It Happened One Night |
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1934 - US Director Starring |
I have a hang-up about classifying anything made before the 1970s as a ‘romantic comedy.’ Because most films in this genre produced within the last 30 years follow the same basic script, I can’t bring myself to call something that manages to be at once romantic, yes, and comedic, sure, but also intelligent and original a romcom. When Harry Met Sally… and Love Actually are the only undeniable examples of the genre in my top 100; few others have a shot at surpassing the  mark by the opening credits. Yes, this is snobbery. The Philadelphia Story? Not a romcom. Annie Hall? Not a romcom. The Lady Eve? Not a romcom…
Except… strictly speaking… of course they are. Strictly speaking, I have to admit, it’s among my favorite genres. And It Happened One Night, the first film to win the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Director and Screenplay, sets the standard for all of them. It’s a charming road caper starring two legends I’ve never seen in a film before, believe it or not. Claudette Colbert is at once cute and chic as the spoiled rich girl with an adventuresome streak — the script does give her a chance to explore a bit of range and I think her Best Actress award was well-deserved. Clark Gable is tremendously loveable as the wolfish, street-wise and virtuous reporter — and he’d have to be, considering Warne’s as-good-as endorsement of domestic violence and immediate assumption of the financial decisions of a woman he has just met, naturally a bit alarming to a modern viewer. But I’ll dismiss it as a history lesson and admit I find Gable irresistible. Together, the two have real spark, and from sparring to stolen glances it’s easy to care about what happens to them. |
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