Australian
Screen

an NFSA website

All titles in the ‘Comedy’ genre

184 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 3 4 next

L (continued)

Let the Blood Run Free – Episode 2 television program – 1990

When it first screened in 1990, this was one of the earliest examples of interactive television, allowing viewers to phone in and vote on what would happen next.

The Librarians – Series 1 Episode 1 television program – 2007

This situation comedy series is set in a fictitious ‘Interactive Learning Centre’, known more prosaically as the local library.

Li’l Elvis and the Truckstoppers – Caught in a Trap television program – 1997

Li’l Elvis wants to be a normal kid, not an Elivis impersonator, but his mother is aghast, 'What about your fans, what about the bank, what about the king!’

Lonely Hearts feature film – 1981

Comedian and satirist John Clarke wrote this film with Paul Cox: no wonder it is full of bright impish humour.

Looking For Alibrandi feature film – 1999

There is a lot of genuine affection between the grandmother, mother, and daughter in this film but conversations are bruising too.

Love and Other Catastrophes feature film – 1996

A light-hearted comedy that follows five Melbourne university students encountering love, study and house-share problems in the mid-‘90s.

Love Serenade feature film – 1996

The director’s light touch and the performances allows Love Serenade to get away with an outrageous joke involving a big fish.

Lucky Miles feature film – 2007

Few Australian films have dealt with illegal immigration and refugees. Lucky Miles does so through comedy, but without losing its sense of compassion.

M

Malcolm feature film – 1986

Malcolm is one of the most charming modern Australian comedies, and probably the closest we’ve come to matching the joyful silliness of Britain’s 1950s Ealing comedies.

The Man from Kangaroo feature film – 1919

John Harland, a bush parson, is dismissed from his job for teaching children how to box. Harland moves to another town, where he combats ruffians and rescues his girlfriend from a forced marriage.

Mary and Max feature film – 2009

Across two continents and 20 years, the tragic comedy of life is described through the friendship of penpals, Mary and Max.

The Mavis Bramston Show – Series 1 Episode 1 television program – 1964

A weekly variety show featuring topical satire, sketches and songs.

The Mavis Bramston Show – Series 2 Episode 1 television program – 1965

Although Mavis Bramston’s topical satire is no longer current, it is still sharp.

Mimi short film – 2002

Warwick Thornton’s satirical short film stars Sophie Lee and Aaron Pedersen and pokes fun at white art collectors who purchase Indigenous art purely for its investment value.

The Money or the Gun – Heroin television program – 1989

Denton defends comedy as a means of being serious as he tackles the topic of heroin.

More Winners – The Big Wish television program – 1990

The faeries in the Enchanted Realm are in trouble. Today is the last day to grant seven wishes to humans or they will lose their magic power – forever!

Mortified – Taylor’s DNA television program – 2006

The series creator says her inspiration came from realising that, from age 11 onwards, kids begin to find things their parents do very embarrassing.

Mother and Son – The Clock television program – 1991

Writer Geoffrey Atherden offers a deft spin on the eccentric character of Maggie Beare, who assumes that something that’s misplaced must be stolen.

Mother and Son – The Funeral television program – 1984

This sitcom shows the fraught relationship between 40-year-old Arthur and his mother Maggie, who is at turns forgetful, quick-witted and manipulative.

Mother and Son – The Money television program – 1984

The problems of ageing would seem like an unlikely subject for television comedy but Mother and Son became an instant success when it was first shown in 1984, continuing for nine years to become one of Australia’s best-loved television shows.

Mother and Son – The Ride television program – 1993

Maggie’s favourite son Robert proposes to take her for a drive. This generous offer is so out of character that Arthur is immediately astonished and suspicious.

Mr Chedworth Steps Out feature film – 1939

Cecil Kellaway was probably the best actor that Ken G Hall ever worked with. He returned from Hollywood to play the titular little man who learns to assert himself.

Mullet feature film – 2001

Mullet is about how people behave and about how men don’t talk and women do.

Muriel’s Wedding feature film – 1994

Muriel’s Wedding took Australia by storm when it opened in 1994, satirising an Australian family in a way that audiences found extremely moving, as well as hilarious.

