In 1930’s, US suffered from ‘Great Depression’, and so did Hollywood studios. Most of the films released during that time failed to give a livelier movie experience for its audiences. In that time, came a screwball comedy – a word that would dominate Hollywood comedy genre in later years – which was directed by Frank Capra, titled “It Happened One Night” (1934). It was Capra’s first classic and it was a best entertaining Hollywood material, which merged the realities of depression era with the fantasies of big screen. The snappy dialogues and eccentric acting went on to be the deciding factors of screwball comedy, but Capra’s movie is also a true-to-the-times genteel romance. The film’s story was based on a short story entitled “Night Bus” (by Samuel Hopkins). Colombia Pictures, after reading the film’s script turned it down, calling it ‘frothy and lightweight.’ Later, revisions were made to the script; Capra got the approval and also got the favorite romantic leading man ‘Clark Gable.’ Even if you are seeing it for the first time, you can guess the way, a scene unfolds, since it has been imitated by numerous television shows and films.
The overprotected
Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert) is the daughter of an immensely rich
patriarch. He keeps her confined in a yacht, in Southern Florida, in order to
prevent her from joining the worthless playboy and adventurer King Westley
(Jameson Thomas). She has already eloped with him and married out of spite. The
recalcitrant Ellie jumps off the yacht and swims ashore. Ellie, who has never
been on her own, discovers the livelihood of working class Americans in
depression era. She also decides to travel anonymously on bus, to avoid her
father’s hoard of detectives. Ellie trip to New York (where Westley is located)
catches the attention of proletarian newspaperman, Peter Warne (Clark Gable),
who travels on the bus with her and figures out her guise.
Despite Peter’s contempt for upper class, he gets attracted
to the charm, beauty and guts of Ellie. To keep matters more concerning, we see
the fiery Ellie losing her suitcase. Now, Peter takes her under his wing
because he thinks that there is a story in her plight. In exchange, he agrees
to take her to Westley to have a proper wedding. Thus begins a love/hate
relationship, which mostly camouflages flirtation with heavy arguments.
Frank Capra doesn’t make this film as a romantic comedy. He
also takes us through a distinctive Depression-era American landscape. The
film’s most inspiring scene is the one, which takes place inside a bus, where
the passengers, strangers to each other, sing a song and invent a moment of
hope, which makes them united as members of a community. Hollywood
entertainment of the 30’s didn’t much concentrate on the downbeat locales of
reality. Bus stations, dirty roads, outdoor bathing houses, raw carrots and
one-donut-one-egg breakfasts were not the common things, you see in the old,
falsely glittering Hollywood flicks. Yeah, the movie’s central theme: “Love
wins all classes” has been done to death in films made all over the world, but
Capra’s vision still seems afresh and sharp-witted. Many modern rom-com jumps
into romance part without the development of characters. But, here, Capra takes
time to set the emotions of his characters. Colbert’s Ellie character in modern
movies would have been turned into an unrelatable, stereotypical rich girl.
However, Riskin’s adapted script provides some glimpses of Ellie that allows us
to see her as a rebellious spirit held by the father as a prisoner. Her
pampered existence is neatly explained through that continual surveillance.
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| Frank Capra (left) with Colbert and Gable |
Capra, previously directed Claudette Colbert in the 1927
movie “For the Love of Mike.” That movie’s failure made her to approach this project
with skepticism. She was eventually offered a fee that was double the standard
amount. But, she still continued to express displeasure in the set, which
certainly helped her character of bored rich girl. Her indifference and
demureness works very well in the scenes against Gable. After winning that
year’s Best actor Oscar, she even credited Capra. On the other hand, Gable
infuses enough smart-aleck rudeness into Peter without turning him into a dull
person. The playfulness (his first comedy role), he showed here was not often
evident in his later important works (“Mutiny on the Bounty”, “Gone with the
Wind”). He also won an Academy Award for his role.
“It Happened One Night” was surely victimized by many
copycat stories. Nonetheless, nothing takes away Gable and Colbert’s fresh
performances, and Capra's deftness. It is
a quintessential rom-com that isn’t about comedic bantering, but also about the
slow burn, which reveals the full bloom of love.
Trailer
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