I saw the 1934 film "It Happened One Night" with Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert last week, and it struck me that the movie was made at a turning point in visual evolution. While well photographed and acted, the editing was unbelievably clumsy by modern standards, with many unnecessary transition shots. I think many talented filmmakers were still making the transition from the visual language of silent pictures, prevalent only six years before, to a medium where the spoken word was the main narrative source. The film stands as an awkward monument between the traditions of "Metropolis" and "The General" and the classical editing that defined Hollywood in the 1940s and 50s. Incidentally,only "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" tied "It Happened One Night" by winning the big 5 Oscars (actor, actress, director, screenplay, and picture). It's often cited as a milestone of romantic comedy, but I found the characters painfully unlikable compared to the Grant-Hepburn films of the same era--even Andie MacDowall in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" was easier to take than this :->. **************************************************************** * Joseph C. Weinmunson III * "If I can't dance to it, I * * * don't want any part of your * * [log in to unmask] * revolution."--Emma Goldman * * * * * Louisiana Scholars' College * Them bats is smart--they * * Natchitoches, LA 71497 * use radar. * **************************************************************** ---- To signoff SCREEN-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF SCREEN-L in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]