Holy Jumpin' Catfish! - A Post About "It Happened One Night"

I actually have a brand new obsession. I predict that I am going to become uncontrollably obsessed with It Happened One Night after I watched it this evening. At the weekend we ordered three brand new Frank Capra films, It Happened One Night (1934), Mr. Deeds Goes To Town (1936) and Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939). As you can imagine, I was all jumping up and down when they arrived, but I had to wait until today as I am now completely almost homework-less. I decided to start off with It Happened One Night. I adore Clark Gable and I think my little sister looks like Claudette Colbert. What could possibly go wrong? NOTHING, I TELL YOU!!!!! NOTHING!!!!!

It Happened One Night (1934)

Cast (Director, Frank Capra):

• Clark Gable as Peter Warne
• Claudette Colbert as Ellie Andrews
• Walter Connolly as Alexander Andrews
• Roscoe Karns as Oscar Shapeley, an annoying bus passenger who tries to pick up Ellie
• Jameson Thomas as "King" Westley

Plot:

Rich daughter of wall street journalist Alexander Andrews, Ellie, has married fortune hunter, "King" Westly against her father's wishes. Before the marriage can be properly made official, Ellie is stolen away by her father and put on his boat with her. He threatens to annul the "Non-Existent" marriage, but Ellie has other ideas, and jumps off the boat and swims away from sight. Planning to run away on a night bus, hoping no one will recognize her and notify the police (who are now scouring America for her), Ellie bumps into wisecracking tough-edged newspaperman Peter Warne.

After an initially frosty start, they get to know each other and Peter ends up blackmailing her into letting him write a story about her stay away from home.

Blanket drawn...

At first she isn't crazy about the idea, but when her journey gets tough, Peter helps her along the way and she starts to fall for him (Sorry to interrupt the plot summary, but how could you not?) in secret.

Stranded and starving (and sleeping on hay) Peter gets some raw carrots for them to eat, but she refuses to eat them unless they are cooked.

She's like, "Really?"

Peter decides that there is no choice but to hitchhike. He tells her that there are three basic types of hitchhiking.

One: The independent *Short, quick, thumb up, backwards gesture*, The Smile (or something, I can't remember :-S) *Cheesy grin, backwards gesture with thumb up, shaking hand while moving it*, The Desperate one *Long sweeping gesture with hand, thumbs up, melancholy face*. None of them work. Suddenly, a long line of speeding cars drive past and he has to do them all in quick succession with no success. Exhausted, Peter dares Ellie to do any better. She goes up to the road and simply raises her skirt just above the knee.

A car immediately pulls up. After a series of unfortunate events, they settle in a hotel for the night. Ellie tells Peter that she loves him, but he seems to have no reaction, and because they insist on having a blanket drawn to separate the two halves of the room, Ellie doesn't see Peter leave the room.

Blanket still drawn.

She gives herself up to the police and is escorted home. It turns out, however, that Peter was going to collect some money from his newspaper firm so he can propose to Ellie. She gets engaged to her old beaux again, but just before the wedding, she tells her Father that she is still in love with Peter Warne, the man she met while she was on the road. Funnily enough, Peter has asked Ellie's father if he can repay him for the costs of looking after Ellie. While Peter is with him, Alexander asks Peter if he still loves Ellie. Peter says yes, and the next day, as Ellie is walking down the aisle, her father tells her that she is making a great mistake and that Peter still loves her. She runs away and she and Peter are together at last.

Yay!!! *Happy dance* :-)

Review

Frank Capra, Claudette Colbert, Clark Gable

This has to be one of the best romantic comedies ever made. Not only is Frank Capra a spectacular director, but Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable is one of the best screen pairings ever! The plot reminds me a little of Roman Holiday if Audrey Hepburn knew that the man was actually a newspaperman. I have to start using Clark Gable's OMG phrase, "Holy jumpin' catfish!". When Clark and Claudette are on the hay in that forest...

HOLY JUMPIN' CATFISH!!! AWESOMENESS COUPLE-ONIFIED *HYPERVENTILATES*!!!! I CAN'T EVEN...

This film is just amazing, and I will never look at a raw carrot in the same way again. Nor will I ever get over Clark Gable in this film... Watching all these amazing people in films (as well as my own awesome family who watch them with me) are setting my standards of people communication ridiculously high. It can't be good for me.

If you'll excuse me, I intend to read Bette Davis' autobiography until the small hours of the morning go to sleep.

~Bette

It Happened One Night (1934)

It Happened One Night (1934) screwball comedy directed by Frank Capra. Cast: Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert.


Spoiled heiress Ellie Andrews, runs away from her millionaire father Alexander's yacht, when he takes her against her will after he learns she eloped with King Westley, a playboy pilot whom Andrews believes to be a gold digger. She jumps on the first bus headed for New York where she meets Peter Warne, a reporter who just lost his job. Ellie's suitcase is stolen and Peter, tries to catch the thief. Ellie misses the bus after getting off for a minute to freshen up, when she returns, she finds Peter standing there waiting to show her a newspaper article about her missing. To save money Peter and Ellie spend the night in a run down cabin where they pretend to be married . Peter blackmails her into giving him her story, and that if she does not cooperate, he will call her father. Peter strings a rope between their beds and hangs up a blanket, which he calls "The Walls of Jericho." The next morning, when the wake up they hear her father's detectives searching the other cabins. My favorite part of the movie is when they trick the detectives by putting on an hilarious act of a quarreling married couple. Soon Peter and Ellie are back on the bus. they soon learn, Andrews has offered a $10,000 reward for any information on his daughter. Oscar Shapeley, a shady looking passenger on the bus, also reads about the reward and recognizes Ellie. He then offers to split the reward with Peter, but changes his mind and threatens to go to Ellie's father himself. Peter comes up with a plan to convince Shapeley that he is a gangster who has kidnapped Ellie, which scares Oscar and he quickly runs off. Worried that Shapeley has gone to the police. Peter and Ellie leave the bus on a hilarious adventure back home....
Will Peter get his job back?
Will Ellie reunite with her new husband ?

FUN FACT:
Friz Freleng's said that this was one of his favorite films, and that it had at least three things which the "Bugs Bunny" character was based. The way Peter Warne (Clark Gable) was eating carrots and talking quickly. An imaginary character mentioned to frighten Oscar Shapely named "Bugs Dooley." Other mentions of "Looney Tunes" characters in the film Alexander Andrews (Walter Connolly) and King Westley (Jameson Thomas) being the inspirations for Yosemite Sam and Pepé LePew.