The Last Laugh: Strange Humors of Cinema (Raphael Patai Series in Jewish Folklore and Anthropology)

For critics, fans, and scholars of drama and film, the laugh has traditionally been tied to comedy, indicating and expressing mirth, witty relief, joyous celebration, or arch and sarcastic parody.

But strange, dark laughter that illuminates non-comedic, unfunny situations gets much less attention.

In The Last Laugh: Strange Humors of Cinema, editor Murray Pomerance has assembled contributions from thirteen estimable scholars that address the strange laughter of cinema from varying intellectual perspectives and a wide range of sources.