It Happened One Night Analysis

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The hit film It Happened One Night won all five major Academy Awards Including: Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and Screenplay. The film was released on February 23, 1934 and took America by storm. However, a couple months after the films release came a code of conduct to movie making that wouldn’t be strictly enforced until March of 1934. This piece of loose governing was known as the Hays Code. Due to the Hays Code, some scenes that are regarded as classic moments, would have to be cut out, re-filmed or re-edited to fit this code. For example, in the Hays Code it states, “Undressing scenes should be avoided, and never used save where essential to the plot.” In It Happened One Night we see the character Peter set up what he likes to call the wall of Jericho. The wall of Jericho refers to a large blanket on a laundry wire that splits the room of the motel (that the characters are staying in) in half so that they don’t become attracted to each other and for privacy reasons. During this scene both Peter and Ellie change clothes which is a direct violation of the Hays Code. The Hays Code wasn’t strictly enforced until 1934, but It Happened One Night was made just a couple months before the strict Hays Code went into effect. With that being said, since the …show more content…
Hence the sympathy of the audience should never be thrown to the side of crime, wrongdoing, evil or sin”. During the middle part of the film, Peter and Ellie are pretending to have a fight. Peter threatens to throw some fists at her if she doesn’t stop complaining. This instance, of course, is a direct violation of many rules in the Hays Code. Since the scene depicts a woman being threatened, it brings down the moral standards of the viewer. After watching that specific scene, he or she may think that it’s all right to threaten people for things that they want to