Gone, But Not Forgotten

Frank Capra's "It Happened One Night": The Hitchhiking Sequence

{Reposted from 2009}
From Frank Capra's 1934 ground-breaking It Happened One Night -- the first film ever to sweep the major Oscar categories -- here's the film's most famous sequence: "Hitchhiking".

Claudette Colbert plays a runaway heiress and Clark Gable is the worldly reporter who can both help her escape her controlling father and also "get the story" that will bolster his career. ("Runaway heiress" was a common theme in films of the 30s and 40s. This film came out to low initial expectations, but, as word mouth got around, the film found it's audience and remains popular to this day.)

Two things to keep in mind regarding this sequence: first, the theme: "The limb is mightier than the thumb"; second, watch the film editing carefully as Colbert gets a car to stop from them. It's a perfect demonstration of the power of editing, showing Capra's genius emerging.

"The Dude Abides."

"The Dude Abides."

"Bullets Over Broadway" (1994): One of Woody Allen's Best

I try to keep up with every new Woody Allen film that comes out. It all started when friends who knew my taste started telling me I would love Annie Hall (1977), Allen's watershed romantic comedy where he began exploring more serious themes without missing a step on the comedy.

I do still love Annie Hall to this day; for me, it never gets old. If I had to pick a handful of Allen's best films of the three decades since Annie Hall, one would certainly be his 1994 comic drama Bullets Over Broadway. Set in 1928, a heyday for Broadway, the mob, and Greenwich Village cafe' intellectuals, Allen and co-writer Douglas McGrath blend these three worlds seamlessly. And as with Annie Hall, Woody's trademark wit and charm make this film one fun ride. So take the dive and see this witty exploration art, love and life in Roaring Twenties New York -- you'll want to break out the good bathtub gin. (For a peak inside the film, check out the trailer below.)

Classic Film This Summer at the Tampa Theatre

Beginning on June 6th with Topper, The Tampa Theatre (pictured above) Summer Classics Series will air a number of films of the "golden age" of Hollywood and one German expressionist silent classic. More information is available at the Tampa Theatre's website.

I'm planning on seeing three or four films in the series, including His Girl Friday, Casablanca, and the newly restored Metropolis (1927) with live musical accompaniment on the theatre's mighty Wurlitzer organ.

Classic Screwball Comedy: "Unfaithfully Yours"

Unfaithfully Yours (1948)

With unwarranted modesty, "Miss Spaulding" -- a colleague of mine at Golden Age of Hollywood -- has kindly consented to reposting of her take on this little known, multi-faceted, masterful screwball comedy by the inimitable Preston Sturges:

I hope you can forgive my lack of a professional explanation on this. ...I'll do my best. :-)

It's full of blunt, hateful and snappy wit, which I love. It's brisk, but not too fast paced.
I like how different it is to most comedies that are of a similar plot, it's more clever. Instead of a guy typically confronting his wife of her unfaithfulness, or even hiring somebody to follow his wife on the suspicion of her possibly having an affair, this guy relies solely on himself to handle the situation. While conducting his orchestra, and driven by extreme paranoia and jealousy, he comes up with three possible solutions to his problem: murder, forgiveness or even suicide. All three of which he day dreams. He rushes home after the symphony to carry out one of his solutions, but it doesn't work out, in fact, none of three possibilities go as planned. (Isn't that how it always goes?)
Like I said, it's different. Maybe I like it so much because I'm a day dreamer myself. The fact that he schemes up each solution while day dreaming is appealing to me I suppose.

I suggested this movie [to covert someone who avoids black and white classics] because I think a woman would probably find a little more enjoyment out of it, hence the fact that Rex Harrison's character is being driven out of his mind with paranoia and jealously over the woman he loves whom, he believes, is being unfaithful. It's sick, but I think us gals tend to get a kick out of such things. :-D

I really hope this helped.

You have, Miss Spaulding, thank you.