Peerless It Happened One Night Cements Superstardom for Gable and Colbert

             One of the granddaddies of the romantic comedy genre, It Happened One Night constitutes one of those happy accidents in film history wherein, setting out to produce a modest studio picture with a minimum of fuss, all the filmmaking elements seamlessly meshed to instead create a timeless masterpiece possessing its own unique style and individuality. Expertly helmed by Frank Capra, the 1934 Columbia film represents an early cinematic example of a sleeper hit, with Depression-weary audiences immediately connecting with the beguiling storyline and charismatic stars, and word-of-mouth allowing the film to go on to achieve great success with both critics and public. Relaying the exploits of spoiled heiress Ellen Andrews (Claudette Colbert) and her encounter with freewheeling reporter Peter Warne (Clark Gable) during a lengthy bus trip which provides several mis-adventures, the adept screenplay by Robert Riskin (based on the short story “Night Bus” by Samuel Hopkins Adams) does a fantastic job of blending romantic-comedy elements into settings easily-identifiable by the common moviegoer, providing a nice twist to much of the escapist entertainment of the period dealing with more upper-class scenarios. Here, the upper class as represented by Ellen is firmly brought down-to-earth by both Peter and her surroundings in an ultra-satisfying manner, such as when Ellen is made to wait in line for her shower at a camp, or has to cavort around the countryside with Peter later in the film. Sequences like these strongly resonated with filmgoers of the period and have a similar impact on modern audiences, such is the enduring appeal of this signature comedy.

Frank Capra would go on to a great degree of success making pictures celebrating the trials and tribulations of the everyman, but he possibly never again achieved the level of freshness and charm on display in this earlier classic. The narrative stays straightforward and the playing unforced throughout the film, with no attempts at overt sentimentality or deliberately-lovable characters allowing It Happened One Night to become dated and unconvincing. Capra does a wonderful job maintaining an appropriate easy-going tone while introducing the array of colorful characters Ellen and Peter meet during the trip, with a naturalistic approach seldom found in his later work. A prime illustration of this is the famous “The Man on the Flying Trapeze,” sequence, wherein the bus passengers take part in an ensemble rendition of the song in a seemingly spontaneous, lovely fashion. The disarming simplicity Capra incorporates in his direction allows viewers to establish a vivid rapport with each scene and character, allowing the film to linger in the memory as a cherished favorite.

The two stars also have a great deal to do with the movie’s ongoing status as one of the key films of the 1930’s. Although Clark Gable was loaned out by MGM to Columbia to curb his ego in the face of his burgeoning career and Colbert was firmly focused on the rich payday the movie afforded her, the stars (literally) aligned to ensure two players were given roles exquisitely suited to their talents. For Gable, Peter Warne offers one of his best showcases for utilizing his sly, sexy glamour against the persona of a tough but decent, relatable guy for the masses. There’s also a playfulness to his work that immensely adds to his and the film’s likability factor, and in scenes such as Peter explaining to Ellen his method for undressing as he proceeds to do so (sending the sales of t-shirts plummeting in the process), one fully comprehends how the film sent Gable’s already-established stock as Moviedom’s chief male star into the stratosphere, with him deservedly earning the title as Hollywood’s “King” in the process, as he continued with a stunning run of hits and classics during the next decade (Mutiny on the Bounty, San Francisco, Gone with the Wind, etc.) before Gable went to serve during WWII, then returned post-war for success in a more sporadic vein, with 1953’s Mogambo opposite Ava Gardner and Grace Kelly and excellent work in his final film, The Misfits, alongside Marilyn Monroe providing two peaks for Gable in his latter-career stage.

As Ellen, Colbert possesses plenty of presence and charm of her own. Starting in movies during the silent era, by 1934 Colbert had honed a calm, confident skill on camera, and she goes about her work in an alert, completely unpretentious manner, with no hints of the showy emoting often seen in the early sound era. And as with Gable, Colbert appears focused and spontaneous while interacting with her costars, in the process creating in Ellen a fully-rounded character, indicating the class and breeding of a socialite, while remaining amusingly game for whatever life on the road has to offer (with Colbert in the role, you believe Ellen when she tells Peter, who has just show her how to dunk a donut in one of the film’s more memorable bits, that she’d “change places with a plumber’s daughter any day,” or when she impulsively sticks her tongue out, then smiles at, a bratty girl (who started it with her own tongue-lashing out) in that shower line). Colbert comes up aces at every turn in detailing Ellen’s sometimes flighty, sometimes more personable, but always good-natured behavior, and it’s easy to see how she became a leading-lady mainstay and top box-office draw during the next two decades, with Oscar-nominated work in Private Worlds and Since You Went Away, along with hits such as 1939’s amazing Midnight (which makes for a great double feature with It Happened One Night), The Palm Beach Story, So Proudly We Hail, The Egg and I and her movie swansong, wherein she outclasses the field in 1961’s Parrish.

Gable and Colbert are beautifully in synch throughout their iconic pairing, and although in appearance they clearly rate as an idealized romantic team, their direct, no-nonsense interplay possesses a contemporary vibe, nearly 90 years after the movie’s release. Unlike most romantic comedies (both then and today), wherein the audience knows from the outset the two leads are destined to end up together after initially sparring in “meet cute” fashion, Gable and Colbert play their chance encounter without a trace of adorability, only indicating a casual interest, which makes the eventual deepening of their relations all the more satisfying. Whether at-odds or warming towards each other, Gable and Colbert maintain a believable, easy chemistry, leading up to their most famous interaction, wherein each exhibits their method for hitchhiking, with Ellen providing the more fruitful system for hailing a ride, after Colbert first drily states “Oh, that’s amazing” in hilarious deadpan manner in response to one of Gable’s more elaborate “thumbing for a ride” gestures. Based on their adroit byplay and phenomenal success in this landmark film it was inevitable they would be teamed again and, via 1940’s smash Boom Town, Gable and Colbert were pleasantly reunited, albeit with a more traditional romantic angle involved.

Among the rest of an indelible cast, several reliable character actors make strong impressions, as was the wont among the era’s awesome pool of supporting talent. Walter Connolly is alternately terse, funny and spry as Ellen’s understandably-perturbed father, while Roscoe Karns scores heavily as Oscar, the oily bus mate who proves annoying to both Ellen and Peter. Charles C. Wilson also makes a strong impression as Peter’s exasperated newspaper editor, and in smaller roles Ward Bond stands out as the gruff bus driver who memorably states “Oh yeah?” ad nauseam, and Alan Hale is briefly seen to memorable advantage as the outwardly jovial driver who gives the roaming couple a lift after Colbert’s attention-getting legwork.

The initial success of the film enhanced the careers of all the majors players, leading up to the film claiming the National Board of Review’s Best Picture prize before gaining even greater renown as being the first movie to gain all of the top five Academy Awards (for Picture, Director, Actor, Actress and Screenplay). This accomplishment still holds up today, as the work of Capra, his sterling stars and a first-rate cast and crew continue to enthrall lovers of classic film, and of films in general, with pristine prints of the movie available via Criterion’s excellent 2014 Blu-ray release and a recent 2022 4K disc from Columbia, wisely offering one of its cinematic Crown Jewels in the best viewing format possible. Romantic comedies may come and go, but the experience of journeying along with Gable and Colbert as they find adventure and love on the road has never become stale for several generations of movie-goers, and it’s safe to state It Happened One Night will continue to enchant future viewers in the same irresistible manner.

             I just completed a tribute to Clark Gable featuring his work in It Happened One Night and many other of his top films. The video can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/Kc4Qlh2b0HQ