This examination of dark comedies of the 1970s focuses on films which concealed black humor behind a misleading genre label. (1979) is a musical...about death--hardly Fred and Ginger territory. This masking goes beyond misnomer to a breaking of formula that director Robert Altman called "anti-genre." Altman's (1970) ridiculed the military establishment in general--the Vietnam War in particular--under the guise of a standard military service comedy. The picaresque (1970) turned the bluecoats vs. Indians formula upside-down--the audience roots for the Indians instead of the cavalry. The book covers 12 essential films, including (1971), (1972), (1975) and (1979), with notes on (1971). These films reveal a compounding complexity that reinforces the absurdity at the heart of dark comedy.