FRANK CAPRA

Bil’s rating (out of 5):  BBBBB. 

USA, 1934.  Columbia Pictures Corporation.  Screenplay by Robert Riskin, from a short story by Samuel Hopkins Adams.  Cinematography by Joseph Walker.  Produced by Frank Capra.  Music by Howard Jackson.  Production Design by Stephen Goosson.  Costume Design by Robert Kalloch.  Film Editing by Gene Havlick. 

Classic road comedy has runaway bride Claudette Colbert team up with morally bankrupt reporter Clark Gable as they’re thrown from place to place, relying on each other for survival after the bus ride they’re both on ends up being detoured.  The structure has been copied many times since, but nothing has managed to match the freshness of the antics that these two come up with in trying to survive each other. Who else but Colbert can use her long stockinged legs to hail a ride while hitch-hiking on the side of the road? Gable was never better than he is in the role that really showcases his comedic side. The film was the first of three to win all 5 major Academy Awards (the only other two being One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest and The Silence of the Lambs).

The Criterion Collection:  #736

Academy Awards:  Best Picture; Best Actor (Clark Gable); Best Actress (Claudette Colbert); Best Director (Frank Capra); Best Adaptation

Venice Film Festival: In Competition