It Happened One Night

1. In class we discussed the transition of sound into film and how by 1929 silent films were history. Many silent film stars did not survive the transition to sound. Audiences were demanding all films to be sound pictures however there were many problems with early sound pictures. In early sound pictures there was limited mobility, the sound was sometimes muffled, and the scene design was determined by the placement of the microphone. Sound was also expensive; many film companies had to pay a lot more to make sound films which to NY Banks backing the 5 major film companies, Warner Bros., Paramount, RKO, MGM, and Fox. Other than the transition to sound we also talked about the production code and censorship in film. There were many Hollywood scandals on and off film which led to a change in Hollywood films. Hollywood films were now forced to censor and make their films more appropriate. Sexual content was to be taken out or censored in films. Women were no longer allowed to reveal themselves on screen. Many actresses had to change their usual on screen attire and dress more appropriately. Many actresses also had to change their roles on screen. Actresses now played more appropriate, mature, hardworking women on screen. The production code was also created that warned audiences of content in the film and if it's appropriate for children. After censorship and the production code we talked about Screwball comedies. Screwball comedies could also be known as war of the sexes. They were comedies about the arguments and struggles between men and women. Now that women were supposed to play more mature, appropriate roles in film many actresses in screwball comedies played roles as women that were perceived to be equal or better than men. Two famous screwball comedies which we discussed in class were His Girl Friday and It Happened One Night. The two films are very famous and successful screwball comedies. The film that we watched in class was It Happened One Night. It Happened One Night was an excellent screwball comedy that was very successful and won 5 major academy awards; Best Picture, Best Director, Best Writing, Adapted,  and Best Actor and Actress. Frank Capra directed the film and several other award winning films such as Mr. Deeds Goes to Town and You Can't Take it With You. Frank Capra was an immigrant and was also in WWI, 2nd Lt. Navy. He worked for Sennett and the later directed for Columbia Pictures.    
2. http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/12648/It-Happened-One-Night/articles.html
I found an article related to It Happened One Night about the two leading actors and how they got their roles and how they felt about them. In the article they talk about how Columbia Pictures was considered to be a poor film company. The article talked about how Columbia was lucky to have Capra as a director. The article talked about how Louis B. Mayer offered the producer of It Happened One Night, Harry Cohn, an actor who has been considered to be a "bad boy"(Mayer) lately and needed to be spanked. The actor was Clark Gable. In his first meeting with Capra, Gable showed up drunk, he was very rude and angry. Eventually Capra and Gable became friends and after reading the script Gable realized the character he was hired to play was very much like himself and enjoyed making the movie. The article also talked about how Claudette Colbert was hired to act in It Happened One Night. Many other actresses had already turned down the role for the  leading actress in It Happened One Night and Colbert had already worked with Capra in For the Love of Mike which had been a disaster and she had no interest with the director again. However Colbert was being offered double the amount she usually makes to act in It Happened One Night so she accepted the role. While the movie was being filmed Colbert gave Capra a hard time and when the movie was finished she told her friends "I've just finished the worst picture in the world"(Colbert).
3. The article I found was about how the two leading actors of It Happened One Night got their roles and how they felt about their roles. I found the article to be very interesting. In the article it explained how Clark Gable was considered a bad boy back then and how he was a rude and angry person. It also talked about how he realized he was very similar to his role in the movie and I think that is why his performance was so fantastic. He was basically playing himself. The article also talked about Claudette Colbert's reason for accepting the role and her opinion of the movie. She only took the role for the money and felt she starred in the worst movie ever. I was surprised when I read about that in the article and thought it was funny how she felt she acted in the worst movie ever even though it became very successful and a fantastic film in which she won an academy award for her performance.
4. In my opinion I felt It Happened One Night was a fantastic film. The performances between Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert were two of my favorites in a film. I felt the film deserved every award it won. It Happened One Night is a very important movie in film history. During that time period screwball comedies were very popular and the type of movie everyone wanted to watch. It Happened One Night is one of the greatest and funniest screwball comedies ever made. The two leading actors of the film gave great performances and the chemistry between their characters in the film was hilarious and left many people laughing. The director of the film, Frank Capra, did an excellent job directing it and the screenplay of the film was very well written. Frank Capra was a very famous director during that era and several of his movies won best picture, including It Happened one night. The two leading actors, Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert, were two very good and very famous actors during that time period. It Happened One Night was a fantastic movie in film history with a great cast and great director.

