Picture 7: It Happened One Night (1934)

So here we have it - Clark Gable has appeared! Finally a household name that I have heard of. At 33 years old he brings a performance of great charm and I understand why he was such a big hit for the next few decades. I also am 33 years old but am yet to make my screen debut (lol).

This black and white flick has an interesting premise. Gable has been fired from his newspaper job whilst Claudette Colbert's heiress character has run away from her imminent marriage to a man named Westley. They come together on a Greyhound bus and the respective losses they have faced transform into something new. An initial relationship founded on blackmail and disdain softens in time and they go on an adventure to rival any depression era pairing.

It holds one's attention for the first hour but perhaps because I am a member of the social media infested, short attention span millennial generation I found myself losing interest for the final third - more interested in any upcoming housework than how Clark and Claudette resolve their complicated yet beautiful problems.

Overall, well worth watching on a rainy day.

Interestingly if I carry on watching the films at this rate I will be finished by January 2037. Onwards!

Rating:

6/10

Reflections on the human condition:

1. Relationships can transform rapidly.

2. Financial wealth does not bring happiness.

3. With the right spirit - every day is an adventure.

Oscar Best Picture Rankings:

1. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

2. Wings (1928)

3. Cimarron (1931)

4. Grand Hotel (1932)

5. It Happened One Night (1934)

6. Cavalcade (1933)

7. The Broadway Melody (1929)