It Happned One Night (1934)

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

Compared to what we went over in class "It Happened One Night" was everything I had expected and more.  It had everything from the witty comedy that was forced onto the big screen by the various censorship groups, to romantic game of cat and mouse. The roles of men and women have changed drastically from the previous clips/films we have viewed in class. From the first ten minutes of the movie we as the viewers would know how it ends, the two fall in love and live happily ever after, but the road in which Riskin and Adams follow is what made this movie great it kept the viewer wondering what would happen next up until the credits. 

2)  Find a related article and summarize the content.  (on the film, director, studio, actor/actress, artistic content, etc.) You can use the library or the internet.  Cite the article or copy the url to your journal entry. Summarize in your own words the related article but do not plagiarize any content.
http://www.examiner.com/article/classic-films-focus-it-happened-one-night-1934
   

It happened one night is not the average Academy Award winning film. In most cases a comedy is not even considered but in this case it seemed like the only film considered as it won 5 awards. For the time it was a funny, sexy, and romantic film for the ages. The energy throughout the film makes it seem like your watching two people actually fall in love right in-front of your eyes. The two stars find themselves in an ongoing battle of love and eventually they both surrender.  Gable and Colbert set the bar for all slapstick and romantic comedies not only for the time period but even films today, which is why anyone who loves film needed to see this classic.

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 just confirmed everything I had thought about the movie and made it that much better. I had not know that "It Happened One Night" won five Academy Awards or that it is very rare for a comedy to achieve this feat. The article also gave the reader a look into what was going on in the lives of Gable and Colbert such as Gable changing the fashion on men wearing undershirts. Overall the article gave me a greater understanding of the film in general. 

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 the film had sparked my attention for the entire duration.  This was the first full length film of it's era that i have ever seen and i feel it was a great place to start.  The combination of Gable and Colbert seemed perfect, it seemed like the connection between the two of the was real. The back and forth jokes and mild flirting was so lifelike. It was like something you would expect from your own grandparents.  With just under 10 years separating "It Happened One Night" from "Gold Rush" it is remarkable how far the industry had come with the implementation of sound and censorship. Obviously the two films were very different types of films, you can really see how sound and censorship molded the role of men and women into a realistic point of view. Women were no longer just barmaids they were confident and self-reliant women.