Evan D. As a project this year we are taking a trip through time to revisit all of the Best Picture winners in history, Wings to Wicked??? (hopefully not Wicked.(Oh god it might be Emilia Pérez, maybe Wicked isn’t so bad.(Okay so we may have dodged the Emilia Pérez bullet.)) It Happened One Night is the seventh film in that series, to see all the other Best Picture reviews, click here. 1934 was a time of great change in Hollywood as it was the very beginning of enforcement of the Hays Code, a set of guidelines requiring films to self censor objectionable content or risk being banned from release. What would result was a major shift in Hollywood filmmaking and what was deemed acceptable for release in American theaters. Getting out just before the enforcement of the Hays Code, It Happened One Night was the last pre-code film to win Best Picture, a prize it paired with wins in direction, lead actor, lead actress and writing. It was the first of only 3 films ever to win all 5 of these categories.
The film begins with socialite Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert) diving off the ledge of her father’s (Walter Connolly) boat to escape his grasp in an attempt to reconvene with King Westley (Jameson Thomas) whom she had recently eloped with. Ellie flees to Miami and catches a bus to New York where she meets and strikes up a contentious relationship with newly unemployed journalist Peter Warne (a delightfully fast talking Clark Gable.) Ellie wants desperately to evade detection en route to her husband and Peter is after a big tabloid story he can sell so the unlikely pair help one another journey up the eastern seaboard. Along the trip Peter and Ellie find themselves to be a great match as they work together outwitting her father’s investigators and nosey passengers. Looking at it in comparison to today’s awards season or even in the context of the winners before it, It Happened One Night is not exactly what one might consider a typical Oscar winner. Romantic comedies have not frequently hit it big among the Academy and Frank Capra’s film was easily the funniest to win Best Picture up to that point. There is little in the way of the sweeping narratives of past winners or the social commentary we see more frequently now. Instead, the big winner at the 1935 ceremony is a tremendously written and executed screwball comedy. What strikes me the most watching It Happened One Night today is not how foundational it is to so many romantic comedies that built on its template — which it is — but rather how wonderfully entertaining it is. Gable is a riot, firing off jokes at a blistering pace with a sort of guarded charisma that modern rom-com leads struggle to balance. Colbert too is delightfully game returning all the wit and charm back to her costar. One bit, where the pair attempt to hitchhike, would easily be the funniest part of most comedies today exactly as it is. Therein lies the essence of why It Happened One Night is one of the most celebrated early Hollywood films. Watching it is an absolute joy and completely obliterates the stereotype of old films being homework. Sure, having familiarity with this early template of the romantic comedy unlocks something for every modern iteration, but that is simply because it is so well done that it is a natural inspiration. For anyone seeking an introduction to the films of this era, It Happened One Night is a perfect place to begin. It’s also a great example of the Oscars identifying a film that will stand the test of time. In the early years the Academy did frequently opt for the grandiose historical epic that felt big in the moment but would ring hollow years later. This is still a balancing act that we go through now, for every Parasite, there is a Green Book. It Happened One Night is one of those rare Best Picture winners that does really hold up as a cinematic pillar. 9/10
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