DailyView: Day 365, Movie 520

Well, here it is. Day 365. The EYG Daily View is completed with the final day of the binge. The first film of the final day is an Oscar winner from 1934 starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert, It Happened One Night.

The Frank Capra classic was on the DailyView list from day one, but it was one that I just never got around to watching. However, it felt like the properly huge film to help wrap up this year-long journey.

According to Rotten Tomatoes: “In Frank Capra’s acclaimed romantic comedy, spoiled heiress Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert) impetuously marries the scheming King Westley, leading her tycoon father (Walter Connolly) to spirit her away on his yacht. After jumping ship, Ellie falls in with cynical newspaper reporter Peter Warne (Clark Gable), who offers to help her reunite with her new husband in exchange for an exclusive story. But during their travels, the reporter finds himself falling for the feisty young heiress.”

It Happened One Night shines because of the charm and skills of its lead actors, Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. Their chemistry and connection is undeniable. While some of the ways that Gable spoke to Colbert may be out of fashion, most of the dialogue was crisp and sharp.

The story is simple. The path along the way on the road to New York is fun. The performances are solid. There is a good feeling to the whole film.

It Happened One Night is considered by many to be on the list of greatest films of all time. While that might be a bit exaggerated, there is no denying how wonderful the parts of this film come together. You can see several things that happen in this movie that are used in other shows and films. “The Walls of Jericho” idea was used on General Hospital with Luke and Laura when they first were getting together. There were other moments that were used again, all because of the success they had here.

It was a great film.