Great Scene: “It Happened One Night”

A classic scene from the 1934 comedy which is one of three movies to win all the Big Five Oscars: Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Screenplay.

The 1934 movie It Happened One Night, screen play by Robert Riskin. IMDb plot summary: A spoiled heiress, running away from her family, is helped by a man who’s actually a reporter looking for a story.

Peter Warne (Clark Gable) attempts to school Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert) on the fine art of hitchhiking.

Some background:

• When director Frank Capra asked Claudette Colbert to expose her leg for the hitchhiking scene, she at first refused. Later, after having seen the leg of her body double, she changed her mind insisting that “that is not my leg!”
• Claudette Colbert complained nearly every day during the making of the film. On the last day of shooting, she told a friend “I just finished making the worst picture I’ve ever made”.

This scene unfolds beautifully:

Beginning: Life on the road including Ellie struggling to walk in her shoes, Peter plucking a piece of hay (from the night before) from Ellie’s teeth, and Peter’s discourse on the virtue of raw carrots (they have no money for food).

Middle: Peter’s philosophy and technique on getting a ride using his thumb and body language… which fails miserably.

End: Ellie gives it a shot using her leg to stop the approaching car.

The scene is noteworthy for many reasons. Here are three. First, it represents a switch in the dynamic between the two whereby Ellie helps solve their problem, not Peter. Second, there is a sexual subtext in Ellie showing her leg. And third, the fact she would do that suggests how far she has come in loosening up.

By the way, the carrot bit of business is a setup for a later payoff. Here Ellie can’t imagine eating a raw carrot. Later she does, again a sign of her transformation. And you do know this scene was the inspiration for the animated character Bugs Bunny?

How about you?

What’s your take on this scene? Why does it work so well? What takeaways are there for us?

To read all of the entries in the Great Scene archive, go here.