TODAY'S NUGGET: A Medal for Benny (1945) - Why Does This Slapstick Girl Fight Land Well? Unpredictability, Good Setup-Payoff

[Quick Summary: Benny's unsuspecting dad and girlfriend face chaos when the town wants to popularize his unexpected Medal of Honor ceremony.] 

TWO THOUGHTS:

1) SOMETIMES THREE COMEDY WRITERS ARE BETTER THAN ONE.

If you can believe IMDB, silent film comedy gag writer Jack Wagner got this idea during WWII but couldn't interest anyone. 

So he enlisted his friend John Steinbeck to write the script and gin up interest.*

The script was also shaped by writer Frank Butler, also no comedy slouch.**

2) WHY DOES THIS SLAPSTICK GIRL FIGHT LAND WELL?

I would strongly recommend this script to comedy writers who are looking for slapstick comedy that comes out of character.

I think it was because Wagner and Butler were silent film writers that they naturally went the extra mile to find inventive ways to SHOW and not rely on dialogue.***

For example, I really liked clever use of payback (from a good setup-payoff) and unpredictability in the scene below.

Note:
- Lolita is loyal to Benny, though he hasn't written in 9 months.
- Joe pines for Lolita, Benny's girlfriend.  He buys her a new dress for a dance.
- Lolita rejects the dress, but she is secretly attracted to Joe.
- Joe goes to a bar to sulk and meets Toodles, who says SHE is engaged to Benny.
- Joe gives Toodles the new dress and takes her to the party. (setup)
- Lolita sees Joe with Toodles, who wears HER dress. (setup)
- This is an inventive way for Joe to get his payback (payoff), as you'll see below.

What happens now happens fast: Toodles, boiling now, rushes Lolita back against the table, grabs up a beer bottle, and swings it savagely at Lolita's head. Lolita ducks, Toodles makes another wing at her, but Joe, stepping in, wrenches the bottle from her hand, turns and tosses it over the veranda rail. Simultaneously, and with a berserk yelp of fury, Toodles snatches up a large earthen-ware pot of chili-and-beans, raises it high and inverts in neatly over Joe's head, jams it well down over his ears, then straight arms him clear over the rail of the veranda. --But even as Joe's heels vanish, Lolita pins a terrific haymaker on Toodles' jaw and knocks her spinning through one of the doors into the pavilion - glass, frame and all. [I did not expect the beer bottle or haymaker!]

Six feet below the veranda rail, the pot wedged firmly over his head, Joe rises into a sitting position. The faces of Lolita, Charlie, and the others, appear over the rail staring down. They get one look at the "potted" Joe and burst into a roar of laughter. [Payoff is the reaction shot.]

Joe tries to get the pot off, but fails. Panic seizes him. He gets up, lunges forward --smack into one of the veranda pillars. The impact shatters the jar, and bangs him down again into a sitting position --his head and face a solid, indistinguishable mass of chili and beans. --There is another roar of laughter from the veranda. But Lolita is running down the steps toward the hapless Joe. [More payoff with the jar shattering, face full of chili.]

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I thought this girl fight was constructed well: Good setup. Good payoff. Good character motivation (both mad at each other and Joe). Unexpected use of props.

A Medal for Benny (1945)
by Frank Butler
Additional dialogue by Jack Wagner
Adapted from a story by Jack Wagner & John Steinbeck

* It worked. Plus an Oscar nomination for them both.

** Butler wrote comedies for Bing Cosby and Bob Hope (Road to Moracco). He won an Oscar for Going My Way.

*** Read the script for a funny scene with farm animals let loose in a bank.

TODAY'S NUGGET: Over Twenty-One (1945) - Why Is This "Woman Joins Her Man" Script Still Relevant? (Partnership)

[Quick Summary: When her 39 yr. old newspaper editor husband quits his job to join the army, his wife  finishes her Hollywood screenwriting job and  joins him.]  

Recently, I read an interview with screenwriter Garson Kanin, a three time Oscar nominee with his wife Ruth Gordon* (A Double Life, Adam's Rib, Pat & Mike).**

Given those two writers' long partnership, and that they liked to write about partnerships, it still was a surprise to see a great partnership on the page.

And that is why I think this kind of script is still interesting and relevant.  How does the couple cope with self-doubt? Conflict? Obstacles?

I think it helped that the couple was three dimensional and set up for success:
- They are both writers (she's an author & screenwriter; he's newspaper writer).
- They have similar values (believe in making a difference).
- They have goals, though different.  He joins the army so that he can speak to real policy issues later.  She keeps the home afloat until her next job.

Also, there were also many examples of what one relationship expert termed "fondness and admiration," i.e., appreciating and cherishing the other person:

Ex. 1: Max is asked to write for army newspaper, but has been vacillating in doubt.

Polly comes to the sofa. But before she can reach it, Max swings his feet off again, almost hitting her. 

MAX: But that's up to me, isn't it? Whether I get dragged into a controversy or not - is up to me! Suppose I write it - and forget it - absolutely  forget it! 

POLLY: If you can, darling, that's --

MAX (jumping up): Sure I can! Why can't I?

POLLY: Max - I'm on your side!

