The best 1960s comedy movies are the perfect vintage escape. Those may have been simpler times, but it was also a great era for film production — and sappy comedies romped across the silver screen with great regularity. Here are some of awesome funny flicks from the sixties guaranteed to make you guffaw even today.
The Apartment (1960)
This comedy stars Jack Lemmon as C.C. Baxter who is trying to climb his way up in an apartment building by lending out his bachelor pad to executives for their liaisons with their mistresses or secretaries so that he can later blackmail them into giving him promotions at work. Things get complicated when he falls in love with a woman from one of these encounters and starts having feelings about what she does for a living.
The Fortune Cookie (1966)
This comedy was directed by Billy Wilder and stars Jack Lemmon as a down-on-his luck lawyer who has been recently fired from his job. He then takes on an insurance fraud case in which the company he is suing wants him to find out whether or not their employee accidentally had some of their fortune cookies while eating at the Chinese restaurant.
The Incredible Mr Limpet (1964)
This movie was directed by Arthur Lubin and follows a man who has an unusual moonlighting job when he’s not at work as a public relations man. The movie is about the man who turns into a fish and his adventures as he tries to help in the war effort against the Nazis during World War II.
George of the Jungle (1967)
This comedy was directed by Jay Rabinowitz and follows George, an American living with some other explorers in Africa when he gets caught up in one of their schemes. He ends up in a jungle after a plane crash and starts to explore the area, but he’s not prepared for what will happen when he encounters an elephant or meets Sheeta, the Leopard Woman.
The Nutty Professor (1963)
Jerry Lewis, the comedian who also starred in The King of Comedy is seen here playing three roles: Julius Kelp, a nerdy scientist, Professor Julius Kelp and Buddy Love. The plot of this comedy is about a professor who experiments with the formula for his own success as he teaches at an Eastern college but it backfires when Pete (Buddy) starts to take over Julius’s life.
The Producers (1967)
This movie is written and directed by Mel Brooks who co-wrote the music with Zero Mostel. The story of this comedy is about a down on his luck Broadway producer, Max Bialystock, and his accountant Leo Bloom in New York City trying to find new projects because they’ve lost all their money. They find the worst play ever written, “Springtime for Hitler”, and decide to produce it.
Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967)
This movie is based on a musical of the same name that was created in 1967 by Julie Andrews. The plot follows an American ingenue who moves from Kansas to New York City in 1902 with the intention of marrying a rich man and living an extravagant life.
The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming (1966)
This comedy film was directed by Norman Jewison and stars Carl Reiner as Russian submarine commander Captain Ivan Putin on his quest to launch nuclear missiles at America from our east coast. With only minutes left before he is able to carry out his plan, the captain realizes that he has to warn President Kennedy.
The Army Game (1961)
This British comedy film is about a military barracks in 1960s Britain and how the army men deal with their various problems. The cast includes Sidney James, Terry Scott, Ian Lavender and Terence Longdon. The plot of this film revolves around a soldier who is caught stealing from his fellow comrades.
How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965)
This comedy was also directed by Norman Jewison and stars Annette Funicello, Fabian Forte as the Professor of Stuffology at an American University who has invented a process that can make any object weightless. This plot is about a treasure hunt for gold coins in the South Pacific Ocean and how Professor Stuffology’s invention can bring them up to shore while they are still on or under water.
(Like 1960s Comedy Movies? Then you might like our article on 1970s Comedy Movies, click here. Or how about Female Cartoon Characters from the 60s, click here.)
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