Available on Max: 5 Black-and-White Comedy Classics That Defined the Genre

These days, there are hundreds of comedies for every taste, but the fact is, most of them are boring. If you're looking for something more substantial, but still funny, check out these five comedy classics.

Next Aisle Over (1919, 6.2 on IMDb)

Starring Harold Lloyd, this iconic comedy short is only nine minutes long and tells the story of a salesman who comes to visit his girlfriend at the store where she works as a counter girl. So as not to upset her manager, who doesn't like it when employees fool around, the man pretends to be the store's new shoe salesman and causes utter chaos as he tries to sell shoes to several customers while also accidentally foiling a kidnapping attempt on his girlfriend.

A King in New York (1957, 7.0 om IMDb)

Charlie Chaplin's last starring role, this film is a satire of the McCarthy era in the United States. The movie follows King Igor Shahdov, who is exiled from his own country of Estrovia after a revolution there. Seeing the US as a beacon of freedom and democracy, the character has high hopes that are quickly dashed by the harsh reality he encounters. The film is so good that it was not allowed to be shown in the United States until 1972.

Miracle in Milan (1951, 7.6 on IMDb)

This Italian fantasy comedy by Vittorio De Sica is an adaptation of Cesare Zavattini's novel Totò il Buono, which explores the life of poverty-stricken post-war Milan and its inhabitants. One of them is Totò, orphaned after the death of his mother Lolotta, who found him in a pile of cabbage, and now living in the impoverished outskirts of Milan. There he finds many friends, all of whom are threatened with eviction by the owner of the land. Fortunately, the ghost of Lolotta sends Totò a magic dove that helps him solve every problem.

Pygmalion (1938, 7.7 on IMDb)

Based on Bernard Shaw's legendary play of the same name, this romantic comedy-drama follows the relationship between Professor Henry Higgins, a stern upper-class phonetician who studies socio-linguistics and gives private lessons in elocution to help people become more socially acceptable, and Eliza Doolitle, a Cockney flower girl whom Higgins tries to teach to speak better. As they train for weeks, they develop feelings for each other.

Divorce Italian Style (1962, 8.0 on IMDb)

This Italian black comedy, adapted from Giovanni Arpino's novel Un delitto d'onore, tells the story of Ferdinando Cefalù, a middle-aged, impoverished Sicilian nobleman who has grown tired of his wife Rosalia and fallen in love with his sixteen-year-old cousin Angela. He's certain he's going to leave his wife, but there's practically no divorce in Italy, so he sees the only way out – murder.