It Happened One Night

Director: Frank Capra

Screenplay: Robert Riskin (based on the story “Night Bus” by Samuel Hopkins Adams)

Stars: Clark Gable (Peter Warne), Claudette Colbert (Ellie Andrews), Walter Connolly (Alexander Andrews), Roscoe Karns (Oscar Shapeley), Jameson Thomas (King Westley), Alan Hale (Danker), Arthur Hoyt (Zeke), Blanche Friderici (Zeke’s wife), Charles C. Wilson (Joe Gordon)

MPAA Rating: NR

Year of Release: 1934

Country: U.S.

It Happened One Night: Criterion Collection Blu-ray

While Frank Capra’s It Happened One Night was hardly the first screwball comedy (or, according to some criteria, a screwball comedy at all), it was one of the most influential for the burgeoning madcap genre that would come to dominate Hollywood comedy in the latter half of the 1930s. The story of a runaway heiress falling in with a devilish, wise-cracking reporter on a cross-country roadtrip now seems like a cliché only because so many other films have copied its structure, from the introductory meeting of instant dislike to the broken wedding in the final reel.

Like the best romantic comedies, It Happened One Night is fueled primarily by the interaction between its two leads—not only their comedic bantering, but also the slow burn that melts away their discord and reveals the full bloom of unlikely love. Have’s and have-not’s falling in love is yesterday’s news, but longtime Capra accomplice Robert Riskin’s screenplay gives it a fresh, Depression-era spin by finding a way to make Claudette Colbert’s spoiled heiress both sympathetic and in need of the lessons Clark Gable’s ornery, working-class reporter has for her. There is something inherently sexist about the need for a man to set the woman straight (could you even begin to imagine it being the other way around?), but the film is so spry and lovely in its own way that you can easily forgive its frequently boorish gender attitudes.

Much of the story takes place either on a bus or in one of several auto camps, which were a new fixture along America’s growing highways in the 1930s and had been discovered as a primary site of comedy in 1927’s Rubber Tires (which was directed by Alan Hale, who interestingly enough has a role in It Happened One Night). Capra had an innate sense of how to portray middle America; his heart is clearly with the down and out, and what makes his work here quite remarkable is that he manages to create a sense of “down and outness” that transcends class divides. Clark Gable’s Peter Warne and Claudette Colbert’s Ellie Andrews are outsiders in their own lives, even if their lives are stridently different. An ace reporter down on his luck, Peter has just been fired and is in search of some kind of professional redemption; Ellie, on the other hand, is being literally imprisoned by her millionaire father (Walter Connolly) because she wants to marry a wealthy show-off (Jameson Thomas) for the sake of breaking her own boredom. In a sense, both characters are bored with life and find a new spark in each other.

The story is structured around Ellie’s flight from Miami to New York. Peter takes the naïve heiress under his wing, first because he sees a great story in it (for those who think that celebrity scandal-mongering is something of the TMZ generation, think again), but later because he genuinely begins to like her. And why not? Despite her inexperience and haughty attitudes, Ellie is a genuinely likable person, largely because of Colbert’s sensitive performance. She finds Ellie’s vulnerability without making her frail, just as Gable gives Peter just the right amount of smart-aleck rudeness without turning him into a jerk. It helps that Ellie gets to show up Peter’s blue-collar pomposity from time to time, such as the scene in which she proves that “the limb is mightier than the thumb” by flagging down a car with a little leg.

At 105 minutes in length, It Happened One Night is a good 15 minutes longer than most films of its ilk, yet it never seems to drag. Capra doesn’t speed up the proceedings at all, and some scenes are downright languorous, suggesting that Capra was as interested in his characters for their emotions as for their comedic potential. Like most comedies, It Happened One Night starts to wear a little thin near the end, especially when the story has to create a misunderstanding that results in Ellie very nearly going through with her ill-advised marriage. Yet, it’s truly worth waiting for the film’s final moments, which make good on its longstanding promise to bring “the walls of Jericho” crashing down.

It Happened One Night Criterion Collection Blu-ray

Aspect Ratio	1.33:1
Audio	English Linear PCM 1.0 monaural
Subtitles	English
Supplements	“Screwball Comedy?,” a new conversation between critics Molly Haskell and Phillip Lopate Interview with Frank Capra Jr. from 1999 Frank Capra’s American Dream (1997) feature-length documentary Fultah Fisher’s Boarding House (1921), Capra’s first film with a new score composed and performed by Donald Sosin American Film Institute tribute to Capra from 1982 Trailer Essay by critic Farran Smith Nehme
Distributor	The Criterion Collection
SRP	$39.98
Release Date	November 18, 2014

VIDEO & AUDIO
Criterion’s Blu-ray of It Happened One Night features a new 4K digital restoration transferred from a 35mm safety composite fine-grain print made from the original 35mm camera negative and a 35mm nitrate print. The transfer is absolutely gorgeous; you would never guess that the film is 80 years old based on the clarity and detail of the image. There is barely a mark or scratch to suggest the film’s age, and the image is smooth and well detailed throughout. There is a strong presence of grain, much stronger than on previous transfers I’ve seen, which only enhances the film’s visual appeal. The PCM Linear monaural soundtrack, which was transferred at 24-bit from the original nitrate optical soundtrack and a 35mm nitrate print, is as clean and clear as can be expected from a film of its age. Digital restoration has ensured a minimum of ambient hiss and aural artifacts.
SUPPLEMENTS
At first glance, the list of supplements on Criterion’s edition of It Happened One Night doesn’t look terribly impressive, but once you delve into them, you’ll find there are several hours of material to go through, all of which is worth your while. Although there is no audio commentary, there is an in-depth 48-minute discussion between critics Molly Haskell and Phillip Lopate about the film, with particular emphasis on its status (or non-status) as a genre-defining screwball comedy. The rest of the supplements all come from the archive, starting with an 11-minute interview with Frank Capra Jr. from 1999 about the film’s origins. Also included is Frank Capra’s American Dream (1997), an hour-and-a-half long documentary directed by Ken Bowser and hosted by Ron Howard that offers a comprehensive look at Capra’s long, impressive career. A real treat is the inclusion of the silent one-reeler Fultah Fisher’s Boarding House (1921), Capra’s first directorial effort, which has been restored and is presented with a new score composed and performed by Donald Sosin. There is also an hour-long American Film Institute tribute to Capra that originally aired on television in 1982 and a trailer.

Thoughts? E-mail James Kendrick

Overall Rating: (3.5)