November’s Buzz:

IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT
An Analysis

(Copyright 2003)

by
Kathryn McCullough

Classic movies from the late 1930s and 1940s are great sources of study for screenwriters. These films almost always follow strict narrative structures, with clear delineations (such as fade-outs) between acts and sequences. A good example is IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT. Although the film was adapted from a short story, screenwriter Robert Riskin expanded and restructured the plot to fit the standard cinematic form of the time.

ACT ONE

First Sequence: The movie opens, showing a situation in which a conflict exists: Ellie (Claudette Colbert) has married a playboy over her father’s objections. Her father has imprisoned Ellie on his yacht while he tries to get the marriage annulled. Driven to desperation, Ellie jumps overboard and swims off.

Ellie buys a bus ticket to New York City where King lives. In the same scene, we are introduced to Peter (Clark Gable), who is drunkenly berating his editor over the phone.

Ellie and Peter first meet when Ellie takes Peter’s seat on the bus. Soon after, when the bus jerks to a start while Ellie is standing, she falls into Peter’s lap. This is the point of attack and it is a metaphor for their ensuing relationship: she resents him, yet is forced by circumstances to rely on him.

Second Sequence: The two continue to clash, but their fates are not linked until Peter figures out who Ellie is and then tells his editor that he has gotten exclusive rights to her story. Both characters’ goals have now been established.

ACT TWO

First Sequence: Back on the bus, the “marriage farce” that continues throughout the movie begins when Peter poses as Ellie’s husband in order to rescue her from a lascivious passenger named Shapely. When rain washes out the road, the passengers spend the night at an auto camp, and Peter registers himself and Ellie as husband and wife. Peter puts up a blanket separating their beds: “the walls of Jericho.” At the end of this scene, Peter offers to help Ellie get to King Westley. Since he will turn her in if she refuses, Ellie reluctantly agrees. This complication ties them together physically.

Second Sequence: Ellie’s father raises the stakes by offering a $10,000 reward for Ellie’s capture. Back on the bus, Shapely recognizes Ellie from a news story about the reward. After the driver accidentally drives the bus into a ditch, Shapely takes Peter aside and demands $5000 to keep silent about Ellie. Peter scares Shapely off but realizes that he and Ellie are no longer safe riding the bus.

This is a key complication in the script. Because of the reward offer, Ellie and Peter have to continue on foot, which makes their journey more difficult. This heightens the tension while also intensifying the personal relationship.

Third Sequence: During the ensuing scenes, Peter and Ellie’s arguments become more personal and they begin to act more like a real couple. They flirt, nearly kiss, and assume traditional roles: Peter forages for food; Ellie treats Peter’s wound when he is injured fighting a highway robber. By the end of the sequence, they have achieved intimacy.

Fourth Sequence: Ellie’s father announces that he is removing his objections to Ellie’s marriage. Ellie reads about her father’s change of heart in the paper, but she does not tell Peter. When they check into a room for the night, Ellie tells Peter that she loves him. He rejects her and she is crushed.

Later, Peter sneaks out. He delivers his story to his editor in order to get $1000, so that he can propose to Ellie. Believing that Peter has abandoned her, Ellie calls her father. As Peter drives back to the motel, he spots Ellie driving off the other way in King Westley’s arms. Both characters are now at their lowest points.

ACT THREE

First Sequence: Ellie confesses to her father that she’s in love with Peter. Peter later visits Ellie’s father and asks for repayment of his expenses. He shows no interest in the $10,000 reward, and he confesses that he loves Ellie. By taking these actions, Peter and Ellie set into motion the possibility for a happy ending.

Second Sequence: As Ellie’s father walks Ellie down the aisle, he tells her about his conversation with Peter. At the altar, Ellie turns and flees, echoing the opening scene of the film. In the final scene, Ellie and Peter check into a motel, where they let the “walls of Jericho” fall.

The success of this film, like any film, is not due simply to a tight structure, but also to rich characters and inspired moments in the action. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT contains many iconic film moments, from the bus passengers’ singing of “The Man on the Flying Trapeze,” to the walls of Jericho, to the hitch-hiking scene. What the structure does is help create the illusion that the action is unfolding according to an inevitable sense of cause and effect, instead of coming across as a random collection of quirky beats.

Next month: An analysis of a contemporary independent film, demonstrating that even seemingly loose narratives still contain an inner structure.