BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Stellead Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Ariella Broughton It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

marcslope Those describing this as an early screwball comedy are telling only half the story--it's also a romantic drama, and, more surprisingly, an existential meditation. The theme is, as noted, quite reminiscent of "Holiday" and the later "The Philadelphia Story"--love among the privileged, with interlopers from the less privileged, and the ability or lack thereof to have a sense of humor in high society. But it's quite sad, too -- Glenn Anders' character meets a sorry end, and that ruins Diane Ellis's life. What's really moving is watching Nancy Carroll, never more radiant, having to choose between security and her true self, and her interaction with Fredric March, unusually loose and spontaneous; their scene in the cab actually moved me to tears, both for its content and their playing of it. This is how it's done, folks. For a screwball prototype it has unusual depth of feeling. Add to that sumptuous Deco trimmings, technical prowess that belie its Astoria Studios origins, and some exciting location New York filming. Hard to catch a copy of this one, but it's worth the search.

drednm I watched LAUGHTER, a 1930 film starring Nancy Carroll and Fredric March. Many comments and reviews state this film as a forerunner of the 30s screwball comedy. Yes there were some screwball elements, such as the silly sequence when the stars, caught in the rain, break into a house and on bear rugs while their clothes dry. There's also a terrific scene when March is playing piano when the butler (Leonard Carey) tries to correct him. They end up playing duets! There's also a nice party scene where Eric Blore shows up in an angel costume. Another standout scene is when the daughter (Diane Ellis) starts to jazz dance and is joined by Carroll while Frank Morgan sourly looks on.Still, I don't see this film as a comedy, let alone a screwball comedy. Carroll (she's very good) plays a former show girl who marries Morgan for his money. His daughter is only a little younger than Carroll. The daughter is a little wild; Carroll is a lot bored. She has everything in her life but "laughter." When she takes up with March, we know the marriage is doomed. So does everyone else.Morgan's character hasn't an ounce of humor in him. There's also a tragic starving artist type (Glenn Anders) who gets involved with Ellis. It's with this character that any shred of comedy drains from the picture as doom settles over the storyline.This is still a very good film with solid work from its stars.

kidboots Nancy Carroll was the first girl to reach stardom in the talkies, she was the first girl to sing a song into a movie microphone, she was the first girl to do a tap dance on a studio sound stage and she was the star of arguably the first sophisticated "screwball" comedy. "Laughter' was the first Nancy Carroll movie I ever saw (over 35 years ago) and I was disappointed - where was the Nancy I knew from photos in books about the early musicals, the dancing Nancy in feathers and silky costumes. Now, after seeing quite a few of her films, I realise she can do anything. Whether the part called for a chorus cutie ("Close Harmony", "Sweetie") emotional drama ("Dance of Life", "The Devil's Holiday") or scintilating comedy ("Laughter", "Springtime for Henry") she could do it all.Peggy (Nancy Carroll), a Follies beauty forsakes all her old suitors to marry an affable old millionaire, C. Mortimer Gibson (Frank Morgan) who, while he lavishes every luxury on her, is obsessed with making money. One of her rejected suitors, Ralph La Sainte (Glenn Anders), a sculptor, has taken it very hard and when Peggy visits him, she finds him suicidal, but manages to jolly him around.When Paul (Fredric March), yet another suitor, returns from Paris, where he went to forget, he is just as riotous and madcap as ever and Peggy finds it hard to resist his infectious good humor. She realises she is bored with a life of idle luxury and needs love and laughter but she now has an added responsibility, keeping her step daughter, Marjorie (Diane Ellis) on the straight and narrow as she is fresh off the boat from finishing school and wants to kick up her heels. In an effort to help her discover laughter again, Paul takes Peggy on a drive. This sequence with it's zany humor and quirky oneliners that ends in their dressing up in bear skins and chasing each other around an empty house shows the beginnings of the "screwball" genre. The day ends unhappily as police arrest them for housebreaking and Peggy has to put up with a heated lecture from her irate husband.During a costume party, Peggy finds Marjorie missing and realising she may be running away with Ralph, who she is infatuated with, goes to his rooms to try and stop her. To bring Marjorie to her senses, she tells her that Ralph is only marrying her on the rebound and when Ralph stays silent, Marjorie flees from his rooms in tears. Peggy then realises her future is with Paul and that she needs love and laughter rather than luxuries. The very end scene has you wondering whether Paul's wit and charm will be enough to sustain Peggy as she looks longingly at a diamond bracelet.It is great to see Fredric March in these early roles, he was very versatile. "Laughter" was Diane Ellis' last movie. She had been a sweet ingenue who may well have developed into a competent actress - who knows? she died mysteriously in India on her honeymoon.Highly, Highly Recommended.

cocoanut_grove "Laughter" is a glorious romantic comedy with a terrific cast including that great man of the screen, Fredric March. It concerns a young woman who has married for stability and wealth, but can't forget the love of her life, played by the delicious Mr March. It was made at Paramount's Long Island studios, and some scenes were shot on location in New York, giving the movie a different "look" to many others of the period. Some people think of this movie as the first "Screwball" comedy. "Laughter" was Frank Morgan's first talkie and the last movie for Diane Ellis who plays his daughter. She died on her honeymoon in December 1930.