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100 best comedy movies
We count down the 100 best comedy movies as voted for by more than 200 experts from the world of film, TV and comedy
Here's the 100 best comedy movies as chosen by more than 200 people whose job it is to make you laugh.
We spoke to dozens of comedy writers, comedy directors, comic actors and stand-up comedians – including Dan Aykroyd, Richard Curtis, Edgar Wright, Kim Noble, Stephen Merchant, Jo Brand and many, many more – and asked them to share with us their favourite comedy films of all time. Can you guess which film emerged as the number one choice?
Plus, enter our competition where you can win a pair of tickets to Soho comedy club AmusedMoose every month until December 2012. Click here to enter!
UPDATE: Tell us the comedy movie you think should have made the list and we'll print the best ten in a future issue of Time Out magazine. Make your suggestions on our messageboards.
By Tom Huddleston, David Jenkins, Adam Lee Davies, Derek Adams, Edward Lawrenson, Wally Hammond, Ben Walters, Gabriel Tate and Phil Harrison
Explore the grid below to find out which comedy movies made the final list. Click on the images to find out more.
Sister Act (1992)
Dir Emile Ardolino (Whoopi Goldberg, Maggie Smith)
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Carry On Screaming! (1966)
Dir Gerald Thomas (Kenneth Williams, Harry H Corbett)
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Brazil (1985)
Dir Terry Gilliam (Jonathan Pryce, Robert De Niro, Michael Palin)
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Swingers (1996)
Dir Doug Liman (Vince Vaughn, Heather Graham, Jon Favreau)
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BASEketball (1998)
Dir David Zucker (Trey Parker, Matt Stone)
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The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976)
Dir Blake Edwards (Peter Sellers, Herbert Lom, Burt Kwouk)
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Midnight Run (1988)
Dir Martin Brest (Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin)
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Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
Dir Frank Capra (Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane)
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Nuts In May (1976)
Dir Mike Leigh (Roger Sloman, Alison Steadman)
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Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)
Dir Rawson Marshall Thurber (Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn)
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Mean Girls (2004)
Dir Mark Waters (Lindsay Lohan, Jonathan Bennett, Rachel McAdams)
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The Great Dictator (1940)
Dir Charles Chaplin (Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard)
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Arthur (1981)
Dir Steve Gordon (Dudley Moore, Liza Minnelli, John Gielgud)
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A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
Dir Charles Crichton (John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, Michael Palin)
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Mr Hulot's Holiday (1953)
Dir Jacques Tati (Jacques Tati, Nathalie Pascaud, Micheline Rolla)
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Caddyshack (1980)
Dir Harold Ramis (Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Bill Murray)
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Galaxy Quest (1999)
Dir Dean Parisot (Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman)
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Sullivan's Travels (1941)
Dir Preston Sturges (Joel McCrea, Veronica Lake, Robert Warwick)
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The Pink Panther (1963)
Dir Blake Edwards (David Niven, Peter Sellers, Robert Wagner)
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Raising Arizona (1987)
Dirs Joel Coen, Ethan Coen (Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter, John Goodman)
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Clockwise (1986)
Dir Christopher Morahan (John Cleese, Sharon Maiden, Penelope Wilton)
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Bridesmaids (2011)
Dir Paul Feig (Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne)
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Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Dir Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris (Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Greg Kinnear)
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Stir Crazy (1980)
Dir Sidney Poitier (Gene Wilder, Richard Pryor)
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Old School (2003)
Dir Todd Phillips (Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn)
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Bananas (1971)
Dir Woody Allen (Woody Allen, Louise Lasser, Carlos Montalbán)
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Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
Dir Mike Newell (Hugh Grant, Andie MacDowell, Kristin Scott Thomas)
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The Party (1968)
Dir Blake Edwards (Peter Sellers, Claudine Longet)
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Bedazzled (1967)
Dir Stanley Donen (Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Eleanor Bron)
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Broadway Danny Rose (1984)
Dir Woody Allen (Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Nick Apollo Forte)
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The General (1926)
Dir Clyde Bruckman, Buster Keaton (Buster Keaton, Marion Mack)
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Clerks (1994)
Dir Kevin Smith (Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Marilyn Ghigliotti)
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The King of Comedy (1982)
Dir Martin Scorsese (Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis, Sandra Bernhard)
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His Girl Friday (1940)
Dir Howard Hawks (Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy)
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National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978)
Dir John Landis (John Belushi, Peter Riegert)
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Elf (2003)
Dir Jon Favreau (Will Ferrell, James Caan, Edward Asner)
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Coming to America (1988)
