More has probably been written about Alfred Hitchcock’s oeuvre than about that of any other filmmaker. Hitchcock’s humor, however, has long been an underexplored topic in Hitchcock criticism. Wes D. Gehring’s recent book, Hitchcock and Humor: Modes of Comedy in Twelve Defining Films, does not quite offer the comprehensive study of Hitchcock and humor that I had been hoping for, but it is an insightful and entertaining book and a strong step in the right direction. In tracing Hitchcock’s comic elements, Gehring makes a strong case for humor being intrinsic to the auteur’s work rather than functioning as simple “comic relief” (1).
As the title suggests, Hitchcock and Humor offers an analysis of twelve specific films, which Gehring works through in chronological order, discussing one film per chapter. These include two movies that are already identified as comedies—Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941) and The Trouble with Harry (1955)—and...