Top Bill-ing: The films of Harold and Murray

In the years after “Groundhog Day,” Harold Ramis and Bill Murray had a fallingout that was only partially repaired by the time of Ramis’ death. But before that, the two Chicagoans and onetime Second City castmates were one of the funniest duos in film history.

“Bill was a strong man,” Ramis once told The A.V. Club. “You’d do a movie with Bill, a big comedy in those early days, just knowing he could save the day no matter how bad the script was . . . That was our alliance, kind of, our big bond.”

A ranking of their six collaborations:

1. “Groundhog Day” (1993). About a cynical weatherman having to relive one day until he got it right, it seemed to resonate deeply with script rewriter Ramis, who later became a (nonpracticing) Buddhist.

2. “Caddyshack” (1980). When Ramis, mak ing hish directorial debut, asked Murray to simply imagine his character enjoying a fantasy sporting triumph, the latter came up withh hhis famous “It’s a Cinderella story” routine.

3. “Meatballs” (1979). Ramis, the script doctor, said director Ivan Reitman wasn’t sure Murray was going to show up until the first day of filming. Murray’s anarchic, improvised “It just doesn’t matter” speech set the tone for his career — nutty, charismatic and too cool to give a damn.

4. “Stripes” (1981). The one movie in which Murray and Ramis actually worked together as a duo, it made the most of Ramis’ laidback sidekick. (At a recruitment interview, his character says, “We’re not homosexuals, but we are wiling to learn.”)

5. “Ghostbusters” (1984). The first comedy to gross $200 million, this one was Dan Aykroyd’s idea, and he intended it to star John Belushi, but when Belushi died, both Chevy Chase and Michael Keaton turned down the part of Peter Venkman. Murray came along with his slacker attitude and inimitable way with lines like, “This chick is toast!”

6. “Ghostbusters II” (1989). Uh, they also made this one.