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It Happened One Night-1934Directed by Frank Capra |
1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text
to the screening.
It Happened One Night is often considered the definitive screwball
comedy. Arriving in the middle of the screwball heyday and epitomizing a genre.
The so-called peak of the screwball comedy was arguably between the years of
1934 to 1945. At a time when women began to take a more prominent role in films,
screwball comedies were often characterized by a female that governs the
relationship with the male central character, whose masculinity is challenged
by her authority. Female leads began take on more professional roles, wore
equally professional attire, and represented women as part of the working
class. Of course all this was in response to the Production codes enforcement
in 1934. While the Code did limit artistic freedom it did allow women to be
more than just a body or a face; opening up the opportunity for the screwball
comedy.
Screwball comedies involve a “War of the Sexes” with witty
banter, often between characters from two different worlds (differing social
classes or world views). The fast-pace repartee, absurd situations, entertaining
themes, and plot lines involving courtship and marriage also embody what is a
screwball. Often, all these features supplanted sex and were filled with sexual
innuendos. Essentially the screwball is a love story with layers of wit and
sparring layered on top.
It
Happened One Night plays into all of tell-tale signs of screwball.
Ellie (Claudette Colbert) and Peter (Clark Gable) find themselves on a road
trip to New York, so Peter the newsman can get his story and Ellie can make it
safely to her fiancé. That alone depicts the absurd situation discussed. The
film is filled with a series of back and forth conversations between the two
that is a constant series of one-upmanship. Although a bit of a “brat” at
first, Ellie finds her strength and gives Peter’s character more than he
expected.
2) Find a
related article and summarize the content.
Article- The Oscars Project: It Happened One Night
-Wiki-film bios for the stars.
The Oscar Project: It Happened One Night details how the
film, like so many others to come after, wasn’t set out to be as ground
breaking as it had been.
“Unlike previous Best Picture winners, the movie was not a
big budget prestige film, and Columbia Pictures was considered a 'Poverty Row'
studio at the time.”
-Kevin Johns
Several actors turned down the roles considering the film to
be a flop. It was said that Clark Gable was 'on-loan' as punishment for refusing
a role opposite Joan Crawford from the studio. Claudette Colbert, better known
as a femme fatale, was also reluctant to play the role of the heiress. The stars
didn’t realize what they had but the remarkable work of Frank Capra and the quality
of life when the film was released thrust the film to greatness.
The country was well into the Great Depression and a quarter
of the population was without work. Although not directly addressing the issues
of the Great Depression, the film’s focus on the working class resonated with
audiences. Ellie the Heiress finds happiness in the simple things in life.
Dunking her doughnut in coffee, the joy of doing it yourself, and most notably
the pleasures of people over material things provide inexpensive delight. The best
example I can think of is the bus scene, where all the travelers begin to take
part in a sing along. It doesn’t cost money, or require lavish material possessions
to find happiness. She eventually finds love in the arms of a newspaper man,
not her royal fiancé.
The film has impacted countless imitators since. The last
few decades are filled with homages (whether intentional or not) to it’s now archetypal
moments. The walls of Jericho, the road trip, the wedding alter run away are
now staples of movie making.
The film was also a first in many categories. It was the
first comedy to win best picture, the first picture to win all five major
academy award categories, and had the first performer (Claudette Colbert) to
appear in three Best Picture-nominated films in the same year. It was triumph
both critically and influentially.
3) Apply the article to the film screened in
class.
The article brought a new found appreciation for the film.
First, the actors weren’t aware of just how special the project was. Secondly,
they didn’t seem to make the picture easy on their director, who should be applauded
for such wonderful work under tumultuous conditions. Capra’s future academy
awards and nominations prove he isn’t a mere “one hit wonder”, but a director
with vision and control. When speaking of working with the stars Capra has been
quoted as saying “Claudette had many little tantrums, motivated by her
antipathy toward me," however "she was wonderful in the part."
4)Write a critical analysis of the film, including
your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions,
text material and the article.
The film was a landmark, and honestly one I have never known
about prior to our screening. I was unaware of just how influential the film
could have been. Many of today’s Romantic Comedies take from elements It Happened One Night established nearly
70 years ago. It influences can be seen in many of our contemporary films,
whether good or bad. A good example would be the road trip scenes filled with constant
repartee between Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan in the early minutes of When Harry Met Sally. The bad can be
represented by every god awful Jennifer Lopez attempt at “new age screwball
comedy”. Gigli is a great example of
how not to make screwball.
Regardless of how some rom-com’s of today get it right or
wrong, the film set a tone what these movies should be. It also provides
audiences with a new look at what a female role do. More than just seductress’ or
damsels in distress; instead we were introduced to spunky, willfully strong
women who did what the male lead couldn’t. Elsie managed to get a car to
provide the duo with a ride, after Peter failed miserably at countless
attempts. A woman did what a man couldn’t. Today that may be common when we see
leads like Erin Brockovich, Ripley, or the Bride from Kill Bill, when it was uncommon. 
The film also included snappy dialogue that was clever, unlike
traditional slapstick that dominated comedy before it. This was no doubt due to
the “talkie” moving film forward, pushing Hollywood to seek writers from
theatres. Robert Riskin deserved his academy award. The film has been mimicked so
often, even influencing classic cartoons. Bugs Bunny carrot-chewing standing
position, had originated from a scene in It
Happened One Night, where Gable chews a carrot while explaining the finer
points of hitchhiking.
It Happened One Night was an innovative success in directing,
acting, and writing. It defines screwball, and is considered a time-honored
film achievement.
Plagiarism Statement: Attach this statement to the end of each
journal assignment. CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM
1) ( x ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class.
2) ( x ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper.
3) ( x ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text.
4) ( x ) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper.
5) ( x ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.
6) ( x ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography.
7) ( x ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality.
8) ( x ) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.
Name: Benjamin Novoa Date: 2/22/2013
1) ( x ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class.
2) ( x ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper.
3) ( x ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text.
4) ( x ) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper.
5) ( x ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.
6) ( x ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography.
7) ( x ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality.
8) ( x ) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.
Name: Benjamin Novoa Date: 2/22/2013
