Produced by Frank Capra and executive producer Harry Cohn, director Frank Capra’s romantic comedy stars Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert with Walter Connolly and Roscoe Karns. Released in 1934, It Happened One Night won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor and Best Actress. The screenplay, written by Robert Riskin, was adapted from a short story “Night Bus” by Samuel Hopkins Adams. Colbert plays a wealthy socialite on the lam to reunite with her new husband (that her father disapproves of) when she gets spotted by a reporter, played by Gable, who recognizes and essentially blackmails her into giving him her story. Sometimes credited as the first screwball comedy, this film is lighter on the screwball and heavier on the romance.
Gable and Colbert are well matched and their interaction is both witty and charming. This is my favorite Gable film as I really do not enjoy Gone With the Wind (1939, starring Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh and Thomas Mitchell among many others). I would prefer to watchMutiny on the Bounty (1935, starring Charles Laughton, Clark Gable and Franchot Tone and winner of the Oscar for Best Picture) or Boom Town (1940, starring Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Claudette Colbert and Heddy Lamar). Gable and Tracy fans might also enjoySan Francisco (1936, starring Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald and Spencer Tracy). Colbert fans might enjoy Cecil B. DeMille’s Cleopatra (1934, starring Claudette Colbert, Warren William; Henry Wilcoxon); however, I prefer Drums Along the Mohawk (1939, starring Claudette Colbert, Henry Fonda and Edna May Oliver).
My second favorite Capra film is You Can’t Take It With You (1938, starring Jean Arthur, James Stewart and Lionel Barrymore amongst other great cast members and also written by Robert Riskin) which I much prefer to the much-loved It’s A Wonderful Life (1946, starring James Stewart). I highly recommend these: Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936, starring Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur and George Bancroft; written by Robert Riskin and winner of Best Director Oscar for Capra); Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939, starring James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Claude Rains Harry Carey, and also winner of Best Original Screenplay for Lewis R. Foster); Meet John Doe (1941, starring Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck and Edward Arnold and nominated for Best Original Screenplay for Robert Connell and Robert Presnell Sr.) Another Capra film, the comedy Arsenic and Old Lace(1944, starring Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Raymond Massey), written by Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein [famous for Casablanca (1942, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid and Claude Rains, among others)] , is worth a viewing as well as a few good laughs.
Running Time: 105 Minutes
A Favorite Quote: “I want to see what love looks like when it’s triumphant. I haven’t had a good laugh in a week.” (Clark Gable as Peter Warne) [It’s a comedy, so don’t expect me to give away any really funny lines!]
No comments:
Post a Comment