Find your funny bone at Miller Outdoor Theatreยs three-night run of Classic Cinema Comedies. Tuesday, itยs 1934ยs The Thin Man with William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles, a high–society couple who find time to solve mysteries between martinis and dinner parties. The film spawned a slew of sequels, mostly because of Powell and Loyยs sophisticated repartee.
A Day at the Races, the 1937 Marx Brothers tour de force, screens today. Groucho plays Dr. Hugo Z. Hackenbush, a veterinarian who somehow is in charge of a sanatorium (talk about the inmates running the asylum). The hospitalยs on the verge of closing down, and Groucho is pulling one scam after another trying to keep it open. Also in on the game are Chico, Harpo and a misfit racehorse (hey, this is a Marx Brothers movie, -remember?).
And Thursday, itยs 1959ยs Some Like It Hot with Marilyn Monroe (at her blondest), Tony Curtis (at his peak as lover boy/con artist) and Jack Lemmon (in arguably his funniest role). Joe and Jerry (Curtis and Lemmon) witness a mob murder and are forced to go into hiding ย in an all-girl band. Disguised as Josephine and Daphne, the two somehow fool everyone, including voluptuous Sugar Kane (Monroe), the bandยs ukulele player. Sugar falls for Joe just about the time the mob shows up, and everyone goes into comedic overdrive. Both Monroe and Lemmon took home Golden Globes for their performances. 8:15 p.m. nightly. One Concert Drive, in Hermann Park. For more information, call 281-373-3386 or visit www.milleroutdoortheatre.com. Free.
Aug. 19-21, 8:15 p.m., 2008
This article appears in Aug 14-20, 2008.