It Happened One Night

1934’s It Happened One Night is one of only 3 films to win Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Director, and Best Screenplay Oscars. It’s a story of a wealthy socialite who runs away from her father to meet up with the man she has recently eloped with. On her way, she meets a newspaper man who helps her on her way with the intention of writing a newspaper article about her. They fall in love on the way, both of them fighting it the whole way. The film, directed by Frank Capra, is a classic screwball comedy. The film is successful because of the chemistry between stars Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. Their annoyance with each other is very believable as is their gradual attraction. I was at first annoyed that they didn’t like each other at first. It is so common in romantic comedies for the leads to dislike each other at the beginning and then to begin getting along. The difference here is that they continue to bicker the entire film. Thinking about it, I realized that all couples tend to argue as often as they get along. It’s never out of hate, but out of reluctance for someone to know you so well, they can spot your flaws. This is what I enjoyed the most about the film. It ends happily, but not happily ever after. I imagine Gable and Colbert waking up after their honeymoon and battling over what to have for breakfast. The constant struggle to make both people in a relationship a stronger person is often misinterpreted as being controlling, when it’s usually not meant in that way. Taking that away from the film has made it a richer experience for me. As for the actors, Gable seems a bit uncomfortable in some scenes. This is most likely due to the fact that he isn’t playing the “Clark Gable” type here. His character has flaws not usually associated with him. Overall, though, he appears to be having a good time. Colbert is one of the most beautiful actresses I have ever seen on screen, with the exception of her eyebrows in this film. She never plays her socialite character as spoiled, but instead presents her self as just lacking the experiences that define lower class people as normal. The two’s chemistry is present in spades. My favorite scene in the film involves them competing to see who is the best hitchhiker, Gable with his thumb or Colbert with her leg, which finally wins out. Little competitions like these is something that occurs between me and Kassy often and it’s always surprising to be underestimated or to wrongfully underestimate and learn something new about the other person. The best films allows the viewer to connect with the characters in some way and this was my connection to this film. It’s pretty funny also.