[Quick Summary: When a famous but shy painter returns to London, he takes on the identify of his recently deceased valet in order to paint in peace.]
DEEE-lightful! This script is smart, fun, witty, and rapier sharp.
First, I had to applaud the writer* who made me laugh with a 123 word sentence with NO PUNCTUATION. It even looks funny on the page. Gutsy move.
Second, when I chuckled at this sight gag, I knew I was in good hands:
ex. "Dissolve to:
Montage - Letter
Occupying much of the screen, the envelope is stamped and addressed to PRIAM FARRLL, ESQ. The address itself should be indecipherable. Superimposed on the letter are:
(1) English railway train.
Dissolve to:
(2) Ocean liner.
Dissolve to:
(3) Black native paddling dugout canoe up river.
Dissolve to:
(4) Black native driving primitive oxcart along dirt road.
(5) Black native runner racing through jungle."
WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Why does this sight gag amuse me? Is it the exaggeration? The sequencing? The economy and clarity of what he's trying to convey? All of it?
Holy Matrimony (1943)
by Nunnally Johnson
Based on the novel, "Buried Alive," by Arnold Bennett
*Nunnally Johnson is no ordinary top notch writer. Just look at his laudable range in films: Grapes of Wrath, The Three Faces of Eve, How to Marry a Millionaire, The Dirty Dozen, etc.
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