Day 35: It Happened One Night

It Happened one Night: 1934: Winner of the 7th Academy Award

Starring:

Clark Gable as Peter Warne

Claudette Colbert as Ellie Andrews

Walter Connolly as Alexander Andrews

Roscoe Karns as Oscar Shapeley

Jameson Thomas as "King" Westley

Alan Hale as Danker

Arthur Hoyt as Zeke

Blanche Friderici as Zeke's wife

Charles C. Wilson as Joe Gordon

Wow,  Claudette Colbert, show your gams girl! I never knew that the showing of the leg to get some  male traveler to stop was from this gem from the mid -thirtes. Starring two of the greatest actors of the time, Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable. Gable has also popped out on “Mutiny on the Bounty” and the very small movie “Gone with the Wind.”  Although in this one he plays a lovelorn sailor, I mean a lovelorn gambler, I mean a lovelorn journalist. Ah yes that’s the ticket. Well he is a down on his luck journalist who finds himself riding on the same bus to New York with a millionaire’s daughter who in her discontent has run away from home.  So he takes her on after she loses her luggage and any material possession she may own.  As per diem she falls in love with him and it’s a bit of a cat and chase movie until the end.    I saw this movie in the Sex and the City 2 movie actually. The very first scene where Carrie and Big are at the Hotel after Stanford’s wedding. They watch the movie and Carrie says Claudette Colbert is “pretty” (sorry I don’t think so.) I like Clark Gable in this movie I really do. It might actually be my favorite. But considering I have only watched.. umm three Clark Gable movies not sure if that stands. Also I had a bit of a marathon watched all three Clark Gable included movies, so saw his many facets and could see why he was so loved by studios. Even though I will say his justification air of authority annoyed me in Mutiny on the Bounty. 

It also won awards for :

Best Picture :Columbia Pictures (Frank Capra and Harry Cohn)

Best Director: Frank Capra

Best Actor :Clark Gable

Best Actress: Claudette Colbert

Best Writing, Adaptation: Robert Riskin

Day 29:The Apartment

The Apartment: 1960: 33rd Winner of the Academy Award

Starring:

Jack Lemmon as C.C. "Bud" Baxter

Shirley MacLaine as Fran Kubelik

Fred MacMurray as Jeff D. Sheldrake

Ray Walston as Joe Dobisch

Jack Kruschen as Dr. Dreyfuss

David Lewis as Al Kirkeby

Hope Holiday as Mrs. Margie MacDougall

Joan Shawlee as Sylvia

Naomi Stevens as Mrs. Mildred Dreyfuss

Johnny Seven as Karl Matuschka

Joyce Jameson as the blonde in the bar

Willard Waterman as Mr. Vanderhoff

David White as Mr. Eichelberger

Edie Adams as Miss Olsen

This movie was pretty decent and it was also kind of unexpected. It's a romantic-comedy film and it stars comedic legend: Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine. Firstly I would like to say that I was irked by it at first. The premise is that 'Bud' lends his apartment out to the head honchos of the company he works for so they can have their flings with secretaries and the lot. However he himself is trying to associate with Fran (MacLaine), she is an elevator girl who has a secret, she is sleeping with the boss. Now this is standard rom-com formula. They fall in love, something stands in the way, they figure it out , boy losses girl, girl figures out and looks for the boy, and happy ever after. However the inter-plot is great, there’s a sense of a lost girl in Fran, that just translates really well onto the screen. I have never seen any of MacLaine's earlier work, I believe from 1980 to now. I never knew her voice was so high up there and that she was way pretty when she was younger. Like super pretty! As for Lemmon well I also had a teensy bit of a crush on him, but didn't like how mean he was to Marilyn Monroe. Which brings me right back to point one, the irk. So the first ten minutes of the movie, I assume this is a teamwork between Billy Wilder and Jack Lemmon who had worked with Monroe before, one of the honcho's girl not only sounds like Monroe but is doing the “Marilyn”, it kind of irked me because, well because you don't fuck with Marilyn! However something quite interesting is that in the first 5 minutes a commercial for “The Grand Hotel” another “Best Picture”, winner. It was fun to watch this movie, maybe not something I’d get but I’d watch it again.

It also won awards for:

Best Director :Billy Wilder

Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen :I. A. L. Diamond and Billy Wilder

Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (Black and White):Edward G. Boyle and Alexandre Trauner

Best Film Editing: Daniel Mandell