7. It Happened One Night (1934)

It Happened One Night
Movie Poster

Ahhh - Romantic Comedy. How I love you. This is the Grandaddy of them all. It Happened One Night was so enjoyable. For one thing, I'd had six days of drama and tears and real life. I needed a lighthearted comedy. Here was a great example that stands up to today's standards.

I had only experienced Clark Gable in Gone With the Wind. While I loved his rakish attitude in that movie, I honestly didn't get what all the furor was over him - why Judy Garland sang lovingly to his picture, "You made me love you." However, after this movie I think I get it. His comic timing was great. He and Claudette Colbert had chemistry and worked so well together to make this movie really work. 

SPOILERS AHEAD

Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert in It Happened One Night

The movie starts with a wealthy girl named Ellie runs away from her father. She had married someone who he disapproved of, and he had her locked up on a yacht while he got an annulment through. She escapes by jumping off the yacht and swimming away. 

Penniless, she hocks her watch to get new clothes. She then gets on a bus to head to her husband in New York City. Her father sends detectives and more after her. Peter Warne, played by Gable, is a down-on-his-luck newspaper reporter who soon discovers who she really is. He agrees to help her if he can get an exclusive on her trip to New York. Hijinks ensue. They pretend to be married and spend a night in a hotel room divided by a bedspread. I absolutely loved the part where Gable started singing "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf" - classic!

The next day, they get on the bus. One of the men on the bus sees a newspaper article offering a reward of $10,000 for anyone who finds Ellie. He realizes that she is on the bus and decides to approach Peter about splitting the profits. Peter pretends he's part of a kidnapping ring and scares the man into keeping the story quiet.

They decide to leave the bus behind in case others get the idea to turn her in. They end up hitchhiking in one of the funniest scenes of the movie. Ellen proves that 'the limb is mightier than the thumb'.

They end up at another hotel. After a conversation about marriage, Ellen tells Peter she loves him. He's not sure at first how to respond. Once she's asleep he runs off to sell his exclusive story to the newspaper about Ellen and him for $1000. In the meantime, Ellen thinks he's left her and goes ahead and calls her father. Peter drives past her, her father, and her husband on the way back to propose to her.

On the day of the 'official' wedding, Peter has requested to meet with Ellen's father to settle up financial matters. Ellen thinks he's come for the reward. However, he only asks for the money to pay for the actual expenses of the trip. Before he leaves, he tells her father that he does love her. Later, as her father walks her down the aisle, he reveals that Peter didn't want the reward. She leaves her husband at the altar and runs to Peter. The movie ends with the pair married and on their honeymoon.

What's amazing is the number of scenes repeated in romantic comedies throughout the years. The movie Leap Year has so many similarities, it's amazing. There's the road trip, the bedroom scene, the 'wealthy' sheltered girl and the working class guy. The more movies I watch, the more I realize that they have all been done before, it's just find the new edge that makes them great. 

5. Grand Hotel

Grand Hotel Movie Poster

And so we turn to Grand Hotel. Ensemble movies like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Love Actually can trace their roots to this movie which was based on a play of the same name that based on a novel written  by Vicki Baum. This is the first film on the list that relied on characterization more than setting or events happening to the main characters. The actors in Grand Hotel truly stepped up to the plate, and watching it was like watching a virtual who's who of old Hollywood: Greta Garbo, Joan Collins, John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore. These are all names that have lived through the years. Another name that I have heard over the years watching the Academy Awards is Jean Hersholt. The humanitarian award named after him is periodically given to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to humanitarian causes. In this movie, he played the porter who's wife is in the hospital about to have a baby.

John Barrymore and Greta Garbo in Grand Hotel

Both Barrymore's played quite interesting roles. John was the main love interest of both leading ladies as the 'Baron' who is planning to steal from Garbo to pay off a debt he owes. Lionel played the dying working man who has decided to finally live life to the fullest. As he says, "For the first time in my life, I tasted life." I really enjoyed both their performances. It was hard to believe that the Lionel would someday play 'Old Man Potter' in It's a Wonderful Life.

Joan Crawford and John Barrymore in Grand Hotel

I have read that when they filmed the movie, they never wanted to have Garbo and Crawford in the same scene together because they'd be afraid they would overshadow each other. I could definitely see why after watching the film. While both played their roles well - Garbo as the long-suffering dancer and Crawford as the young stenographer trying to make her way in the world - I enjoyed Crawford's character more. Garbo utters her famous line, "I want to be alone," near the beginning of the film. She plays a diva with such gusto. But Crawford has a comic glint to her eye that brings humor to every scene she graces. Her lightness of touch is refreshing after all the overacting of the previous films. She and John Barrymore are closer to modern day actors than most of the others in the film. It's crazy to think that she is the same woman as portrayed in Mommy Dearest. I guess some people just aren't cut out to be parents.

SPOILERS AHEAD

The film starts and ends with the same sentiment stated by Dr. Otternschlag: "Grand Hotel . . . always the same. People come, people go. Nothing every happens." And then the movie goes on to prove otherwise. Yet at the same time, there is something unchanging about a hotel. While little dramas are occurring all around, these do not change the essence of the place.

