MovieChat Forums > It Happened One Night (1934) Discussion > NOT a 'Screwball Comedy'

NOT a 'Screwball Comedy'

posted 11 years ago by nycruise-1
15 replies | jump to latest

I understand why this film is cited as being the origin of the popular "screwball comedies" of the 1930s.

HOWEVER, if you watch this movie and compare it to the later genuinely "screwball" comedies like "You Can't Take It With You" and "Bringing Up Baby", IHON does NOT have outrageous lunatic characters and rapid-fire dialogue like those later films.

One thing I always noticed about the "screwball comedies" is that the stars in them like Cary Gran and Katherine Hepburn KNOW they are in a wacko-fest, and therefore push their behavior accordingly: over-reacting, physically contorting and mugging for the camera.

In IHON, on the other hand, Gable and Colbert - most likely because both stars were not fond of the script and simply wanted to complete filming asap - play their parts very straightforwardly, without exaggeration.

THAT is one reason this movie works so brilliantly: the circumstances are pretty much over the top, but the characters are all believable and earnest in their performances.

Oh it's definitely a "comedy" - and the story is outrageous to a degree - but there are no "antics" or horseplay that mark the later "screwball comedies."

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[–] snelling 11 years ago

It is always defined as the very first screwball comedy. You might want to re-think your diatribe. Did they really hate the script? If so, why did they decide to do it? Were they forced to because of studio contracts? I would appreciate a constructive link to back up your arguments. Thanks.

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[–] firkle 10 years ago

Snelling,
Your short little paragraph sounds more like a diatribe than the OP. The OP clearly enjoyed the movie, they are just questioning the label of the movie as a "screwball comedy". They said, "...this movie works so brilliantly"..."the characters are all believable and earnest in their performances." What's wrong with that?
I thought the OP made some very good points (and I certainly wouldn't call it a "diatribe.")

[–] snelling 10 years ago

I just wanted to know where he got his "facts" because I never heard that they didn't want to make this film. He started a dialogue and I contributed. Notice he did not reply.

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[–] Mmmavis 10 years ago

It is well documented in numerous books about classic Hollywood that neither Colbert nor Gable wanted to make this film. They were shocked when it won all five Oscars---no film had ever done that before.

Colbert had made a film with Capra previously that was a total bomb, and she didn't want to repeat the experience. She only accepted the role when they doubled her salary and promised it would only take 4 weeks so she wouldn't have to reschedule her vacation.
http://www.britannica.com/oscar/article-9397448

Gable was the biggest star in Hollywood at the time, and he resented being lent out to Columbia Studios, which was nicknamed 'poverty row' because it was the cheapest, poorest studio in town. He was being punished for refusing film roles he didn't like. He eventually became friends with Capra, though, and enjoyed making the film.
http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/18744|0/It-Happened-One-Night.ht ml

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[–] Bale-Pearce-Oldman 10 years ago

Yehey! Everything went better as expected.

Especially with Gable and being loaned in Columbia.

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[–] snelling 10 years ago

Everything went better than expected.

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[–] AliceInWonderland4ever 10 years ago

perhaps as the first screwball comedy, like with other things, not all the elements are there yet to make a "perfect" screwball comedy.

[–] snelling 10 years ago

I finally read all the trivia listed here about this film and I see where it comes from now. I guess it must be true if it's on IMDb and no one has contested it yet.

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[–] rochelle-rochelle 10 years ago

I always find it amazing when the cast aren't shy about their hate for the film and predict it'll be a disaster, like what happened in this film and even in Jaws. Then it turns out the film is a hit and wins all the awards. I think the reason this film didn't have the screwball quick banter back and forth like we saw in similar movies after this was because this was the first film of its kind. The leads didn't seem to appreciate this film or may not have seen it as a "screwball" kind of comedy or satire. Who knows. I wonder if the movie would have been as good as it was if they did bring more zany and wacko acting tricks and facial expressions to the scenes. We'll never know, because they way they did it definitely worked.

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[–] lubin-freddy 10 years ago

The very term "screwball comedy" was more of a Hollywood marketing ploy than a genre. Most of the so-called "screwballs", including It Happened One Night, are really a kind of romantic comedy.

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[–] PillowRock 9 years ago

The very term "screwball comedy" was more of a Hollywood marketing ploy than a genre. Most of the so-called "screwballs", including It Happened One Night, are really a kind of romantic comedy.

It seems to me that your objection relies on an underlying assumption the collection of movie genres should be mutually exclusive pigeon holes. I don't see any reason to think that various genres shouldn't have quite a bit of overlap; or, in some cases, have one be entirely a subset of another.

For example, all "heist movies" and "murder mysteries" are also part of the larger "crime movie" genre but that doesn't mean that the more specific subset designation doesn't have some usefulness. The same thing applies to "screwball" with respect to "romantic comedy".

I would also argue that if a set of movies is designated a "genre" or "movement" after the fact by critics and film historians (rather than by marketing departments as part of their advertising), then by definition it is not a "marketing ploy".

[–] lubin-freddy 9 years ago

It seems to me that your objection relies on an underlying assumption the collection of movie genres should be mutually exclusive pigeon holes. I don't see any reason to think that various genres shouldn't have quite a bit of overlap; or, in some cases, have one be entirely a subset of another.

I have no "objection", just making a point.

The only reason to even talk about "genre" is how it aids us in understanding individual and groups of works of art, be it film or other. Boundaries can be narrow or wide, and either is no more "true" than the other, but how we define them shapes the discussion.

I have no problem with the term "screwball comedy", and I use it myself.

Genres, their terms and definitions, come about in different ways. "Film noir" was an invention of French film critics, and is used in all sorts of ways, often, in my opinion, too widely. Other genres are clear, such as the western, thought there's often arguments about that too, as on the The Treasure of the Sierra Madre board.

Hollywood studios would often use genre terminology when planning their yearly production program, such as the term "woman's film", or "weepie". The term "screwball" was used by marketing departments of the studios, in selling certain films.

So while I have no problem with using the term "SCREWBALL COMEDY" for It Happened One Night, when discussing the film within an historical context, the term "romantic comedy" might be more useful when discussing the generic qualities of the film within a larger time-span, and comparing it to films such as When Harry Met Sally, and Enchanted.

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[–] snelling 8 years ago

So this one was the first, but they did not know it at the time.

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[–] masuka-fan 9 years ago

I think it really only applies to the early part of the film.

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[–] touser2004 7 years ago

Not a Srewball Comedy but maybe the first romantic comedy.The only two screwball type scenes are in the chalet -where they argue like man and wife and the hitchhiking scene.