Review of It Happened One Night (1934) by Chrismizerak — 07 Jan 2020

There’s a reason that “It Happened One Night” was one of the only three films to win all the major five Academy Awards: Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress and Screenplay. As far as romantic comedies are concerned, this film laid the foundation for future films of its genre to follow.

And yet it is still superior to most if not all the romantic comedies that it had inspired ever since. I think the key reason for that sentiment being justified lies within the intricacies of the script and each little detail ending up making a bigger impact in the long run.

You do see each character change throughout the story in ways that are bold, refreshing and surprisingly subtle. For example, the father of our main leading lady starts out wanting to undo her recent impulsive marriage to a gentleman he finds unworthy of his daughter’s hand.

And by the climax, while he is willing to do some compromising on his end, certain circumstances have changed to the point where there might be a chance that he gets something he wants. Clark Gable, through the generous nature of his soul, helps Claudette Colbert any way that he can in her ultimate goal.

However, even he has limits in terms of how much he can tolerate her forgetfulness or indecision with what she wants. In Hollywood rom coms nowadays, the character played by Claudette Colbert here would be written in a way that would resemble the childish, bratty nature of Kim Kardashian.

But thanks to a combination of Colbert’s performance, a smart script, and Frank Capra’s confident direction, our leading lady becomes much more multi-layered than that. Even though she’s causing a whirlpool of trouble for all involved in her trek across the country, she also does show her good-hearted nature.

And of course, she teaches Gable how to hitch for a ride as only she can. The scenes involving “the walls of Jericho” can best summarize the progression of Gable and Colbert’s relationship throughout the picture.

What starts as a form of blackmail eventually becomes a tender love affair with “the walls of Jericho” bearing witness to whatever unfolds.