Best Picture Winner: #7
Release Date: February 22, 1934
Rating: Approved
Runtime: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Director: Frank Capra
Quick Impressions:
On July 3, I was consumed by the desire to watch Hamilton as soon as possible. Apparently, I mentioned that seven or eight…hundred…thousand times. My mother remarked that a friend of hers had mentioned Hamilton, too, which she found oddly coincidental. As I tried to make her aware that quite a number of people were excited for Hamilton, she made me aware that I had expressed my eagerness to see it quite a number of times. I don’t think I can review it, though. (I would just rave about how much I wish I were Lin-Manuel Miranda. Of course, the cast was amazing, particularly Daveed Diggs, Jonathan Groff, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Phillipa Soo…Actually if I praise every performance I loved, I’ll just be listing everyone. But what impressed me most was Miranda’s ability to create something which makes the past seem so relevant to present audiences while at the same time using the energy of the present moment as a lens for re-imagining the past. I also love the Jesus Christ Superstar (with a dash of Amadeus) vibe that leads the audience to anticipate the horrors of the ending and subtly elevates Alexander Hamilton, making him feel (indefensibly) heroic and important to us as we watch. (I don’t mean to dismiss Hamilton’s achievements. I just mean, he’s not Jesus. But you watch with a feeling of almost religious fervor, anticipating that duel.) And, I mean, the lyrics are so good, too. But Hamilton is a filmed production of a stage show, not a movie, so I don’t feel qualified to review it.
It Happened One Night, now there’s a movie! If you’ve ever seen a romantic comedy, then you’ve seen vestiges of It Happened One Night, the Ur rom-com of Hollywood. Of course, I have seen It Happened One Night before, a few times as a child when I was half-paying attention. My mother never particularly liked the film. Like me, she prefers other screwball comedies of the 1930s. (Bringing Up Baby is her favorite and mine.)
As an adult, I’ve seen It Happened One Night only once, when I watched it with my husband over a decade ago. I don’t remember liking it too much, then. My mom has often dismissed it as over-rated and underwhelming, and I remember agreeing.
I must have been out of my mind. The movie I watched with my daughter last night was absolutely fantastic, crackling with wit and sizzling with star power. It’s worth a watch for Clark Gable alone. But the best part is, he’s not alone. He’s paired with the lovely Claudette Colbert (a favorite of my mother’s, even though she’s not a huge fan of this particular film).
As I told my daughter just before we watched, I’m glad that we chose to screen the Best Picture winners in order because seeing them in that context really makes a difference.
The Plot:
Supposed child of privilege Ellen Andrews has little control over her own life. When she marries the first man she encounters, her wealthy father demands an annulment and imprisons her on his yacht. But Ellen escapes and embarks on a daring cross-country journey (from Miami to New York) to be reunited with her aviator husband King Westley. On the way, she bumps into down-on-his-luck newspaper reporter Peter Warne. Peter agrees to help Ellie evade her father and complete her journey in exchange for her exclusive story of the adventure. But you’ll never believe what happens on the way to New York—Peter and Ellie fall in love with each other!
The Good:
“Now tonight we’re going to see Clark Gable,” I prepped my daughter. “He also stars in our next Best Picture winner, Mutiny on the Bounty. And he’s the star of Gone with the Wind which is also coming up. So he stars in three Best Picture winners of the 1930s. And he was the partial inspiration for Bugs Bunny. Plus Marilyn Monroe always imagined he was her father. It’s worth keeping an eye on him.”
When she saw his performance, she was immediately charmed. And so was I. Ordinarily, I prefer stars like Humphrey Bogart and Cary Grant to Clark Gable, but I must admit, Gable certainly has appeal.
Here Gable plays a wise-cracking everyman so charmingly that his charisma comes across even after ninety years. I’m pretty sure you could transplant him into a current movie, and he would still work as the leading man with just a few tweaks. (Maybe a different hat or adjustments to his hairstyle.) I’m personally excited for the films we’re about to watch because we’re heading into an era of big, memorable movie stars. (Honestly, watching him here also evokes a pleasant feeling of nostalgia for Bugs Bunny who was almost omnipresent on the small screen when I was a child, but whose work I hardly see anymore.)
Gable carries this movie all by himself, as far as I’m concerned. I don’t mean that the others aren’t good. (Both Colbert and Walter Connolly who plays her increasingly delightful “mean old father” are fantastic.) It’s just that Gable is so thoroughly charming with such commanding screen presence and winning line delivery that he would hold our attention even if paired with a plate of naked spaghetti.
Claudette Colbert is far more captivating than spaghetti, though. Her beauty and vivacity make her a perfect screen partner for Gable. It’s little wonder they won Best Actor and Actress for their work in It Happened One Night. (A little trivia. This is the first film to win Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and Screenplay. When you watch the film, these wins are self-explanatory.) By Gable’s character, Ellie is repeatedly dismissed as a brat, but she really doesn’t seem like one. Sheltered seems a more apt word than spoiled, and Colbert makes her a sympathetic heroine. Her winning mix of innocence and moxie makes her relatable even though her privilege is not.