Dir John Landis (Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones)
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Kingpin (1996)
Dir Peter Farrelly, Bobby Farrelly (Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid, Bill Murray)
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Hot Fuzz (2007)
Dir Edgar Wright (Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Martin Freeman)
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The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
Dir Wes Anderson (Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Luke Wilson)
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Sleeper (1973)
Dir Woody Allen (Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, John Beck)
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Happy Gilmore (1996)
Dir Dennis Dugan (Adam Sandler, Christopher McDonald, Julie Bowen)
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Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983)
Dir Terry Jones (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin)
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The Hangover (2009)
Dir Todd Phillips (Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms)
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A Night at the Opera (1935)
Dir Sam Wood (Groucho Marx, Chico Marx and Harpo Marx)
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Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)
Dir Tom Shadyac (Jim Carrey, Courteney Cox, Sean Young)
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The Blues Brothers (1980)
Dir John Landis (John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Cab Calloway)
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Way Out West (1937)
Dir James W Horne (Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson)
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Young Frankenstein (1974)
Dir Mel Brooks (Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle)
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Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)
Dir Frank Oz (Steve Martin, Michael Caine, Glenne Headly)
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When Harry Met Sally (1989)
Dir Rob Reiner (Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher)
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Love and Death (1975)
Dir Woody Allen (Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Georges Adet)
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Play It Again Sam (1972)
Dir Herbert Ross (Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts)
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The Apartment (1960)
Dir Billy Wilder (Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray)
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Harold and Maude (1971)
Dir Hal Ashby (Bud Cort, Ruth Gordon)
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Office Space (1999)
Dir Mike Judge (Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, David Herman)
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National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)
Dir Harold Ramis (Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Randy Quaid)
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Tootsie (1982)
Dir Sidney Pollack (Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Bill Murray)
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The Ladykillers (1955)
Dir Alexander Mackendrick (Alec Guinness, Peter Sellers, Katie Johnson)
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The Odd Couple (1968)
Dir Gene Saks (Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, Herb Edelman)
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¡Three Amigos! (1986)
Dir John Landis (Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, Martin Short)
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Waiting for Guffman (1997)
Dir Christopher Guest (Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara)
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Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
Dir Jared Hess (Jon Heder, Jon Gries, Efren Ramirez)
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Top Secret! (1984)
Dirs Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker (Val Kilmer, Omar Sharif, Billy J Mitchell)
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Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
Dir Robert Hamer (Dennis Price, Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood)
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Zoolander (2001)
Dir Ben Stiller (Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell)
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Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
Dir Jay Roach (Mike Myers, Elizabeth Hurley and Michael York)
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In the Loop (2009)
Dir Armando Iannucci (Peter Capaldi, Tom Hollander, James Gandolfini)
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The Man with Two Brains (1983)
Dir Carl Reiner (Steve Martin, Kathleen Turner, David Warner)
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The Princess Bride (1987)
Dir Rob Reiner (Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin)
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The Producers (1968)
Dir Mel Brooks (Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder, Dick Shawn)
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Rushmore (1998)
Dir Wes Anderson (Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Olivia Williams)
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Wayne's World (1992)
Dir Penelope Spheeris (Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Tia Carrere)
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There's Something About Mary (1998)
Dirs Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly (Cameron Diaz, Ben Stiller, Matt Dillon)
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Best in Show (2000)
Dir Christopher Guest (Fred Willard, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Parker Posey)
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The Castle (1997)
Dir Rob Stich (Michael Caton, Anne Tenney, Eric Bana)
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Four Lions (2010)
Dir Chris Morris (Riz Ahmed, Nigel Lindsay, Kayvan Novak)
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Ghostbusters (1984)
Dir Ivan Reitman (Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver)
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Dumb and Dumber (1994)
Dirs Peter Farrelly, Bobby Farrelly (Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels)
