Film

Stella

Name: Stella
Genre: Comedy
Released: 1950
Cast: Ann Sheridan, Victor Mature, David Wayne, Randy Stuart, Leif Erickson

Other titles called Stella: the 2005 series (Comedy Central).

Screwball comedy

A screwball black comedy about a chaotic family trying to locate the body they've accidentally buried in the wrong place. Ann Sheridan anchors the mayhem as Stella, a sharp-tongued matriarch steering her clan through increasingly absurd situations. It's brisk, funny, and a reminder that Hollywood once made comedies about macabre subjects without winking at the audience.

If you liked this

Arsenic and Old Lace1944

Two elderly aunts poison lonely gentlemen while their nephew races to stop them. Cary Grant at peak frenzy, a script that never stops moving, and the same gleeful tone about murder as a family enterprise.

But The hysteria can feel dated and overdone; if you're not in the mood for theatrical mugging, it'll wear you out fast.

The Thin Man1934

A married detective couple solve murders while drinking, bantering, and barely keeping their marriage intact. It's witty in a way that doesn't feel arch, and the chemistry between Myrna Loy and William Powell sets the template for screwball done right.

But Pacing is slower than modern comedies; the plot takes a backseat to charm, which can feel slight if you're chasing narrative momentum.

Kind Hearts and Coronets1949

Alec Guinness plays eight different relatives—each an heiress or heir standing between a man and a title he's murdering toward. Dark, elegant, and genuinely funny without ever becoming cartoonish about its premise.

But British reserve can feel restrained compared to American screwball energy; some find the tone too detached to enjoy fully.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Stella

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid1982

Both use the murder-and-chaos premise as scaffolding for rapid-fire comedy; both love Hollywood's own absurdities as source material.

A murder mystery played as a screwball comedy, shot in black-and-white and stuffed with clips from classic noir. Carl Reiner and Steve Martin remake the texture and pacing of 1950s Hollywood comedy in a new package.

But It's a comedy built on cinema literacy; if you haven't seen the films being quoted, half the jokes evaporate.

Singin' in the Rain1952

Not a comedy first—it's a musical about Hollywood pretense—but it's hilarious in how it sends up the industry and its vanities. Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor sell every gag with physical precision.

But If you're not in the mood for song and dance, the comedy alone won't carry you; the movie's a package deal.

His Girl Friday1940

Reporters, exes, and criminals collide in a newsroom where everyone talks over each other at machine-gun speed. The script is a masterclass in timing, and watching professionals demolish dialogue that fast is pure joy.

But The rapid-fire overlapping dialogue is exhausting if you're not tuned in; you'll feel like you're drowning in chatter for eighty minutes.

The Philadelphia Story1940

Cary Grant, James Stewart, and Katherine Hepburn navigate a wedding weekend drowning in class anxiety and romantic confusion. It's funny, smart, and proves that screwball works best when the characters are intelligent.

But Its attitudes toward women and class feel tied to its era; some of the jokes land differently now than they did then.

It Happened One Night1934

A runaway heiress and a cynical reporter fall in love while running from her family. It set the template for romantic comedy and screwball; the chemistry and timing still feel electric.

But Being first means it's been copied endlessly; watching the original can feel familiar even if you've never seen it before.

Bringing Up Baby1938

Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn in controlled chaos revolving around a leopard and a dinosaur bone. It's absurdist, kinetic, and the screenplay never stops finding new angles on the same premise.

But The pacing never lets up; if you're tired, it'll feel relentless rather than fun.

The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer1947

Cary Grant as a man suddenly pursued by a teenage girl, with Myrna Loy as her judge sister orchestrating the chaos. Sweet-natured underneath the premise, and Grant's discomfort is genuine and endearing.

But The central conceit—a girl pursuing a grown man—sits uneasily now, even when played for laughs.

In a Lonely Place1950

Same era, similar setup (family chaos, murder, truth buried), but flipped: Stella finds comedy in confusion; this finds tragedy in rage.

Humphrey Bogart as a violent, volatile screenwriter suspected of murder. It's made the same year as Stella but weaponizes the screwball setup—the chaos stops being funny and becomes genuinely threatening.

But It's a hard film, almost bleak; watching a marriage collapse while a man's temper destroys everything around him is not entertainment so much as damage report.

Eating Raoul1982

The central mechanics are identical—a couple, a corpse problem, escalating absurdity—but Stella was network-safe 1950 fun; this is the id unchained.

A prudish married couple accidentally kill a swinger, then discover they can make money disposing of the city's undesirables. It's grotesque, obscene, and genuinely hilarious—screwball logic applied to a deeply weird premise.

But It's graphic and perverse; if you want your comedy clean and your bodies where they belong, this is not for you.