It Happened One Night
Joe Katulak
1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the
screening.
Not only was “It Happened One Night” entertaining but it is
a great historical representation of how the 1930’s were. The film touched on
many of the social norms and how society behaved back in the 1930s. The film is
classified as a screwball comedy, yet it still has a well-structured story line
that plays off of society from the 1930s. We can tell from early on in the film
that Ellie is a young but very wealthy woman with a very powerful father. As
the film progresses we can see how Ellie often tries to use her money or good
looks to her advantage but she quickly finds out from Peter, a lower class
journalist that money can’t do anything for you. For example when Ellie leaves
the bus in the morning to go get breakfast, she assumes that the bus driver was
going to wait for her just because she asked him to. Throughout the rest of the
film we see how Ellie portrays herself as a strong powerful woman, yet she
still finds herself learning a great deal from Peter. This is similar to how
society was in the 1930s. Often times lower class citizens would find
themselves helping or imparting knowledge on upper class people because of the
variety of life experiences they would have most likely been through that the
upper would have not. This is exactly what happens in the case of Peter and
Ellie; without Peter guiding Ellie back to King Westley, Ellie would have most
likely got herself lost or found by her father.
2) Find a related article (on the film, director, studio,
actor/actress, artistic content, etc.) and summarize the content. You may use
the library or the internet.
The article, “Looking Back at ‘It Happened One Night’” by Michał Oleszczyk dives
deep into what makes the film so great. The article summarizes the movie
throughout however, it does a very good job of describing critical points in
the movie throughout the summary. The article briefly discusses how there are
so many important pieces that were needed to make this movie as spectacular as
it is. Starting with the writing, the screenplay, which was adapted from a
short story really creates the characters and gives the director and actors and
terrific story architecture to play off of. Pair the screenplay up with the two
main characters played by Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert and the movie
really becomes something special. Oleszczyk also praises the dialogue between
the two main characters and the way they play off of each other in every scene,
such as the mock argument they have in front of the detectives as well as the
hitch hiking scene. At the end of the article Oleszczyk comments on the
cinematography and how it is “gritty and gauzy” and does a good job of
capturing details as well as the wider establishing shots. Overall the article “Looking
Back at ‘It Happened One Night’” did a good job of summarizing the movie and
more importantly pointing out why the film is so great and can stand the test
of time.
3) Apply the article to the film screened in class. How did
the article support or change the way you thought about the film, director,
content, etc.?
The article “Looking Back at ‘It Happened One Night’” really
supported the way I thought about the film after first watching it. Two of the
most important parts of a romantic comedy are the two main characters and the
dialogue/script. The author of the article really accentuated how important and
beautiful the interactions were between Peter and Ellie and that was something
that I noticed from early on in the film. From even the beginning of the movie,
the audience can sense the chemistry that is going on between Peter and Ellie.
What is so amazing about the chemistry between Peter and Ellie is not only how
much they grow together on the screen, but the different situations and
circumstances they are in that allow them to grow together so quickly. The
article applauded at the cinematography of the film. I agree that the
cinematographer did an excellent job of being able to portray the emotions from
Peter and Ellie whether it is from the variety of camera angle or the proper
lighting to give the right mood. In summary the article “Looking Back at ‘It
Happened One Night’” was a good refresher of the story and gave me more insight
to why the film is so great.
4) Write a critical analysis of the film, including your
personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text
material and the article. I am less interested in whether you liked or disliked
a film, (although that can be part of this) than I am in your understanding of
its place in film history or the contributions of the director.
Overall I really enjoyed the film “It Happened One Night”.
Even though it is still an early film and one of the first major films with
sound, when watching it, the film did not feel much different than a romantic
comedy from today. Everything from the directing, the writing, the acting, and
the editing, easily makes this one of the best romantic comedies/ screwball
comedies of all time. The way Peter and Ellie grow together and build chemistry
throughout the film is exactly what you want to see in a romantic comedy. From
what I noticed, the writing most importantly helps to shape the characters throughout
the entire movie. The way Ellie and Peter interact with each other on the
screen through their actions also plays a big role on how the story plays out.
We are able to sense right away that Ellie is a rich, stuck up girl that is
used to having everything her way, however, Peter realizes this as well, which is
one of the reasons that he looks out for her. And because Peter and Ellie are
coming from two different background (Peter a journalist), they both have so much
to offer and learn from each other. One example of this could be when Peter was
attempting to hitch hike. Peter thinks he knows how to hitch hike and how to
get someone to stop for him, but he quickly finds out that Ellie’s way (showing
some leg) works much quicker. The characters most importantly make you feel for
them. At the end of the movie when we see Ellie about to marry King Westley,
everyone in the audience is hoping for her to run away again, or for Peter to
come and break up the wedding. The wedding does eventually get broken off, and
even though the ending may have been somewhat predictable, I don’t think it
takes anything away from the story itself. “It Happened One Night” is a great film and
will be looked at as one of the best romantic/screwball comedies for many
generations to come. From the witty banter between Peter and Ellie, and well-designed
shots, “It Happened One Night” rightfully deserves its place in history.
CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM 1) ( ) I have not handed in this
assignment for any other class. 2) ( ) If I reused any information from other papers
I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper. 3) ( )
If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or
used indentation and citation within the text. 4) () I have not padded the
bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of
the paper. 5) ( ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.
6) ( ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated
in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography. 7)
( ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation
or originality. 8) ( ) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully
transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.
Name: __Joe Katulak_________________ Date: __10/1/14________________
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