It Happened One Night
It Happened One Night is a 1935 black and white film directed by Frank Capra. The film tells the dramatic story of one spoiled, rich, young woman named Ellen Andrews (Ellie) who makes a run from her overprotective father’s yacht as an action of love for her husband, King Westly. On her journey across the nation, from Florida to New York, she finds herself in the trusting hands of a stranger by the name of Peter Warne, a reporter businessman who shows strong interest in helping Ellie get to her lover. Ellie’s salacious story is worth a lot of money, and to a newly unemployed reporter in the 1930’s, this was a goldmine. Because It Happened One Night occurs in America during the 30’s, many of the values and ideals of this time were represented or differed through class and gender. By comparing the roles that Ellie plays versus Peter or her father’s portrayal alongside the polarized views within the movie of rich and poor life hints to The Great Depression, women’s suffrage, the 1930’s production code and other societal issues of the 30’s.
The Great Depression was a economic crisis with profound effects on citizens that occurred in the United States after the Stock Market crash of 1929 and lasted throughout the 30’s. This saddening point in time directly affected movie plots, production, and distribution. In It Happened One Night, the wealth and class dynamics are vivid through characterization, directly contrasting the tragedies of The Great Depression. Ellie Andrews was born into a rich and successful family, and she lives an expensive, frivolous, and glamorous lifestyle—unlike her love interest, Peter Warne, who works to pay his bills and was recently laid off from his reporting job. Ellie’s lifestyle was, to say the least, uncommon for the time. Over one-fourth of the labour force during the 30’s could not find work. The industrial production declined by 47 percent, and the gross domestic product (GDP) fell by a whole 30 percent. Families with old money ruled the high class society, power and privilege coming with the title. Hollywood was filled with stars alike Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert, Peter and Ellie, who portrayed class, wealth and honor, appealing to the overall viewers of the films and people within the industry. Henry Ford, a wealthy businessman and founder of Ford Motor Company, participated in an interview the summer of 1932 giving his general advice to the unemployed citizens in America. “The word ‘unemployment’ has become one of the most dreadful words in the language. The condition itself has become the concern of every person in the country.” He continued to state his high class view on the help trying to be given to aid the losses of millions of people, “I do not believe in routine charity. I think it a shameful thing that any man should have to stoop to take it, or give it.” By using a loaded word like “charity” when so many people are suffering due to circumstances beyond their control, Ford appears out of touch, blatantly dismissing the many facts and evidence of The Great Depression and its devastating effects on the American people. Ellie, as a part of a rich and successful family who are unaffected by The Great Depression, like Henry Ford, fools around with her money with little to no thought of consequences. During their journey, Peter and Ellie find themselves in a dire situation regarding the health of a young boy’s mother. As a quick reaction Peter takes hold of the boy and comforts him, learning that his mother hasn’t eaten in a while due to lack of money. Ellie runs over and grabs the money straight out of Peter’s hands and forces it into the boy’s hands without a second thought. The young boy reacts by fearfully looking into Peter's eyes and says, “I should not have taken this, mama gets mad”. Ellie is quick to respond by advising him, “just don’t tell her anything about it!” Peter gets angry at her for spending their last pennies, leaving them with nothing left to spend on their journey. By Ellie completely disregarding her own comfort and needs for the better of this small family illustrates an interesting power dynamic between the rich and poor. She has the money to spend, and doesn’t think twice about doing so, while Peter is frugal and spends with limitations.While this act of generosity makes her seem more compassionate than Peter, the truth is that, as a wealthy woman who has never had to worry about money, giving to others doesn’t actually cost her anything. In the Great Depression, giving to charity was a luxury. The Great Depression forced many families out of work and many had little to no money. While It Happened One Night doesn’t directly bring up the Great Depression, it did influence the way the movie was written and executed.
Ellie Andrews and Peter Warne’s differences of wealth, class, and ideals paired alongside their witty banter and sexual tension throughout the film won’t be forgotten, and while their love is one for the ages, Ellie’s role in their relationship contrasts greatly with Peter’s along with her father’s and, soon to be forgotten, King Westly’s. Gender roles within Hollywood have been rigid since the beginning of picture making. During the 30’s, many films were about romance and lustful journeys between a man and women. Only beautiful women and suave men were cast in these high budget films to push higher revenue because the cinema viewers would either want to be them, or to have them. Women’s suffrage, granted by the 19th amendment, had just recently been approved on August 19, 1920. It allowed women the right to vote, which was what thousands of women had been protesting for almost a century. Discrimination against women has been prevalent since the beginning of a modern world, and is clearly prevalent in film and media—not only in the 30’s, but also in today’s entertainment as well. It Happened One Night portrays Ellie as a flirty and careless young women on the road for love. Throughout the film, she attempts to prove herself to her companion Peter, even when she seems unwise to him at many moments. Even with her efforts to show Peter her capability and strength, he still “saves” and assists Ellie along her journey, showing that the typical gender roles of women being dependent on men were inescapable in this time. On one occasion, he tells everyone he is her husband, and on another occasion, he slings her around his shoulder to carry her across a river. One moment in which we see Ellie do something Peter isn't able to do is when they go hitchhiking, and despite his attempts to wave down a car he isn’t able to, leaving Ellie to give it a try. She hails one right away. A 1988 article took a closer look at their hitchhiking scene, “Ellie shows that she possesses a certain amount of power but only as a sexual object: she hikes up her dress to stop a car for a ride, proving that her ‘limb’ is strong than his ‘thumb’ but this is a dubious victory”. While this may have been a “victory” for Ellie at the time, in the long term, she had just sexualized herself to get what she wants. The only power Ellie is able to seize is gained through turning herself into a sexual object. Whether she is aware of this fact or not is not addressed in the film. This was not the only movie of the time that sexualized women greatly, Bringing up Baby and Gone with the Wind both have protagonist female roles of women who are rich, snobby, dumb, and beautiful. Gone with the Wind has Scarlett O’Hara remarry three times, and once even to get herself out of debt. This blatantly shows women’s economic dependence on men during the time period. The 30’s were filled with cinema gold, but the representation of women, and some men, is very controversial and many of the roles were based solely off sexualization and outdated, rigid views of how women and men should look and behave.
It Happened One Night gives us a quick glimpse into the lives of people and film in the 30’s, The Great Depression, and the early days of women’s suffrage. While the film does contrast with the realities of both the Great Depression and the struggle for women’s suffrage, it was appealing to a greater audience of that time and served as a form of escape during a difficult time. The film was not intended to make a political statement, it was meant to serve as lighthearted entertainment for an audience that was struggling to survive in their day to day lives. Films were affordable, easily accessible to the public, and everyone was allowed to see them. By appealing to these audiences, Capra’s film allowed money to come rolling in. It Happened One Night won the five most prestigious Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Screenplay, and Best Director. The film was revolutionary for its time and truly is a piece of art that will forever be remembered.
Bibliography
Ford, Henry. Interview. US. June 11, 1932.
Gone with the Wind. Directed by Victor Fleming. 1939.
History.com. "The 19th Amendment." https://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/19th-amendment-1.
It Happened One Night. Directed by Frank Capra. Columbia, 1934.
Literature/Film Quarterly. "From Heroine to Brat: Frank Capra's Adaptation of Night Bus (It Happened One Night)." 1988. ProQuest.
The motion picture producers and distributors of America. "The Production Code of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, Inc. - 1930-1934." In American Decades Primary Sources. California, CA, 1930. American Decades Primary Sources.
Pells, Richard H. "Slump of 1929, Depression of 1929." Britannica School. https://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/Great-depression/37849.