My Classic Review: It Happened One Night
4/5
Opening Statement: Claudette Colbert plays Ellie, a spoiled rich girl who has just ran away from her father. As she becomes a pretty big news event she runs into a man named Peter Warne played by the ever-so-witty Clark Gable. Once Peter finds out he makes a deal with her to get an interview, but a lot can happen in "one night."
Why It's Classic: From the get-go you can tell this is a Capra film. Not one of his best particularly, but the man does go down in director history a couple films later. It's a sweet romance, filled with enjoyable comedy that has aged well, and surprising innuendo for its time. This film was released only a couple years after sound was invented and filmmakers learned that using the sound technology they had to make some pretty damned interesting stories. This was one of the bigger accomplishments for it's time.
It creates itself as a classic in my book primarily because it has so many different elements that are used countlessly in our modern films. The acting is incredible from Gable and Colbert, but story is key. The reason it doesn't receive a perfect score from me personally is simply because I enjoyed it at a 4/5 pace. Nothing i'd watch again and while this was a major picture for the time, audiences back then had a railroad of amazing flicks coming (Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, Citizen Kane.)
Basically, the film majors in mood, and makes itself one of the greater romantic comedies. Scratch that. Probably the in the running for the greatest romantic comedy to date. Up there with "When Harry Met Sally" a very enjoyable flick.
Consensus: Frank Capra is always excellent with his modest, feel good direction, mixed with an excellent adapted screenplay from Robert Riskin, all in which is helped greatly by two powerhouse performances from Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. A movie to be seen by any movie lover.
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