[1934, Frank Capra Dir., Stars: Clark Gable,
Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly, Roscoe Karns and Alan Hale Sr.]
When I slipped the DVD into my
player I truly was looking forward to once again experiencing this iconic film.
I’d seen it before; once as a child and again sometime during my University
days, but that was a long time ago. Those of us who love old movies embrace the
wistful nostalgia they carry; but I really wasn’t sure what I would make of
this film, regarded as the original screwball romantic comedy. So I guess my
excitement stemmed from a sense of discovery, or rediscovery. I was curious to understand
just what made this one picture, starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert, so
memorable for so many.
The story of It Happened One Night couldn’t be more basic – smooth smart guy
reporter Peter Warne (Gable) escorts runaway heiress Ellie Andrews (Colbert) from
Miami to New York City. Naturally, the two start out hating each other; him an
out-of-work and uncouth nobody, and her - a spoiled and impractical brat. Travelling
by any means available, the two of course fall madly in love. Between Miami and
New York they share misadventures and legendary movie moments from the blanket
hanging (Walls of Jericho) scene in a motel to the hitch-hiking leg flash, even
a bus ride sing-along of “The Man On The Flying Trapeze”. No hot house flower,
it should be noted, Ellie gives Peter just as good as she gets from him in the wisecrack
department. Peter, on the other hand, proves to Ellie he’s not just some
penniless rogue out to make a Depression Era buck off of her. Fair to say, these
two landmark characters don’t just fall in love with each other – their natural
charm and chemistry makes us fall in love with them as well.
It
Happened One Night swept the Academy Awards for 1934, and is to this very
day one of only three films to take home all five major awards: Best Picture,
Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director and Best Screenplay. (The other two
“Big Five” Oscar winners were 1974’s One
Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest and Silence
of the Lambs in 1991.) Quite an auspicious result for a film that was turned
down by Constance Bennett and Myrna Loy both, and Robert Montgomery walked away
from the chance to play Peter Warne because he felt the screenplay was the
worst thing he’d ever read. Even Claudette Colbert thought the film to be
something of a joke, she demanded twice her usual salary and that shooting be
completed in four weeks so she wouldn’t waste too much of her time. Hollywood
loves those sorts of back stories to major successes; unfortunately today few
in LA would have the guts to move forward on a production with that kind of
initial feedback.
I
may have a bit of an idealistic notion of Hollywood in the 1930’s, while
romantic comedies have been around since the beginning, I feel they were more
thoughtfully prepared and less formulaic then. Frank Capra’s eminently
enjoyable little film holds its well-earned classic status because it came from
a time when this sort of film wasn’t being made every day. Capra’s characters
were strong and smart, there’s also no denying the very genuine on-screen
chemistry between Gable and Colbert. The man pushed the envelope for 1934, too,
by showing not only Claudette Colbert’s nicely developed leg in close-up, but
also having her and Clark Gable playing an unmarried couple who – gasp! – share
cramped travel lodgings. Today’s so-called romantic offerings seem more like
cheap fast food compared to It Happened
One Night, a proper gourmet meal prepared by a talented chef.
“They
don’t make movies like that anymore” I’m sure some people would say, but the
trouble is they do make them, every, single, day, now. Today
boy-meets-gets-loses-rediscovers-girl movies are produced en masse. I couldn’t
tell you how many are available on Netflix right now for instantaneous romantic
gratification and they just keep coming. Whether you call them “chick flicks”
or rom-coms, Hollywood churns them out not only for the big screen but for that
handful of cable channels geared towards an audience that laps up their syrupy
cinematic tripe. Something valuable has been lost, I fear, since 1934. Falling
in love, or watching two people fall in love, should always be magical. If it
happens every day, love becomes cheapened and common place; it’ll never be as
wonderful as it was when it only happened one night.
[“It Happened One Night” is currently available
on DVD through Netflix and via VOD on Viki.com]
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