Hooray! We finally watched another movie on the list. Unfortunately, however, this one comes out of order. It turns out Netflix decided to alert us that the DVD was unavailable when it was time to ship. Perhaps by now the DVD will be back in and they can send it to us. If not, I think Madison has found the DVD at a local library so we can borrow it from there. We did not intend to ever go out of order, but we figured for the sake of progress after procrastinating for two months, we should just go ahead.
So, on Friday night, after a delicious smorgasbord of homemade tuna and salmon nigiri, we sat down with a bottle of chardonnay to watch It Happened One Night. The movie carried with it much promise. A little rudimentary research about it on Google revealed that it is referred to as one of the greatest romantic comedies ever. Wikipedia also revealed some other interesting information, including that this was one of the last films shot before the 1930 production code of censorship and the like went into effect.
Immediately we noticed a difference between this movie and ones previous – an ornate DVD label, a visually appealing DVD menu, and clear picture. Clearly, this movie has been digitally remastered to some extent. This would clearly make watching it a little easier on the eyes. On a side note, we really enjoyed a DVD menu without an endless loop of background music. Silence during the menu is something I wish we saw more of – its nice to have quiet when the movie is over, especially if you are not nearby to the remote to shut the television off.
So, the film began, and immediately I was captivated. Clark Gable would be fun to watch, and although we were not familiar with the works of Claudette Colbert, we assumed that she would be awesome as well. As a quick summary of the movie, Colbert plays a socialite running away from home in Florida to marry some d-bag that her controlling father doesn’t like. Gable is a rogue journalist who happens to be on the same bus to New York. He plans to use her as a story in the paper, but just as quickly as you may expect, they start to fall for each other.
The movie was excellent. After it was over, Madison and I discussed at length the movie. One conclusion that we both made, was that this was the first movie that really felt like a movie that we may see on TV today. The character interaction was seamless and natural. There did not appear to be awkward pauses in the dialog – it seemed as though the interaction the characters were having was genuine and not contrived and forced as previous movies had seemed. The characters were also more believable as real people.
The character development was also excellent. Gable and Colbert’s characters grew together throughout the movie. You saw Colbert soften up from the self-confident, almost arrogant reporter he started out as, and Colbert mature from a runaway girl angry at her father to an intelligent young woman.
I was captivated from the beginning of the movie, and enjoyed the entire thing. Gable’s character, Peter Warne, was very likeable and hilarious. This was the first movie where the humor, mostly Gable’s, was something that I laughed at because it was funny. We had laughed in previous movies, but mostly because the jokes were corny and contrived. From the aspiring opera singer and thief that picks them up on the side of the road, to the angry bus driver, to the annoying guy whom Gable tries to present himself as a mobster to, the array of characters they meet along their journey is equally amusing.
If we had been rating these movies as we went along, I suppose this one would be rated as one of the best. I suppose we should be doing something to rate the movies, to make this blog somewhat more useful. I guess that is something we can discuss while we arrange to watch the next movie. Given our busy schedules, I don’t know when that will be, but I will be looking forward to it.
In the meantime, if you are looking for a good romantic comedy to watch, pick up this DVD. It is well worth it.