Movie 9 - "It Happened One Night"

Day 12 of no soda - down.  Day 2 of 2 at dentist - down.  To commemmorate, I chose another Clark Gable flick.  This is a 1934 Frank Capra movie that won all five of the big Oscars: director, actor, actress, picture, and writing.  Not bad for a movie that everyone thought was going to be awful!  Claudette Colbert, who plays Ellie, did not even want to make it.  I heard she said after shooting that the movie was the worst she had ever made.  Gable plays Peter, Walter Connolly plays Mr. Andrews, Ellie's father, and Jameson Thomas plays King Westley.  That's right...King.

Ellie is a spoiled society brat running away from her father to be with her husband, King Westley.  The name should have been the first clue here.  But anyway.  She sneaks her way onto a bus hiding her real identity where she meets Peter.  They don't exactly get along at first.  He is a newspaper man, and quickly figures out who Ellie really is.  He makes a deal with her.  He will help her get to King as long as he gets the story.  And so begins their eventful road trip.  They miss busses, get found out, bags stolen, fist fights, pretend to be married, hitchhike, and bicker constantly.  By the last leg of the trip, you can feel Ellie's doubts about King and that she and Peter have feelings for each other.  The feelings come flying out the last night together.  After some bad timing and a misunderstanding, the two part ways.  Ellie goes to New York to "marry" King in a real ceremony.  Peter, dejected, begins to feel extremely bitter.  Ellie's father actually figures out that Ellie's heart may not be in the whole wedding.  He actually is a bog ole teddy bear.  How can Ellie get Peter this late in the game when she thinks he despises her?

This movie has got some hilarious lines!  The whole hitchhiking scene is great!  Gable showing the three best thumbs to use to get someone to stop for you is just about perfect!  Even when Gable is picking Colbert's teeth with a pen knife!  You see right then how easy it really is for them.  From what i understand, this movie was made in weeks, it was cheap, people compained the whole time, and still it was the first movie to ever win the Big Five!  That is a true classic.  No need for fancy sets and effects people.  Just Gable and some good writing!