It Happened One Night (1934) Columbia/Comedy RT: 105 minutes No MPAA Rating (mild sensuality and references) Director: Frank Capra Screenplay: Robert Riskin Music: Howard Jackson and Louis Silvers Cinematography: Joseph Walker Release date: February 22, 1934 (US) Cast: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly, Roscoe Karns, Jameson Thomas, Alan Hale, Arthur Hoyt, Blanche Friderici, Charles C. Wilson. Box Office: $2.5M (US)
Rating: ****
When I was in college, I wrote a paper about Depression-era film comedies for one of my classes. I rented and watched Modern Times, A Night at the Opera and Bringing Up Baby thinking it would be enough to write an informed paper on the subject. Much to my chagrin, I got stuck early on because every book and article on the subject referenced a movie I didn’t watch. After a frantic search through the university library and their film department archives, I finally located a copy of Frank Capra’s It Happened One Night. Two hours later, I completely understood the necessity of watching this classic romantic comedy.
Let’s forget about its historical significance for the time being and consider its status as a high water mark of romantic comedies. It’s the template for many rom-coms over the past nine decades. It utilizes a very basic formula; two opposites brought together by circumstance and falling in love along the way. Over the years, we’ve seen good and bad movies with this premise, but never has it come together as perfectly as it does in Capra’s comedic masterpiece.
It Happened One Night stars Claudette Colbert (Cleopatra) as Ellie Andrews, a spoiled heiress who’s just married gold digger King Westley (Thomas, Piccadilly) against the wishes of her overprotective father Alexander (Connolly, The Good Earth). He threatens to have the marriage annulled so she escapes from his yacht in Miami and boards a bus to New York to be with her new husband. On the bus, she meets Peter Warne (Gable, Gone with the Wind), an out-of-work newspaper reporter with a huge ego who recognizes her immediately. He gives her an ultimatum. He’ll help her get to New York if she gives him an exclusive on her story or else he’ll call her father and collect the sizable reward being offered for information on her whereabouts.
Ellie doesn’t have much of a choice since she doesn’t have but a few dollars to her name. She accepts his conditions and they head off to New York together. They start out hating each other. He resents her family’s wealth and her spoiled ways. She can’t stand his egotistical and arrogant attitude. They get into a series of misadventures, especially after they leave the bus and make their own way to New York. As they get to know one another, their feelings towards each other change. They end up falling in love. I don’t consider this a plot spoiler as everybody knows that this particular story development is an essential part of the formula.
It Happened One Night mainly concerns itself with Peter and Ellie’s journey to New York after they leave the bus. Contrary to the title, the movie takes place over several nights. One of the biggest issues is the sleeping arrangements. They have to cut corners due to finances. Peter comes up with a unique solution to the problem of sharing a single room. Remember, it’s 1934 and society frowned on unmarried couples sleeping in the same room. He rigs up a blanket and clothes line that he calls “The Walls of Jericho” as a way of preserving each other’s privacy.
Peter is intelligent and resourceful, but he’s also a know-it-all and a blowhard. He claims to be an expert on many things including the correct way to dunk a doughnut in coffee and the fine art of hitchhiking across the country. After several failed attempts to thumb a ride, Ellie gives it a try. She lifts up her skirt and reveals her leg to a passing car which promptly screeches to a halt. Peter sits and fumes as this is a real blow to his ego.
There are many funny scenes in It Happened One Night mainly due to the exquisite chemistry between Gable and Colbert. It’s one of the best pairings of lead actors in the entire history of film. Gable delivers a great individual performance as does Colbert as naïve, sheltered Ellie, two qualities that can easily be interpreted as spoiled and bratty. She explains that she’s lived under the domineering thumb of her father all of her life and wants to be free of him. The problem is she doesn’t understand the harsh realities of the outside world. I like the fact Colbert doesn’t play her character as an air-headed dingbat. Obviously, Ellie and Peter are complete opposites who come from different worlds. It’s only natural they don’t understand each other’s attitudes at first. It follows that they’ll fall in love once they’re able to see beyond their differences.
Capra had an obvious connection with the common, working-class man; it shows in his work. It’s what makes him one of the most prominent filmmakers of Depression-era movies. People would flock to see gangster flicks, musicals and screwball comedies in the 30s because they provided a welcome escape from bleak everyday reality. The best comedies of this period took a satirical approach to upper class society and made wealthy folks look like fools. In It Happened One Night, Capra takes a wealthy character (Ellie) and exposes her to the working-class lifestyle with its people just looking to survive on a day-to-day basis. She gets a real dose of reality when a woman on the bus faints due to hunger. She also sees Peter’s tender side when he comforts the woman’s young son.
Capra doesn’t dwell on the misery however. He provides moments of joy like the scene where the bus passengers all join in on a rendition of “The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze”. For a few moments, everybody comes together and displays a sense of solidarity and equality. I would also cite another scene as representative of Capra’s (and by extension, Peter’s) sympathy for common man. Peter waves enthusiastically at a group of hobos on a passing freight train. It’s a small moment that leads right into a major plot development.
Aside from its historical context, It Happened One Night stands out as one of the best comedies of all time. Its appeal spans several generations of movie lovers. It’s a winning combination of romantic and screwball comedy. It’s my understanding the two leads didn’t like the script and reviews of the finished product weren’t exactly glowing. It took some time for the picture to gain momentum, but it ended up becoming a major hit. It also holds the distinction of being the first movie to win “The Big 5” at the Oscars- Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress and Screenplay (adapted). Only two other movies have repeated this incredible feat, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and The Silence of the Lambs. Here’s another interesting trivia tidbit/urban legend, Gable’s character undresses in one scene and it’s shown that he’s not wearing an undershirt. It’s said that the sales of men’s undershirts dropped noticeably because of this scene.
I would definitely call It Happened One Night a comedy masterpiece. It absolutely deserves its place in the US National Film Registry as “culturally, historically and aesthetically significant”. Every self-respecting movie buff should see this movie at some point; it’s on par with essentials like Citizen Kane, Casablanca and Gone with the Wind. It’s perfect on every level. If you’ve never watched it, treat yourself. It’s hysterically funny thanks to great snappy dialogue and palpable chemistry between the two lead actors. The sure hand of Mr. Capra drives it home. It’s superb.
BTW, I got an A- on the aforementioned paper.