As Ellie’s father, business tycoon Mr. Andrews (a man eager to arrive who would probably find the ALFA-X version of the Shinkansen train too slow), Water Connolly is immensely charming and almost manages to steal the last act of the movie. Roscoe Karns is also memorable for the near musicality of his cadence as the annoying but spineless harasser Shapeley. And Alan Hale, Sr. shines as the singing motorist who happily picks up hitchhikers and takes them for a ride.
Robert Riskin’s screenplay is another star of this film. The dialogue is fantastic. Grand Hotel may have more memorable lines, but It Happened One Night showcases snappier banter. Gable deserves his thanks, though, for delivering the lines with such crisp, ear-catching enunciation. The dialogue is snappy, but it could be easily butchered by the wrong leading man.
Director Frank Capra, of course, is a star in his own right, and we’ll be watching more of his work soon, too.
Besides its stars, It Happened One Night also gives us a wonderful look at travel in Depression era America. We meet so many schemers and cons, all desperate to make a buck. We see what life was like for average people on the road, stopping in small auto camps, queuing up for a turn in the outdoor shower. We see a woman faint from hunger because she has used her last bit of money for bus fare, chasing the promise of a job in New York.
Best Scene Visually:
Most of the film’s most beautiful shots seem designed to showcase the beauty of Claudette Colbert. Here she is lying by a haystack. Look at her, gazing wistfully from the bed. Here we have her stretched out along a fence. Now take a quick look at her long leg. She’s hitchhiking, see? This reminds me of the careful framing and lighting and posing of Garbo in Grand Hotel.
But one image my daughter called out particularly struck me, as well. The scene of the “walls of Jericho” (i.e. the blanket) separating one bed from another as moonlight streams into the darkened room makes an impression and sticks with us. It’s a wonderful core image for a movie that focuses on the relationship between two people divided by sex, by class, by circumstance. They’re in the same room, but separated by a boundary so clear and yet so removable.
As a whole, the haystacks scene features the most beautiful shots of the film. And, of course, the moment when Gable begins snacking on the carrots is obviously the film’s most iconic visual.
Best Scene:
My daughter and I couldn’t get enough of the scene at the first motor inn when Peter and Ellie begin working together. To get rid of the detectives, they literally create a scene. Ellie jumps into the playacting with such zeal. Best is when they think the detectives have returned and just jump right back into their noisy routine.
Best Musical Number:
This isn’t a musical, but I absolutely adore the moment when the entire bus bursts into song, cheerfully singing along with the nineteenth century hit “The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze.” Random passengers in turn stand up to take a verse. And then just after that, we see a poor woman, travelling because she is desperate for work, faint from hunger.
Best Action Sequence:
I love the book-ending scenes of Ellie and her father. Their first interaction in the movie leads to dramatic flight, as does their last. But so much has changed in the middle. This film gives us many examples showing that at the time, casual violence or threats of violence towards women are taken as the norm. But I see the entire story of the film from the point of view of Mr. Andrews as, “I’m so sorry I hit you, Ellie! How can I heal our relationship?” In fact, I wish someone would remake It Happened One Night with Mr. Andrews as the protagonist. I think he’s an interesting man.
The Negatives:
I wish the King Westley character were fleshed out a little. As things stand, he seems like a total weirdo. One who casually drops in on his bride, then moments later makes a second, theatrical entrance in a wacky flying machine. I suppose this is done to demonstrate his theatricality and need for attention? It’s hard not to view Ellen’s father’s take on this character as essentially correct. Throughout the film, Andrews himself and Peter Warne hurry (faster than humanly possible) and scramble to keep up with Ellie. Then Westley leisurely shows up to the same spot twice. He’s not concerned about getting there. He’s concerned about appearance, making an entrance.
What kind of older man pursues and quickly marries an innocent young heiress who happened to wind up in his car? Westley seems so disconnected from her needs, desires, state of mind, and personality. The way she behaves on her wedding day is surely a red flag, but his attitude seems to be, “Whatever. Now the press is here, so where did I put that flying machine?”
So many romantic comedies come after It Happened One Night and follow its blueprint. But almost all of them flesh out the “Mr. Wrong” character. Either the person becomes an insufferable jerk or a sympathetic bad fit for the protagonist. But all we know about King Westley is what we read in the papers. We really only see him from the point of view of Mr. Andrews. He seems to be involved in some sort of high stakes game, making a power play, trying to win control of Ellie from her father. For a long time, it seems like Mr. Andrews is the one involved with him, not Ellie.
(Again, wouldn’t this film be great remade with the father as the protagonist? Imagine an entire battle against the “wrong man” for his daughter. Meanwhile, the daughter sneaks away with someone else, and the two rival men end up in business together.)
I wish It Happened One Night gave Westley a bit more development. I also wish it showed us a bit more about life during the Great Depression. (That’s my selfish twenty-first century time tourist perspective, though. The movie gives us such tantalizing flashes. I want to see more!)
Overall:
Both my daughter and I found It Happened One Night delightful. In fact, as we watched, we talked much less than usual because of the brisk, witty dialogue. She now ranks it #2 overall behind Wings. I’m not great at ranking things, but It Happened One Night is definitely one of the strongest Best Picture winners we’ve watched so far. Thanks largely to a snappy script and Gable’s immense charisma, the film has timeless appeal. It’s more than its iconic hitchhiking scene, though who can forget Gable chomping on a carrot and Colbert showing off her shapely leg to stop traffic?