Favorite Underrated Comedies - Barry Harding

Barry is a longtime contributor to The B-Movie Cast.

5. The Little Shop of Horrors (1960). This Roger Corman film is probably best known as being shot in a few days and for the inept appearance of a talking plant in a coffee can, but actually it's a wicked satire (at least I think it is). I've watched the film a hundred times and still laugh at a long shot of Seymour Krelboin and others trouncing through a puddle of water. This is usually done as a closeup to mask on-location surroundings and to emphasize drama in adventure or jungle flicks. It's funny. The cast is brilliant with Dick Miller as an aster-eating nut job, Mel Welles as a Yiddish florist, Jack Nicholson as a masochist Wilbur Force who thrives on root canals, Jackey Joseph as love interest Audrey, and Jonathon Haze as Seymour. Plus there's the vampiric Audrey II "Feed Me!"

4. Mon Uncle (1958). Perhaps this is not underrated in France. This is my favorite Jacques Tati film and the best of the Hulot movies, and one of the finest comedies ever made. It's Tati vs. Technology and a poetic homage to Chaplin and Keaton. 

3. Hook and Ladder (1932 Hal Roach Our Gang Short). This is my favorite Little Rascals short, with Dickie Moore and Stymie (Mathew Beard) taking the lead on a home-made Our Gang fire engine. Spanky refusing to take vermicide and Stymie piloting the fire engine are unforgettable. I am still laughing. Even funny today. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hook_and_Ladder_(1932_film)

2. A Day at the Races (1937). Most folks would pick Duck Soup (1933) or A Night at the Opera (1935)(my favorite), but A Day at the Races might be the most underrated of the Marx Brother's classic MGM 30's romps. Chico's Tuitsy Fruitsy Ice Cream bit is a highlight.

1. My Favorite Brunette (1947). This is one of my favorite Bob Hope vehicles. The presence of Peter Lorre and Lon Chaney Jr. make this special, with Hope threatening Lorre with a rabbit punch especially tickling. Hope's timing was at it's peak in films such as The Lemon Drop Kid (1951) and this underrated gem.