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Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert as the original odd-couple who find love in It Happened One Night |
“Daughter escaped again, watch all roads, airports, and
railway stations in Miami.” Heiress Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert) has eloped
with daring-but-dull flying ace “King” Westley (Jameson Thomas) but her father
Alexander (Walter Connolly) won’t wear it as he’s sure Westley is only after her
money. So, Ellie literally jumps ship in Florida (swimming to shore from her
father’s yacht, she’s got some guts that girl) and decides to make her way to New
York to reunite with her husband. Hopping on a Greyhound bus to New York, she
meets recently fired New York reporter Peter Warne (Clark Gable) and, after a
series of unfortunate incidents, the two of them end up penniless and
travelling across America together. Will their waspish banter blossom into
something else?
It Happened One Night is so delightful, as soon as
its finished, you fancy skipping back and watch it again. It’s such a brilliant,
sexy, romantic comedy it’s odd to think nearly everyone involved wasn’t even
sure they wanted to do it. Re-named from the less catchy Night Bus (and
who cares if the film actually takes place over several nights), it was rushed
into production to take advantage of Colbert’s availability (she only agreed to
do it if it filming took four weeks). Gable was loaned out by MGM against his
will. Capra and Colbert didn’t really get in and screenwriter Robert Riskin re-wrote
the script on set. If you ever needed proof adversity leads to a classic, take
a look at this.
It Happened One Night beautifully charts how two
mismatched people can be surprised by how much in common they have. Both are,
in their own way, fiercely independent. Ellie will marry the man she wants, and
hang the consequences. Peter gets the spike permanently because his unique way
of doing things doesn’t fit with his editor. They are both quick-witted people with
dreams who don’t suffer fools. At first she thinks he’s smug (and in a way he
is), he feels she’s entitled (after all its day two before she asks his name). But
they bounce off each other from the start, each an equal match for wit (not to
mention they both clearly fancy the pants off each immediately).
What’s going to bring the “walls of Jericho” tumbling down
between these two? Forced into sharing a hotel room at night, Peter astounds
Ellie’s expectations by throwing a sheet up between them, their own little wall
of Jericho. Colbert judges perfectly this scene how Ellie’s exasperation also
mixes with something pretty close to disappointment. After all she’s already
cuddled up to Peter, sleeping on the bus – and Peter in no way objected. Later,
in a mirroring hotel room scene Peter will speak openly about how he’s longed
for a woman with freedom and spirit (and Gable does this with a beautiful
wistfulness) – exactly the qualities he has seen grow in Ellie over their days
together.
What works wonderfully is how naturally this relationship
becomes first a friendship, then something deeper. Improvising a marital
argument, pretending to be a plumber and his wife to put detectives off her
scent, they complement each other perfectly. What’s fabulous about this scene,
is that (to their surprise) they are equally delighted by how smart and witty
the other is. Their gleeful giggling is not only very sweet, but also the start
of a new chapter in their relationship. The scene culminates with one of the
few moments of intimacy on film involving clothes going on, as Peter
helps Ellie button up her blouse.
What’s endearing about them – helped by Riskin’s sparkling
dialogue – is how they settle into ‘roles’ and eagerly bounce off each other. Peter
increasingly effects a parody of self-importance, claiming to be a world expert
on everything from donot dunking to hitchhiking. Ellie gleefully punctures his
grandiose claims, but enjoys playing up to her own image of the heiress, at sea
in the real world. This is how real people fall in love – and the film is
confident enough to have them exchange private jokes we can’t hear on the
backseat of a car. It’s gloriously romantic because it feels true.
Gable and Colbert’s chemistry is scintillating. Both are
supremely funny, but also grounded. When they lark about they feel like
real-life sweethearts. Colbert gives Ellie a wonderful vulnerability under the
self-entitlement. She’s snappy and quick-witted but confused and even a bit
frightened by her growing feelings. Gable’s easy charm also has a slight chip
on his shoulder: but he’s also laid-back and more than willing to look silly, proud
but self-aware with it. He’s also a hugely adept physical comedian (his
demonstration of how to hitch-hike is hilarious).
Moments have passed into film lore. Gable’s extraordinarily
silly hitch-hiking routine, cars streaming past, until Colbert flashes a bit of
leg. This is a beautifully staged scene, a cheeky bit of sexuality a brilliant
punchline to an extended showcase for Gable’s comic timing and Colbert’s
reactive skills and composure. The dialogue exchanges between the two are
superbly delivered. The film was a massive sleeper hit – it even has one of the
best examples of reverse product placement, when the reveal Gable’s character
didn’t wear an undershirt allegedly led to sales of that garment plummeting.
The direction from Capra is spot-on, classic Hollywood but
mixed with some beautiful framing and some dynamic camera movements, including
some lovely tracking shots particularly through the bus (Capra’s visual
direction in a confined space here doesn’t get enough credit). Capra also
ensures we don’t forget this was the time of depression: money is tight for everyone,
many of those on the bus are desperate for work and the out-of-touch affluence
of Ellie rightly raises heckles.
Above all, Capra creates a hugely sweet romance – with
lashings of sexy chemistry but not a jot of sex. Wipes and fast transitions
keep the pace up. The dialogue pacing is perfect. He uses light wonderfully: in
the two hotel room scenes, light carefully divides up and then unifies our two
leads, dancing off their Ellie’s eyes and reflecting how they are beginning to
see each other in a new light. It has a reputation as a screwball comedy, but
really its a carefully paced character comedy, where Capra lets the relationship
flourish organically from scene-to-scene (only Peter’s “hold-the-press” editor
and irritating fellow bus rider Shapely – the inspiration for Bugs Bunny – are
characters who could walk into screwball unchanged).
Above all, he draws fresh, relaxed and emotional
performances from the two leads. The bond between them has been so comfortably
formed – and resonates so strongly – that the film can get away with being
possibly the only romantic comedy in history where the couple never kiss and don’t
share the screen in the final act. It’s a film where two characters bantering
and sharing heartfelt truths, sleeping in separate beds on opposite sides of a
sheet has more sexiness and emotion to it than a world of rumpy-pumpy. It
Happened One Night is just about the perfect romantic comedy, oft-imitated but
never-bettered. You’ll want to watch it again as soon as it finishes.
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