Our Timeless Romance With Screwball Comedy
Born Out of the Great Depression, the Genre Reminds Us That Even in Hard Times There’s Laughter, Love, and Light
Ninety years ago, Columbia Pictures released a film that transformed the trajectory of American screen comedy.
Frank Capra’s It Happened One Night tells the story of spoiled Park Avenue heiress Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert), who meets newspaper reporter Peter Warne (Clark Gable) on a Greyhound bus in Miami. Ellie has just run away from her overbearing father, who disapproves of her recent elopement. Peter recognizes Ellie from the headlines and makes her an offer: He’ll help her return to New York to reunite with her husband if she gives him an …
