514 minsSilent
This daft comedy stars funny-duo Fred and Joe Evans in a battle to secure an inheritance from an insane uncle.
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Wife the Weaker VesselWife the Weaker Vessel
Comedy191510 minsSilent
A henpecked husband plots revenge on his boastful bachelor friend by marrying him to a seemingly meek girl who turns out to be anything but.
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A Seaside IntroductionA Seaside Introduction
Comedy19114 minsSilent Location: Brighton
A beach flirtation gets complicated when a thief makes off with a woman's shoes in this fun comedy
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I Do Like to Be Where the Girls AreI Do Like to Be Where the Girls Are
19123 mins
A jaunty song with a pantomime air is matched to its original audio recording in this Vivaphone film from Cecil Hepworth.
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Tilly's PartyTilly's Party
Comedy19117 minsSilent
Irrepressible sister act Tilly and Sally throw a party - of sorts - in this chaotic comedy caper.
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Tilly the Tomboy Visits the PoorTilly the Tomboy Visits the Poor
Comedy19106 minsSilent
Tilly and her sister Sally cause chaos when they visit an elderly, bedridden neighbour
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A Seaside GirlA Seaside Girl
Comedy19075 minsSilent Location: Bognor Regis
At the seaside, a young Edwardian lady is pursued by three suitors, but which one will win her hand?
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Mike Murphy As Picture ActorMike Murphy As Picture Actor
Comedy19146 minsSilent
Cut! An aspiring thespian runs amok on a film set in this slapstick silent comedy.
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Tubby's Rest CureTubby's Rest Cure
Comedy191615 minsSilent
WWI conscription has whisked away all the young men, leaving the girls so man-hungry that even Tubby looks attractive!
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Tubby's TypewriterTubby's Typewriter
Comedy191611 minsSilent
Newlywed Tubby fancies another man's typewriter and ends up in hot water with his new wife
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Old Maid's ValentineOld Maid's Valentine
Comedy19001 minsSilent
Early comedy in which a cruel joke is played on an old maid
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The Kiss in the TunnelThe Kiss in the Tunnel
Comedy18992 minsSilent
A snatched kiss in a railway tunnel, played by real-life married couple GA Smith and Laura Bayley
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Two ClownsTwo Clowns
Interest film19062 minsSilent
A showcase for GA Smith’s patented Kinemacolor process, based around a suitably colourful subject
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The Magic GlassThe Magic Glass
Comedy191412 minsSilent
An inventor develops a magnifying glass that can see though solid objects, but when he uses it on his family it proves more curse than boon...
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The Mystic GloveThe Mystic Glove
Comedy19145 minsSilent
Bizarre comedy in which an overfed diner has a peculiar dream involving a spectre and magical gloves.
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The Man Who Never Made GoodThe Man Who Never Made Good
Comedy19148 minsSilent Location: Croydon
A bungling bumpkin fails at a number of jobs in this slapstick comedy - before he finds his true calling.
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Are We Down-hearted?Are We Down-hearted?
Musical19113 mins
Cecil Hepworth’s Vivaphone film features Hay Plumb singing George Robins’ optimistic 1906 ditty.
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An Engagement of ConvenienceAn Engagement of Convenience
Comedy191416 minsSilent
Silent British star Alma Taylor finds love in this dramatic short, which packs forgery, blackmail and romance into its 15-minute running time.
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PlaymatesPlaymates
Cinemagazine19222 minsSilent
Will Hay and M’lita Dolores play a pair of spoiled brats squabbling over a menagerie of mechanical toys.
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More from Comedy Genius in our Rentals collection.
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