MovieChat Forums > It Happened One Night (1934) Discussion > Robert Riskin the real genius

Robert Riskin the real genius

posted 7 years ago by touser2004
1 reply | jump to latest

Wondering if maybe he is the hidden genius behind this masterpiece.The original script was supposed to be terrible but the screenplay won an Oscar.
It is only after watching it several times did I appreciate how well the lines were written .Of course not everything was perfect but some scenes were special.The scene in the chalet where Gable divulges that he belongs to the press is so skilled.He allows Gable to explain ,how he intends to turn her over to papa if she decides to get tough .It allows Colbert to show her concern and frustration at being caught by a reporter but mainly through her eyes and body language -when she finally goes to her side of the wall of Jericho she is fuming but her character doesn't need to say anything.Colberts lines in the hitchhiking scene are beautifully delivered but is that largely down to the .writing.
I read Riskin and Capra fell out after Riskin showed him 120 sheets of blank paper and said "add the Capra magic to that".
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[–] TheHungryHippo (821) 5 years ago

The scene where Gable and Colbert pretend to be fighting when the detectives walk in their room was hilarious. Very well acted. I wouldn’t say everything was perfect, I think there should have been a scene where Colbert found Gable after she ran away fro, her wedding and they declare their love for each other (or whatever) and there is a very noticeable goof at the first hotel, Colbert starts to walk over to her bed but the scene quickly cuts back to her against the wall where she was originally. Despite that still overall it is a really funny movie.