My Name’s McGooley, What’s Yours? – End of the Line television program – 1967

McGooley, starring Gordon Chater and set in Balmain in the ’60s, was Australia’s first homegrown sitcom success.

N

The Naked Vicar Show – Series 2 Episode 2 television program – 1978

The Naked Vicar Show is a sketch comedy series that lampoons suburban Australian society.

Ninety Nine Per Cent short feature – 1963

Pino, an Italian immigrant widower, seeks an agency bride to keep house and be wife and mother to him and his son Peter.

Number 96 – Episode 35 television program – 1972

One of the only surviving early black-and-white episodes of Number 96 is a rollicking ride through an apartment building and its class values and sex-obsessed situations.

Number 96 – Episode 910 television program – 1975

The 1975 finale of Number 96 has multiple cliffhangers and is the last episode ever aired in a half-hour format.

Number 96 – Episodes 1003 and 1004 television program – 1976

Melodrama thrives in the lives of the residents of a Sydney apartment block in the swinging seventies.

O

On Our Selection feature film – 1932

This film was technically innovative and, when it opened in 1932, a box office sensation, rejuvenating the local film industry.

On Our Selection feature film – 1920

On Our Selection is a landmark of the silent era in Australian cinema, and one of the key films in the career of Raymond Longford, the greatest director of that period.

Out There – Two Down Under television program – 2002

A comedy-drama for children set in an animal clinic in rural Australia.

Oyster Farmer feature film – 2004

Writer-director Anna Reeves spent four years immersed in the culture of the beautiful Hawkesbury River area before making this drama.

Oz – A Rock ‘n’ Roll Road Movie feature film – 1976

Director Chris Löfvén was heavily involved in the rock music scene. Oz was his attempt to rework The Wizard of Oz for a mid-1970s youth audience.

P

Passionless Moments short film – 1983

Jane Campion’s student short film delivers funny, fragmentary tales with an unsentimental whimsy.

The Piano Tuner short film – 1960

Amateur filmmakers the Straford Brothers started making this comedy short to test their newly purchased 16mm Bolex camera.

The Picture Show Man feature film – 1977

The comic performances from John Meillon and John Ewart as the last of the itinerant vaudevillians are superb.

Puberty Blues feature film – 1981

When the two teenage girls at the heart of this film buy a surfboard and teach themselves to surf, they become their own role models.

Pugwall – Hollow Drums television program – 1989

The insightful scripts capture teenager angst in a comic and recognisable way; fashions might change but relationships between teenagers and parents don’t.

R

The Rage in Placid Lake feature film – 2003

The Rage in Placid Lake is a comic drama, tinged with the absurd, and musician-turned-actor Ben Lee plays the title character with the required amount of chutzpah.

Razzle Dazzle: A Journey into Dance feature film – 2006

There are 350,000 young dancers in Australia and the film shows how hard they work — and how much more sensible they are than adults.

Redback short film – 1995

In this playful animated short, a redback spider wreaks the ultimate humiliation on his male tormentor.

Road to Nhill feature film – 1997

Four lady bowlers roll their car outside a country town. Amid chaos and panicking menfolk, they save themselves.

Round the Twist – Series One – Skeleton on the Dunny television program – 1989

This first episode gives a real taste for the eclectic range of themes and elements which combine to create the Round The Twist magic.

Round the Twist – Series One – Spaghetti Pig Out television program – 1989

This is a clever and funny episode, based on a simple ‘What if…’ premise. There is loads of silly slapstick, and a spectacular dose of yuck at the end.

Round the Twist – Series Two – Nails television program – 1992

This episode is quite different from many others in the Round the Twist series. While it still has lots of humour, it is a rather more serious, romantic and sad story.

Round the Twist – Series Two – Next Time Round television program – 1992

The second series introduced new actors in many key roles but the change of cast didn’t have any impact on the popularity of Round the Twist.

S

Sa Black Thing short film – 2005

This romantic comedy explores the role that cultural values play in the romance between two Indigenous characters.

The Sailors spoken word – 1927

A theatrical comedy routine by vaudeville performers Stiffy (Nat Phillips) and Mo (Roy Rene) recorded in 1927.

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