It Happened One Night

1.     In class we talked about the new use of sound in films, which led to dialogue being useful in films. With that, the 1930's brought us the rise of screwball comedies to the screen. These films came around during the time where the Production Code, the Hays office, the MPPDA and the MPAA came into Hollywood. These associations were to help guide the film industry with copyrighting and ratings. A screwball comedy would basically characterize a female that would dominate the relationship with the male main character, whose masculinity is challenged throughout the film and shows off the bumbling differences and similarities between the two main characters. It Happened One Night is a perfect example of a screwball comedy. Some say that the film was the first major screwball comedy.

2.   The article I chose was on the before and after of the making of It Happened One Night. It describes the filming of the film and its aftermath. The Columbia Pictures studio was known as "poverty row", due to it being known for making cheap, B-movies. The article also showcased the troubles that dealt with lead actress Claudette Colbert. Before being casted, other major actresses were considered for the role. She was hard to deal with, as she objected to many of the film's best scenes. The famous "Walls of Jericho" scene was created by director Frank Capra, because Colbert's refusal to be seen taking her clothes off on screen. She also refused to show her upper leg in the infamous hitchhiking scene. Her experience making the film made her remark, "I've just finished the worst picture in the world!" I guess she didn't expect the success the film would have later on.

http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/12648/It-Happened-One-Night/articles.html

3.     I would take a guess in saying that she felt uncomfortable taking off her clothes because she felt like that she was bigger than that. Maybe being an actress means that you can do anything and tell people what to do and how to do it. I don't think that is what being an actress is. Being an actress represents yourself as being a part of the film industry and to be respected, you have to earn it. Maybe the idea of being a star got into her head and it spread farther than she or anyone would have thought of.

4.     I have never been a fan of black and white films. It's rare that I would watch one, but I could see myself starting to watch some. Watching It Happened One Night made me reconsider my views towards black and white films. I could see where many romantic comedies today got their inspiration from with It Happened One Night.

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM

1) ( x ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class.

2) ( x ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper.

3) ( x ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text.

4) ( x ) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper.

5) ( x ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.

6) ( x ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography.

7) ( x ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality.

8) ( x ) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.

Name: Brian Meyers  Date: 2/25/13