This work offers a critical examination of 130 commercially-released film comedies of the 1970s. It considers the socio-political circumstances of each year of the decade, then critiques each film released that year with a focus on its effect on the film industry and the art of big screen comedy, as well as the emergence of talents whose work influenced (or was influenced by) the zeitgeist of the decade. Covering popular titles like
M*A*S*H, Blazing Saddles, American Graffiti, The Bad News Bears, Smokey and the Bandit
and many more, it argues that the 1970s may rightly be considered the last golden age of film comedy.