The Gold Rush

1. In class we discussed Mack Sennett and how he created the Keystone Company Films, in which Chaplin and Keaton became a part of. Chaplin began working for Keystone in 1913 and was making about $75- 150 a week. He started off making short films that last about 10-15 minutes each. From keystone Chaplin went on to working for Essaney from 1915-1916 making $75,000 a year. And from Essany Chaplin went on to working for Mutual from 1916-1917 making $670,000 a year. In 1918, Chaplin was working for First National making $1,000,000 a year which was a lot of money back then. Charlie Chaplin always believed in creating a certain character when it came to acting in movies. He came up with the idea of the Tramp; a shy, little fellow, who is an underdog, who who yearns for love, acceptance, or money. In the Gold Rush he yearned for all those things. Charlie Chaplin was an auter director and was very famous during his time. He came up with the idea of The Gold Rush which was his favorite film. The Gold Rush costed $970,000 to make and grossed over $6,000,000 which was a lot of money during that era. The movie was a huge success. It was one of the funniest movies during that time and is still considered one of the funniest movies in film history. in the movie Charlie Chaplin played his character of the Tramp which many people loved and enjoyed. He was an underdog who yearned for money, love , and acceptance. In the movie he mostly used medium shots rather than close-ups. The only time Chaplin felt it was neccessary to use close-ups was in the more serious parts of the movie. The Gold Rush was a movie where Chaplin used many different elements such as rejection, ridicule, and work ethic as a form of comedy. The Gold Rush still stands today as one of the funniest movies ever made.

2. http://www.charliechaplin.com/en/biography/articles/5-The-Gold-Rush . I found an article on charlichaplin.com written by David Robbinson about how Charlie Chaplin came up with the idea for The Gold Rush. In the article, Davidson wrote about how Chaplin first came up with his idea for The Gold Rush when viewing photos of the 1896 Kolndike Gold Rush. He was struck when he saw an image of an endless line of prospectors marching up the Chilkoot Pass. Chaplin was also reading a book at the time about the Donner Party Disaster in 1846, where a group of immigrants were stuck snowbound in the Sierra Nevada, and had to resort to eating their own moccasins and the corpses of their dead companions. Chaplin believed he could use such a trajedy and turn it into a comedy, which is how he came up with the idea for The Gold Rush.

3. After reading the article I found that it made a lot of sense. The article explained how Chaplin got the idea for The Gold Rush by looking at a picture of an endless line of prospectors marching up the Chilkoot Pass and reading about the Donner Party Disaster where snowbound immigrants ate their belongings and dead companions. It made sense because the movie opened up with a wide shot of a large line of prospectors marching up a pass. It also made sense because in the movie Chaplin and another character are stuck in a cabin during a snowstorm and resort to eating their shoes. The other character was so straved that he saw Chaplin as a giant chicken and tried to eat him. I found the article to be very useful in understanding Chaplin's idea for the ovie. I find it immpressive how Chaplin could take such a trajedy as the Donner Party Disaster and find a way to turn it into a comedy.   

4. Overall I found the film to be very funny and entertaining. it was very good and very different from other comedies I've seen. I now understand why The Gold Rush is such an important movie in film history. It's Chaplin's best movie and grossed over $6,000,000 which was a large amount of money back then. It is one of the funniest movies ever made and during that time period it had audiences evrywhere laughing. The movie uses such ridculed and trajic events as  a form of comedy which you do not see in many other comedies. The movie was filmed in such a short time period and yet came out as a masterpiece. Charlie Chaplin was one of the most famous and loved comedians during that time and he showed all of his talent while making and performing in The Gold Rush.