Bored but Determined Heiress

One of the most lovable things about It Happened One Night is the characters. As I've mentioned before, you can't help but root for them. They are distinct and not necessarily the nicest people on Earth, but they're true to themselves and they fight for what they want. How can you not help but love that? Isn't that what we all want? Peter Warne is an out-of-luck newspaper reporter who goes after a story and won't take anything sitting back. When he realizes his fallen for Ellie, he won't propose to her unless he can support her honestly and so immediately he rushes off to write an article for his newspaper. Ellie's dad is a business man who cares so much for his daughter that he'll do anything to protect her, even kidnap her from her own wedding. And when she escapes and won't return to him, he gives in to her just so she'll return. But does that stop him from putting his two cents in? Not in the least. And then there's Ellie Andrews, a heroine that is sometimes seldom seen today in films and literature. She has fighting words for anyone who thinks contrary to her but most of all she's like the men in this film, she goes after what she wants. And even if you don't agree with her, as a viewer you gotta admire that.

Ellie is the kind of heroine that helped define the comedic leading lady in future films. She isn't one to take things lightly. She is bored, and determined to live her life. I've already mentioned that I loved Ellie from the beginning of the film. I love how as soon as she was introduced she was in the midst of a problem, you know her character right away, and then when given the opportunity she takes off and goes after the freedom she craves, to live her life how she wants to. Most people at the sight of being in the middle of the sea with the only escape being to jump overboard--and not just swim but not get caught as well--can get intimidated. But not Ellie, which makes her all the more likable. When she jumps off the yacht you want to follow her wherever she goes and you hope she gets what she wants in the end. When Peter tells her at one point in the movie to phone her father for money so they can eat and get a place to stay, she refuses. She's determined to make it to New York on her own. So to speak anyway.

But going after what she wants isn't just what makes Ellie such a great heroine. It's her dialogue as well. For someone who's led a sheltered life, Ellie can give you such a mouthful that'll make you chuckle. Her first interactions with Peter are always to refer to him as young man and then dismiss him almost as if he were the help. And the interactions that continue between them are funny. During the hitchhiking scene when he's telling her the art of using the thumb, she feeds him on with feigned interest. When he gets a room for them the first night, she responds to him with sarcasm, asking if she's supposed to be grateful for his help. In fact, Ellie has a response to many things that Peter throws at her that he has to tell her to shut up. And she does, which is interesting to note. But the interactions aren't just with Peter. When she encounters Shapeley on the bus and he never shuts up enough to even let her talk if she wanted to, she tells him that he seems to be doing all the talking for he both of them and that he bores her to death. And no matter what happens on the road, Ellie never really loses her fighting spirit.

But where I feel Ellie fails as a heroine is that forasmuch as she's independent she still depends on a man. It seems that in order for Ellie to get away from her dad successfully, she needs the help of a man. She loses her suitcase, almost loses her ticket, and is out of money all by the second day. If Peter doesn't help her for his own selfish reasons, Ellie would have been stranded, and what would she have done then? Ellie tells Peter she won't ask for any help from her father, but later on the same evening, after she tells Peter that he could leave her alone and she'd be fine, that she wouldn't need him, she gets desperate when she can't find him. When he returns, she grasps on to him as if for dear life. The girl's grown attached to the man. Not that no girl in her shoes would've done the same, but it seems she's not so independent. With that being said, I did like that she was full of contradictions. She said one thing but acted in another way. It made her even more interesting and fun to watch. What I didn't like though was when she thinks Peter has abandoned her after she declares her love for him, she calls her father to come rescue her. It would've been nicer to see her trying to do things on her own terms, but I suppose the story had to move along.

With all this being said, I think Ellie is a fine character that shows spunk and determination from the start. She won't take things lying down. Even if she does shut up whenever Peter has told her to, it's normally after a lengthy argument in which Peter just doesn't want to hear it. And the truth of it is, Ellie could just walk away if she didn't want to shut up, but she doesn't because she's falling for Peter Warne.