MAX: Where's the typewriter, darlin?

POLLY (flying for the typewriter): Hurray! We've decided! [Note that she says "we."]

Ex. 2: Polly has been secretly on an editorial deadline for Gow, Max's ex-boss.

In the next frantic second, she glares down at her work, shoves a few papers together - then runs for Max.  Then Polly and Max are seen together as she comes rushing into his arms.

POLLY: Darling! What a surprise! How long can you stay?

MAX: Just long enough to press my pants. (Indicating the table) What are you doing?

POLLY (nervously) Oh. Well, Joel Nixon finally caught up with me. I mean - the script. I've got to make some changes. He's been phoning from Hollywood like a maniac.

MAX (leaving her; taking a few steps toward the table): My gosh - you've really been working! Look at the place.

POLLY (getting around in front of him): Well, I'm doing it against time, Max. The picture's shooting now. Your pants, sweetheart. Take 'em off. I-I'll get the board ready (She pushes him in the direction of the bedroom.)

MAX: You don't look as if you've slept. 

POLLY: Yes, I have - as much as I need. Go on. Go on.

MAX: Gee, honey - that's too bad. [This is a writer empathizing with another writer.]

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I rooted for Polly and Max, in great part because I believed in their partnership

Over Twenty One (1945)
by Sidney Buchman
Adapted from the play by Ruth Gordon

*Yes, that Ruth Gordon, of Harold and Maude (1971) and Rosemary's Baby (1968) fame.  However, my first encounter with her work was as a murderous mystery writer on a Columbo tv show episode.

**Interestingly, they STOPPED writing together afterwards because it didn't work for them any longer!

TODAY'S NUGGET: Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) - A New Twist on "The Plane Won't Start" (Humor in Situation)

[Quick Summary: Leaving behind a new, pregnant wife, an army lieutenant and his crew rendezvous with the navy for a top secret mission. Based on a true story. ]

I was all prepared not to like this script about WWII. I'm simply bored by the over saturated political and "message" films.

However, this one managed to paint an interesting picture about cooperation - between Army and Navy, and between soldiers and allies in China.

Also, I really liked how the writer created a three-dimensional world.

One way was through the humor in character (ex. army soldier fleeced both army and navy colleagues alike) and humor in situation (scene below).

I particularly liked how the scene below rose in tension AND was humorous:
- Timing is crucial on this mission in the dark of morning. 
- Since there are so many planes that must be deployed (and cannot be turned around), any non-starting aircraft would be shoved into the ocean.
- This is such an unexpected twist that increased the tension!

Red reaches forward, turns the switch, and the starter gets into action. Then we see the left motor. It gives a chug, turns over and stops. Then two more chugs. It stops again. The Navy crew in the background look serious, and move forward, prepared for the emergency of pushing the plane overboard if she doesn't function. The motor gives another helpless snort, and chokes out.

This cuts to the PILOT'S COMPARTMENT as Ted and Davenport exchange frantic looks. They work the starting button once more. There is another helpless little snort from the engine.

DAVENPORT: Those navy guys are moving up to push us over!

TED (viciously): They're not gonna toss this ship overboard! C'me on, baby -give-give...give...!

Another try at the starter, and this time there are four chugs. --This cuts to the LEFT MOTOR as she takes hold weakly, gives a dozen snorts, and suddenly grabs on; and to the NAVY CREW as they move back from the plane with looks of relief.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I really liked how relatable this script was: A guy wants to go home as soon as he can, but can't start his plane. Not philsophizing or preachy.

Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)
by Dalton Trumbo
Based on the book and Collier's story by Capt. Ted W. Lawson and Robert Considine

TODAY'S NUGGET: Story of G.I. Joe (1945) - Feeling as if You Belong (Showing Camaraderie Without Words)

[Quick Summary: Near the end of WWII, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Ernie Pyle follows troops, in the good and bad, as they liberate Italy.]

Journalist Ernie Pyle wrote in a way that brought his readers close to the troops.  I was surprised at how this script did the same thing for me.

I'm glad that the writers did not focus on politics or the problems of an on-going war.*  Instead, they focused on what these soldiers really fought for - each other.  

All throughout the script, there is this feeling as if you belong, i.e., camaraderie.  It shows up particularly in very small moments.

In the scene below:
- Notice how Murphy's death is handled tactfully, quietly.
- Mew, who has no family, had to fill out his insurance forms earlier.
- Notice how the scene speaks without words of taking care of each other.

Ernie looks at the corner where Murphy always sat. Then at Red's picture. Then at Mew, who slowly takes out his tattered insurance paper and a pencil, and starts to rub something out, following which we see the INSURANCE PAPER: Crossing out Murph's name, Mew changes the sum opposite Mrs. Murphy's name to $4000. The list now reads: Warnicki $2000; Junior $2000; Mrs. Murphy $4000.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I thought the Pyle character would be a throw away, but he was part of that camaraderie  He showed that it mattered to tell these soldiers' stories.

Story of G.I. Joe (1945)
by Leopold Atlas, Guy Endore, Phillip Stevenson

*When this film was made in 1944, WWII had not ended yet and Italy was still being liberated.