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Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)
Dir John Hughes (Steve Martin, John Candy, Laila Robins, Michael McKean)
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Trading Places (1983)
Dir John Landis (Eddie Murphy, Dan Aykroyd, Jamie Lee Curtis)
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South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)
Dir Trey Parker (Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Isaac Hayes)
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The Naked Gun (1988)
Dir David Zucker (Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, OJ Simpson)
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Duck Soup (1933)
Dir Leo McCarey (Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx)
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Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Dir Edgar Wright (Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield)
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Blazing Saddles (1974)
Dir Mel Brooks (Gene Wilder, Cleavon Little, Slim Pickens)
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Dr Strangelove (1964)
Dir Stanley Kubrick (Peter Sellers, George C Scott, Sterling Hayden)
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The Big Lebowski (1998)
Dirs Joel Coen, Ethan Coen (Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore)
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Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)
Dir Larry Charles (Sacha Baron Cohen, Ken Davitian)
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Team America: World Police (2004)
Dirs Trey Parker, Matt Stone (Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Kristen Miller)
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... and find out which film was voted in at number ten
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... and find out which film was voted in at number nine
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... and find out which film was voted in at number eight
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... and find out which film was voted in at number seven
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... and find out which film was voted in at number six
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... and find out which film was voted in at number five
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... and find out which film was voted in at number four
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... and find out which film was voted in at number three
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... and find out which film was voted in at number two
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... and find out which film was voted as the Best Comedy Movie
Test your knowledge of comedy movies with our interactive YouTube quiz
Find out how well you know your comedy films by taking our amazingly interactive YouTube quiz.
Time Out staff have been coerced by editor Tim Arthur to perform scenes from a selection of the films featured in the 100 Best Comedy Movies list. It's your job to try and make out what on earth they are acting out. Play it here
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Explore the best comedy films
Comments
When Withnail and I makes no. 7 and This is Spinal Tap makes no. 1, it's no wonder Brain Donors is not on the list. What a complete failure, this 100 "Best" Comedy Movies. Rotfl
I moved my mouse over to a square. It landed on 'The Hangover (2009)'. I stopped bothering and closed the webpage.
Hi
If you come across this site, you must be one of our kind, The Movie Lovers. Whether it is romantic, action, drama, fantasy, adventure, comedy, horror, science fiction or whatever it is we enjoy all of it and we believed or live in it to some extent. We love movie stars, directors, choreography, actions, and of course few quotes (dialogues) which stays in our mind for long or may be forever. So would like to welcome all of you people to Best Movie Dialogues Forever.
Everyone has their own favorite Movie Dialogues which made you think, laugh, cry, motivate, angry and put you through a lot of other emotions. Quotes that make the character more alive. Say, who can forget Joker from the The Dark Knight! Or someone becomes psychotic and chops through the door. He sticks his head in and says “Heeeere’s Johnny”.
The Best Movie Dialogues Forever will be the best place on the internet to get good quotes from your favorite movies. Please feel free to browse through our extensive database. Also send a famous quotation to a friend or relative by email or share it on your profile on social networking sites. Your favorite quotes will be added to our quotation database.
Hope you all have fun over here. Enjoy.
http://bestmoviedialoguesforever.wordpress.com/
please be serious mr pastabake, how thick can you become... OR MAYBE this is the list of the movies he/they THINK are the best movies, taste is relative, if you think there are better movies than those, maybe they didn't, so dont complain about their list because its uterely impossible to create a list of the BEST movies, simply because, PEOPLE vote to create those lists. my point is , people are different and of course their favourite movie might not be yours. people are different and follow different kinds of humour, so don't be thick and stop posting benighted posts
Got to agree with many of the posters here. This is a woefully inadequate list that includes many that shouldn't be on any list and excludes some of the best comedy movies of all time.
Subjectivity aside ... I can only conclude that the makers of this list simply haven't watched many movies, either that or it was a case of LCD which would once again prove that just because everyone likes abit of rubbish it doesn't mean that it's their favourite movie.
Living in Oblivion (1995), The Heartbreak Kid (1972), Pocketful of Miracles (1961), Spies Like Us (1985)
Only 1 french movie inside ... ?!?.... rolf ... best joke of your standing.
200 UK experts for UK readers, don't call it World best ranking please.
Always subjective, personal opinion and all that......but frankly astonished that the Jack Benny To Be Or Not To Be isn't on this list.
There seems to be an printing error in your listing. Anchorman at no.6 is clearly a mistake. Where did you intend it to be? no.96 perhaps?
If you didn't include "Arsenic and Old Lace" You didn't do enough research to make this list.
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