The Best 1970s Comedy Movies: From Animal House to Coming Home

In the 1970s, Hollywood was home to some of the most iconic comedy movies. From Blazing Saddles to Animal House, these are some of the best 1970s comedy movies you’ll ever bust a gut over!

M*A*S*H (1970)

The staff of a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital struggle to keep up with patients, and look on their own lives as they deal with events such as not knowing if someone’s alive or dead. This was the genesis for the popular TV show.

Blazing Saddles (1974)

Blazing Saddles is a 1974 American Western comedy film directed by Mel Brooks. It stars Cleavon Little as Black Bart, Gene Wilder as Dr. Frankenstein’s monster, Slim Pickens as Sheriff William J. “Waco” Wacko, Alex Karras as Mongo, and Madeline Kahn as Lili von Shtupp.

The Longest Yard (1974)

The Longest Yard is a 1974 American sports comedy film about football. It stars Burt Reynolds, Ed Lauter, and Michael Conrad as prisoners who play the game against their former guards (played by James Caan).

Young Frankenstein (1974)

Young Frankenstein, directed by Mel Brooks, is a 1974 American comedy film. It stars Gene Wilder as Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, the son of Victor Frankenstein who inherits his father’s assets after he dies during an experiment on himself with electricity.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a 1975 British comedy film about King Arthur, knights of his round table, and their quest for the Holy Grail. It was written by Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle (all members of Monty Python) as well as American comedian/actor Michael Palin.

The Bad News Bears (1976)

Named after an old baseball expression that means bad players who are brought up to replace better ones on teams at higher levels, The Bad News Bears is about a group of misfit children who find themselves on a Little League team coached by an alcoholic, unemployed ex-minor league player.

Slap Shot (1977)

Slap Shot is a 1977 sports comedy film about an aging ice hockey player who, after years of playing for low-rate teams and living life as “an honest working stiff” in the small town he grew up in, finds himself called back to his hometown’s minor league team. When it becomes clear that this last chance at glory won’t be attained without a brutal brand of hockey, he assembles the roughest and toughest team in history.

Animal House (1978)

Animal House, a film directed by John Landis and written by Harold Ramis, Douglas Kenney and Chris Miller, is a 1978 American comedy . It stars John Belushi, Tim Matheson, John Vernon, Verna Bloom, Thomas Hulce and Donald Sutherland. This movie set a new standard for college comedies and has become a defining cult film of the 1970s. The screenplay was adapted by Chris Miller and Harold Ramis from stories written by Miller, Ramis and Doug Kenney, as well as their experiences in college. “National Lampoon’s Animal House” is one of two films directed by John Landis for National Lampoon.

Every Which Way But Loose (1978)

Every Which Way But Loose, is a film directed by James Fargo and starring Clint Eastwood, is a 1978 American adventure comedy . The screenplay was written by Leigh Chapman, Terry Southern and Randy Feldman, with music composed by Harry Nilsson.

The movie told the story of Philo Beddoe, a truck driver from California’s San Fernando Valley who roams the highways and byways of America in an effort to find a new home for himself, his pet orangutan, Clyde, and his street-fighting bulldog.

The Jerk (1979)

The Jerk is a 1979 American comedy film directed by Carl Reiner from a screenplay written and produced by Steve Martin, who also stars in the lead role. Other cast members include Bernadette Peters, Jackie Mason and Michael O’Keefe. The story follows an innocent man named Navin R. Johnson (Martin) who was born to a black mother and a white father in the deep south of 1928, but was adopted by an upper-middle class family from Chicago.

(Like 1970s Comedy Movies? Then you might like our article about 1960s Comedy Movies, click here. Or Comedy Movies of the 1980s, click here.)

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