Director: Frank Capra
Production Company: Columbia Pictures
Leads: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly
Production Company: Columbia Pictures
Leads: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly
“I've always been told what to do and how to do it and with whom” - Ellie Andrews
Setting
En route Miami to New York, United States
The Plot
The Review
After Ellie Andrews escapes the clutches of her father (Connolly) and tries to make her own way to New York, we get to enjoy seeing her experience such foreign concepts as budgeting, being alone with a man and sleeping rough...mostly done with her upper-class charm, bar the odd tantrum.
Rogue reporter Peter Warne, not wanting to miss a chance to get his job back, blackmails her into letting him tag along. “Next time you drop in bring your folks” he advises after she falls onto his lap when the bus lurches, his smart mouth gives him an irresistible charm throughout the film.
Their relationship develops and varies between friends and enemies as they remain stuck with each other. Peter fails to hitch a ride with his thumb so Ellie hilariously hitches one using her leg, a scene mimicked in the Laurel and Hardy classic Way Out West when Stan does the same thing.
It was a non-stop film and plenty of fun to watch, though the acting was over the top in places among some of the supporting cast. Funny goofs included Warne’s large suitcase disappearing in the middle of one scene, and the bus being so wobbly it would have fallen apart in real life. The scenery outside wasn't moving so why it was wobbling we'll never know. Earthquake perhaps? The atmosphere on the bus was well done with a very entertaining rendition of The Man on the Flying Trapeze.
Said to have inspired several Looney Tunes characters, the film thrives on the combination of the naivety of Ellie and the life experience of the more happy-go-lucky Warne as an unlikely love triangle begins to form and plenty of hilarity ensues. It is a little predictable like many rom-coms, though perhaps in the day they kept the audience guessing!
This was the first film to receive the Oscar® “Grand Slam”: Best Picture®, Best Director®, Best Actress® and Best Actor®. A nice bit of irony for Oscar®-winner Claudette who earlier stated “I have just finished making the worst picture I've ever made".
Rogue reporter Peter Warne, not wanting to miss a chance to get his job back, blackmails her into letting him tag along. “Next time you drop in bring your folks” he advises after she falls onto his lap when the bus lurches, his smart mouth gives him an irresistible charm throughout the film.
Their relationship develops and varies between friends and enemies as they remain stuck with each other. Peter fails to hitch a ride with his thumb so Ellie hilariously hitches one using her leg, a scene mimicked in the Laurel and Hardy classic Way Out West when Stan does the same thing.
It was a non-stop film and plenty of fun to watch, though the acting was over the top in places among some of the supporting cast. Funny goofs included Warne’s large suitcase disappearing in the middle of one scene, and the bus being so wobbly it would have fallen apart in real life. The scenery outside wasn't moving so why it was wobbling we'll never know. Earthquake perhaps? The atmosphere on the bus was well done with a very entertaining rendition of The Man on the Flying Trapeze.
Said to have inspired several Looney Tunes characters, the film thrives on the combination of the naivety of Ellie and the life experience of the more happy-go-lucky Warne as an unlikely love triangle begins to form and plenty of hilarity ensues. It is a little predictable like many rom-coms, though perhaps in the day they kept the audience guessing!
This was the first film to receive the Oscar® “Grand Slam”: Best Picture®, Best Director®, Best Actress® and Best Actor®. A nice bit of irony for Oscar®-winner Claudette who earlier stated “I have just finished making the worst picture I've ever made".
The Slap
This has to go to Mr Shapeley (“just the way I like my women”) played by Roscoe Karns...not so much for being a sleaze but he just talked. A lot. Non-stop As Ellie tactfully worded it “believe you me, you bore me to distraction".
Below: Colbert and Gable are said to have inspired the image of Bugs Bunny
Below: Colbert and Gable are said to have inspired the image of Bugs Bunny
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