# Older Movies / shows / books that are STILL funny **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 28, 2025, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies-shows-books-that-are-still-funny/1014929 "2025-02-28T16:20:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies-shows-books-that-are-still-funny/1014929/121 "2025-03-08T17:05:01Z")
I finally saw this on TCM a few years ago and also found it hilarious. Especially the ending, which I won’t try to reveal because I’ve never figured out how to do spoilers here. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies-shows-books-that-are-still-funny/1014929/122 "2025-03-08T17:24:08Z")
It gets a little tougher with time but I still get some chuckles from **Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein**. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies-shows-books-that-are-still-funny/1014929/123 "2025-03-08T17:33:06Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Barney Miller If you get Antenna TV, they’re running a 50th Anniversary Special on 29 March, featuring interviews with Max Gail and Hal Linden. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies-shows-books-that-are-still-funny/1014929/124 "2025-03-08T22:35:08Z")
_Space Madness_ and _Stimpy’s Invention_ hold up. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies-shows-books-that-are-still-funny/1014929/125 "2025-03-08T23:50:26Z")
There’s a fine but clear line between finding humor in a harmless slip-and-fall—where only someone’s pride is bruised (funny)—and laughing at an incident that could cause real physical harm (not funny). It’s funnier still if the subject appears to be pompous. This type of humor has tickled folks for a long time, as [this video cap](https://i.imgur.com/YztpWRj.jpg) of very old _‘found footage’_ shows. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies-shows-books-that-are-still-funny/1014929/126 "2025-03-09T00:23:49Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > This type of humor has tickled folks for a long time, as [this video cap](https://i.imgur.com/YztpWRj.jpg) of very old _‘found footage’_ shows. I was expecting something completely different, like “get that bicyclist!” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Df4fVqsPYDc/hqdefault.jpg "The First Film with a snowball fight - Bataille de neige - Lumière 7 February 1897") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Df4fVqsPYDc) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies-shows-books-that-are-still-funny/1014929/127 "2025-03-09T00:24:45Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > There’s a fine but clear line between finding humor in a harmless slip-and-fall—where only someone’s pride is bruised (funny)… I know what you were describing; it’s just not something I find funny. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies-shows-books-that-are-still-funny/1014929/128 "2025-03-09T01:05:29Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > _scripted_ pratfall I still laugh when I watch the opening credits of My Name Is Earl, though I’ve seen that car hit him a jillon times. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies-shows-books-that-are-still-funny/1014929/129 "2025-03-10T18:44:57Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > There’s a fine but clear line between finding humor in a harmless slip-and-fall—where only someone’s pride is bruised (funny)—and laughing at an incident that could cause real physical harm (not funny). I think it was Groucho who said the difference between an amateur comedian and a professional comedian is that an amateur thinks it is the height of humor to dress a man up as an old lady, put him in a wheelchair and push it down a steep hill. For a professional, only a real old lady will do. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![alfonzos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@alfonzos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alfonzos)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies-shows-books-that-are-still-funny/1014929/130 "2025-03-10T21:21:42Z")
Tyrone F. Horneigh: “Do you believe in the hereafter?” Gladys Ormphby: “Of course I do!” Tyrone: “Then you know what I’m here after!” _WHACK_ _WHACK_ _WHACK_ ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2025, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies-shows-books-that-are-still-funny/1014929/131 "2025-03-14T13:38:01Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I don’t remember rape _per se_ being played for laughs in _Blazing Saddles_, but I do remember several _mentions_ of rape being used for humorous shock value. True - the mention is in the recruiting scene: “Rape, murder, cattle rustling, rape”… “I like rape!”. In Young Frankenstein, the scene where the monster drags off Madeline Kahn and rapes her, when her response goes from “No, no” to singing in ecstasy. And Revenge of the Nerds, where the nerd (wearing a gorilla mask) seduces the sorority girl, who thinks he’s her boyfriend. Sorry, that qualifies as rape in my book. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2025, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies-shows-books-that-are-still-funny/1014929/132 "2025-03-14T13:54:03Z")
> [@Stanislaus](#): > > Comedy of Errors produced right can also be a laugh out loud show. Shakespeare plays can also be adapted to modern times. We saw a version of Comedy of Errors, 35+ years back on PBS, done by the Flying Karamazov Brothers. They threw in modern references (“It’s not what you think! She left by the back door!!!”). ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2025, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies-shows-books-that-are-still-funny/1014929/133 "2025-03-14T15:02:08Z")
There was a theater company in Seattle years ago that did recontextualizations of classic plays, including several by Shakespeare. In their version of _Romeo and Juliet_ the Montagus and Capulets were rival lesbian softball teams. Their version of _Macbeth_ was hysterical. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2025, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies-shows-books-that-are-still-funny/1014929/134 "2025-03-14T15:04:38Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Their version of _Macbeth_ was hysterical. They’d have to go some to beat the version done by The Troubies! [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/yvxcfJKQCtE/maxresdefault.jpg "FLEETWOOD MACBETH! FULL SHOW!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvxcfJKQCtE) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies-shows-books-that-are-still-funny/1014929/135 "2025-03-15T05:15:15Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/q8DcVCw_tl8/hqdefault.jpg "Greek Active Macbeth 9 - In England Now") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8DcVCw_tl8) ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2025, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies-shows-books-that-are-still-funny/1014929/136 "2025-03-16T20:39:23Z")
My wife wanted to watch Young Frankenstein and neither of us had ever seen it fully (I had seen some clips and bits). It was amusing and wasn’t a waste of two hours but I doubt I’ll make any attempt to see it again. I think a familiarity with the actors and source materials (including having seen a number of early monster/horror films) helped with enjoying it and I’m not sure a random 22 year old would get through it. I realize that saying that invites numerous “My teenager loves it” comments but I’m still skeptical about the average young adult staying engaged. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2025, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies-shows-books-that-are-still-funny/1014929/137 "2025-03-16T20:47:59Z")
We do an outdoor movie night every Halloween and our viewing of Young Frankenstein definitely demonstrated that older folks appreciated the humor more than younger folks. I don’t think the young people hated it, but the belly busting laughter from their elders obviously baffled most of them. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2025, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies-shows-books-that-are-still-funny/1014929/138 "2025-03-16T23:24:09Z")
My mom told me about seeing _Young Frankenstein_ many years ago; maybe not the original release, but soon after. She went with a friend about her age. When they got to the line “pardon me boy, is this the Transylvania Station?” my mom and her friend laughed their heads off. They were the only ones laughing. So some of the humor in that film was dated even when it came out. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies-shows-books-that-are-still-funny/1014929/139 "2025-03-17T03:46:43Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > So some of the humor in that film was dated even when it came out. It was a parody of a movie that was 43 years old. That’s to be expected. The movie worked so well because for the most part it was filmed as a straight 1930s horror movie. The actors acted like it wasn’t a comedy. Without familiarity of the source material a lot is lost. And yes on top of that Mel Brooks’ references were also dated. On a depressing note _Young Frankenstein_ was 51 years ago. That’s longer than the time between _Frankenstein_ and _Young Frankenstein._ ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies-shows-books-that-are-still-funny/1014929/140 "2025-03-17T03:49:38Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > The actors acted like it wasn’t a comedy. Except for Marty Feldman [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies-shows-books-that-are-still-funny/1014929.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-movies-shows-books-that-are-still-funny/1014929.md?page=8)