One interesting thing that I found about the film was that it was able to combine a number of different elements into one cohesive plot. There was a thief, an unscrupulous businessman, an attempt at adultery, a love affair, a dying man, a drunkard doctor, and a murder, and all the stories worked.

The method for introducing the wide range of characters was quite unique: each was making a telephone call explaining their situation. From that point, the plot moved easily from humor to drama, from love to lust, from love of life to death by murder. There is much for a writer to learn from this early example, and I finished the movie feeling as if I had left a master class on ensemble films.


After only five films, I have to say that I am already seeing how films have begun to evolve and how they relate to the films of today. Blake Snyder says that when any good screenwriter in Hollywood decides to sit down and write a film, he goes back and watches the films in that genre to see how it was done before. So many scenes from later movies can be traced directly back to these early films.

Cimarron Beat Sheet

Cimarron Movie Poster

Here is my attempt at the Beat Sheet for Cimarron (1931). If you would like more information about beat sheets and the 15 beats every great movies shares, check out this page. 

Opening Image – The film opens with the Oklahoma Land Run in 1889. The wagons, horses, and pioneers are waiting at the starting line until noon for the run to begin. 

Set-up – Yancey Cravat is beaten to his land by Dixie Lee, a lady of ill repute. He then travels back to his family and his in-laws in Wichita, Kansas to tell them about the Land Run.

Theme Stated  – According to the Blake Snyder, someone typically states the 'theme' to the protagonist around the fifth minute of the movie.  I believe in this case, the theme was stated by Yancey that Oklahoma is a miracle and a land of opportunity. However, it will be seen that the opportunity is for Sabra to grow into an independent woman. 

Catalyst – Yancey has decided that he wants to move to Oklahoma and be part of the town of Osage which has popped up overnight. His wife, Sabra, agrees to move with him. 

Debate – Sabra's mother is opposed to her moving to Oklahoma, just like she was opposed to her marrying Yancey. She tries to talk her out of moving. 

Break Into Two  – They arrive at the town of Osage and see what a frontier town complete with outlaws is really like. 

B Story – The love story is between Sabra and Yancey. 

Fun and Games – The two of them set up a home, and Yancey establishes a newspaper called the Oklahoma Wigwam. He is seen as a leading citizen and gives the first sermon at a makeshift church, during which he kills the leader of a gang who is wreaking havoc on the town. He later kills "The Kid" who has planned on robbing the bank. Sabra has a baby girl. Yancey decides to leave his wife in 1893 when a second Land Run is going to happen. Sabra does not want to leave the life they are building in Osage. She stays behind and runs the paper in his name.   He returns in 1897.

Midpoint – By 1907, Yancey has risen in stature and is running for governor of Oklahoma. Things look great for the pair. This is a false victory. 

Bad Guys Close In – Man approaches Yancey and asks him to compromise his values and help seize oil that has been found on the Osage Reservation. 

All is Lost – Yancey decides to throw away his chances to be governor by printing a piece in the paper supporting Indian citizenship. He then leaves his wife for a second time. 

Dark Night of the Soul – Sabra is left alone once again. This part of the movie is lacking as it does not show her struggles at all - almost like they don't exist. 

Break Into Three – Sabra has to make things work on her own. Sadly, this part of the movie is also missing and we move forward in time. 

Finale – Sabra has grown in independence and stature until she is elected to Congress. When visiting an oil refinery with other dignateries, a disaster is averted when Yancey sacrifices himself. She is able to talk with him before his death. 

Final Image – A statue modeled on Yancey is revealed celebrating the pioneer spirit of Oklahoma. 

Film Appreciation 101

I love movies. I grew up watching them. I wasn't as lucky as my parents to be able to catch double features for a quarter, but I still saw as many as I could on the five channels we got at home.

Saturday mornings were the best. I'd wake up early. It was the only day my parents slept in. I'd turn on the TV to 11 or 30 - the two UHF channels we got in St. Louis in the seventies. I spent my mornings watching the triple feature. Usually I'd get a Shirley Temple, an Abbot & Costello, and a Charlie Chan. However, this was not set in stone. Sometimes I might get lucky and see a Lewis and Martin or even a 'Road' movie with my favorites: Bing and Bob. I just loved Saturday mornings.

As I've grown older, my appreciation for movies has also grown. Recently, I decided to start writing a screenplay of my own. What I realized as I read through Save the Cat was that even though I had watched many movies in my life, I had never made myself a student of them.

With this in mind, I started scouring the Internet for 'free' film courses. I found a lot of courses for budding directors. However, the standard film courses for non-movie makers were typically focused on one genre, one era, or one theme. This was not what I wanted. Therefore, I decided that I would create my own curriculum. Armed with all three of the late, great Blake Snyder Save the Cat books, I decided to sit down and see for myself how film has evolved over time. As a way to make it easy for myself while making a yearly 'check-in' with movie magic, I decided that I would set the crazy goal of watching each of the Oscar winners for Best Picture.

Therefore, over the next 85 days, I will be watching the 85 movies that have won the Academy Award for Best Motion Picture. Hopefully, I will learn a lot about structure and genre and the way that movie making has evolved. I hope to use this blog to chart my journey and share my insights as I go.