(1937), directed by William A. Wellman, starring Carole Lombard and Fredric March Bringing Up Baby (1938), directed by Howard Hawks, starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant Holiday (1938), directed by George Cukor, starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant His Girl Friday (1940), directed by Howard Hawks, starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell Primrose Path (1940), directed by Gregory LaCava, starring Joel McCrea, Ginger Rogers, Miles Mander and Marjorie Rambeau My Favorite Wife (1940), directed by Garson Kanin, starring Cary Grant and Irene Dunne The Philadelphia Story (1940), directed by George Cukor, starring Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and James Stewart Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941), directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Robert Montgomery and Carole Lombard The Lady Eve (1941), directed by Preston Sturges, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda Ball of Fire (1941), directed by Howard Hawks, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Gary Cooper Unfinished Business (1941), directed by Gregory La Cava, starring Robert Montgomery and Irene Dunne The Palm Beach Story (1942), directed by Preston Sturges, starring Claudette Colbert and Joel McCrea To Be or Not To Be (1942) directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Carole Lombard, Jack Benny, Robert Stack The More the Merrier (1943), directed by George Stevens, starring Jean Arthur and Joel McCrea The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944), directed by Preston Sturges, starring Betty Hutton and Eddie Bracken Other films from this period in other genres incorporate elements of the screwball comedy. For example, Alfred Hitchcock's thriller The 39 Steps (1935) features the gimmick of a young couple who finds themselves handcuffed together and who eventually, almost in spite of themselves, fall in love with one another, and Woody Van Dyke's detective comedy The Thin Man (1934), which portrays a witty, urbane couple who trade barbs as they solve mysteries together. Some of the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals of the 1930s also feature screwball comedy plots, such as The Gay Divorcee (1934), Top Hat (1935), and Carefree (1938), which costars Ralph Bellamy. The Eddie Cantor musicals Whoopee! (1930) and Roman Scandals (1933), and slapstick road movies such as Six of a Kind (1934) include screwball elements. Some of the Joe E. Brown comedies also fall into this category, particularly Broadminded (1931) and Earthworm Tractors (1936). Actors and actresses featured in or associated with screwball comedy: Jean Arthur Fred Astaire Ralph Bellamy Eric Blore Charles Coburn Claudette Colbert Gary Cooper Marion Davies William Demarest Melvyn Douglas Irene