With the benefit of hindsight, It Happened One Night seems as if it were always destined for greatness. Any romantic comedy made today must be envious of its collection of A-list talent; director Frank Capra, screenwriter Robert Riskin, lead actor Clark Gable, lead actress Claudette Colbert all won Oscars for their work, and the film also earned Best Picture. At the time it was made, though, Columbia Studios was on poverty row, struggling to make B-pictures at best. Perhaps some of that professional angst, as well as the struggling nation’s class resentments, became fuel for Capra’s creative fire. Somehow, this humble little love story, about a savvy reporter and pampered heiress who share a bus trip, stumbled upon the formula for the beloved screwball comedy sub-genre. As is often the case, the original template avoids the flaws of its later imitations. The witty motor-mouth dialogue and the farcical situations never become so ridiculous as to detract from the storytelling core. In public, circumstances force them to play the part of husband and wife; in private, they go to great lengths to conceal their affection from one another. The sustained romantic tension between the two leads always takes place behind a curtain (and in a few inspired scenes, a literal one).
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