A young upper class woman, Ellie Andrews, and a newspaper reporter, Peter Warne, unexpectedly fall in love in Frank Capra’s 1934 film. The film explores the idea of relationships formed around the concept of class all while set in the Great Depression. The Production Code idealized American for the sake of the upkeep of morality according to those in favor of censorship. In Capra’s film ideal America cracks with screwball humor, pointing out the absurdity of grown adults behaving in such a restrained manner. It Happened One Night is a classic screwball comedy; however, Capra goes one step further with a film that acknowledges the ongoing state of the nation with the presence of the Great Depression in the film.
The two main characters behave differently, usually based on their different social classes. This main characters resolve this class conflict by bickering leading to a mutual attraction. The film’s focus on class, and especially the depiction of different classes coming together depicts an ideal world. This world is one that exists in the eyes …show more content…
Although, It Happened One Night is more hilarious than romantic as it begun the tradition of the screwball comedy. This façade of idealism cracks as the comedic genius of the film allows the audience to be entertained and escape their reality in a more realistic sense. The screwball comedy points out the absurdity of the strict moral code by not so hidden multiple meanings. One example is the line: “Shapeley 's the name - and that 's the way I like 'em!”, as Shapley obviously discusses his preference of women (00:19:36). The screwball comedy was a gamble in the hope to appeal to a mature audience bored with similar moral plots pushed by the
The two main characters behave differently, usually based on their different social classes. This main characters resolve this class conflict by bickering leading to a mutual attraction. The film’s focus on class, and especially the depiction of different classes coming together depicts an ideal world. This world is one that exists in the eyes …show more content…
Although, It Happened One Night is more hilarious than romantic as it begun the tradition of the screwball comedy. This façade of idealism cracks as the comedic genius of the film allows the audience to be entertained and escape their reality in a more realistic sense. The screwball comedy points out the absurdity of the strict moral code by not so hidden multiple meanings. One example is the line: “Shapeley 's the name - and that 's the way I like 'em!”, as Shapley obviously discusses his preference of women (00:19:36). The screwball comedy was a gamble in the hope to appeal to a mature audience bored with similar moral plots pushed by the