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"Remember
me? I'm the man you slept on last night."
It Happened
One Night is the film that put Columbia Pictures on the map
(until this picture the studio had been known as "Columbia
the germ of the ocean"), and coincidentally was the first
movie to win all five top Academy Awards (Picture, Actor,
Actress, Director and Screenplay). It's a glorious film that
hasn't tarnished one bit in the sixty-plus years that have
gone by since it was first released. It Happened One Night
is considered a "screwball comedy," although it's really much
more than that. The characters don't exist in this movie simply
to be funny, they seem real, and the acting is so seamless
and believable that the film is elevated beyond a simply comedy
(although that would've been enough).
It Happened
One Night is the story of Ellie Andrews (Claudet Colbert),
whose father wants to stop her from marrying a man he considers
a worthless phony. In defiance, Ellie flees her father (by
jumping off his yacht, anchored off Miami) and sets off on
a bus trip to New York City to join her husband-to-be. On
the bus, she meets a down-and-out reporter named Peter Warne
(Clark Gable), who quickly recognizes her, and seizes the
opportunity both to help her to her goal, and get a story
that will get his newspaper job back. All the while an escalating
manhunt for the errant heiress is being waged by her father.
Of course, Ellie and Peter fall in love.
In less
capable hands this probably would've been pretty standard
mush, but with Frank Capra in the director's chair, and two
stars with the talent of Gable and Colbert who make their
roles multi-dimensional, the story and characters are more
than fluff. It was considered very, very racy in its time
(particularly the now famous "walls of Jericho" scene), and
is still pretty damned sexy. And it even set some trends:
when Clark Gable took off his shirt in the aforementioned
scene and was not wearing an undershirt, sales of undershirts
plummeted). It Happened One Night is a timeless movie, well
deserving of it's place as a classic. What else can you say
about a movie in which the father of the bride provides a
getaway car just in case the bride wants to bolt the wedding?
Video: How Does The Disc Look?
The picture
is beautiful. Though made in 1934, it appears that Columbia
has taken better care of their property than some studios
I could mention (particularly one that was never called a
germ, but could have been associated with hunting). Sure there's
some blips, but nowhere near what you'd expect in a movie
of this age. The print is for the most part pretty pristine.
Black level, contrast, and shadow detail are all very good
(keeping in mind that a great deal of the film takes place
at night). A great deal of the movie was shot on location,
and a very few, very brief outdoor shots are noticeably poorer
quality than the bulk of the film. But overall, the picture
is excellent.
Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?
The sound
is in Dolby Digital 2.0 channel mono. The dialogue is perfectly
clear throughout. There is only music briefly in three spots,
and it was also clear but a little harsh due to the age of
the film. There is also a Dolby Digital 2.0 mono Spanish language
track.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There? Film
length Audio Commentary with Frank Capra, Jr.: the director's
son shares a wealth of "backstage"-type information about
the film, the difficulty doing it, and the stars. There are
some very interesting reminiscences, and a lot of them are
quite funny. One thing: there are lengthy gaps in the commentary
during which you hear the film soundtrack. Some of the information
was really startling. We learn, for example, that Louis B.
Mayer loaned Gable to Columbia, the cinematic equivalent of
being sent to Siberia, to do this picture as a punishment
for refusing to do a movie Mayer had chosen for him (the joke
was on Mayer!)
Frank Capra, Jr., Remembers "It Happened One Night":
This is a rather brief interview with the director's son.
It was nice to see him but it was really unnecessary, since
all of the information here is covered in the commentary.
Brief bios and filmographies for Capra, Gable, and Colbert.
Next up
is a
Vintage Advertising step-through style collection of
lobby cards and poster art, as well as
The Lux Radio Theater production of It Happened One
Night featuring the film's stars. This is the full length
show (one hour) production of the story produced during the
glory days of radio. As with Criterion's disc of The
39 Steps, the inclusion of the radio version is a wonderful
and very entertaining surprise.
Finally,
included are the original theatrical trailers for It
Happened One Night, as well as two other Capra films, Mr.
Smith Goes To Washington and Lost Horizon.
Parting Thoughts
This is
one of the great films, folks. The disc is beautifully done,
chocked with extras at a bargain price. Don't miss it.
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