A movie that swept the 1934 Academy Awards and captivatedDepression-era America, It Happened One Night challenged theways Americans imagined marriage, romance, gender, and classdifference. This book examines key scenes and formal features ofIt Happened One Night, and explores its lasting importancein film history and in cultural studies. Consideration of the film’s role in establishing thegenre of the romantic comedy film Investigations into the film’s persistent sexuality andits creativity in avoiding Depression-era censorship Establishment of the cultural, economic, and political contextof a film that directly addresses the Depression and classissues Exploration of how the film invokes and develops the stardom ofClark Gable and Claudette Colbert and how this stardom intersectswith the film’s topics of gender, genre, sexuality, andclass
It Happened One Night . . . and nothing was ever the same again! Once upon a time, four superstar storytellers—New York Times bestselling authors Stephanie Laurens and Mary Balogh, along with Jacquie D'Alessandro and Candice Hern—came up with a delicious idea. What if they each wrote a story about a proper young lady stranded at a remote inn away from society's constraints? What would happen? And how long would it take for her to give in to desire? In these four amazing tales, four heroines will come face-to-face with the men who got away . . . only to discover that, instead of anger, there is still a passionate connection that cannot be denied. And while each of their lives is quite different, and their pasts utterly unique, they will all make a common discovery—that one night can change everything . . . forever.
New York Times bestselling historical romance superstars Stephanie Laurens and Mary Balogh, along with beloved fan favorites Jacquie D’Alessandro and Candice Hern—the four authors who brought you It Happened One Night—are back with It Happened One Season. Even more inventive than their bestselling first anthology, It Happened One Season presents four love stories set during an unforgettable Regency social season—each passion-rich novella based on the same themes chosen by readers during a month-long online contest…yet each one surprisingly, delightfully unique!
Get lost in the fun of an impromptu Las Vegas wedding in this classic romance from New York Times bestselling author Sharon Sala. Wedding night? What wedding night? Proper Southerner Harley June Beaumont came to Vegas to be her best friend’s maid of honor, so how is she waking up in bed with the best-looking man she’s ever seen—who claims to be her husband. She doesn’t even remember meeting firefighter Sam Clay, just dancing and drinking and having a good time—a good time that stopped well short of a trip to the tattoo parlor, much less the altar. Though her new “Junie loves Same” tattoo says otherwise! With nothing to do but brazen things out in front of her very proper family, Harley embarks on married life with no expectation that it could possibly last. But Sam turns out to be the whole package, and soon Harley thinks that sometimes it’s a good thing that what happens in Vegas doesn’t necessarily stay there. Originally published in 2002
Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize (Biography) A Hollywood love story, a Hollywood memoir, a dual biography of two of Hollywood’s most famous figures, whose golden lives were lived at the center of Hollywood’s golden age, written by their daughter, an acclaimed writer and producer. Fay Wray was most famous as the woman—the blonde in a diaphanous gown—who captured the heart of the mighty King Kong, the twenty-five-foot, sixty-ton gorilla, as he placed her, nestled in his eight-foot hand, on the ledge of the 102-story Empire State Building, putting Wray at the height of New York’s skyline and cinematic immortality. Wray starred in more than 120 pictures opposite Hollywood's biggest stars—Spencer Tracy, Gary Cooper (The Legion of the Condemned, The First Kiss, The Texan, One Sunday Afternoon), Clark Gable, William Powell, and Charles Boyer; from cowboy stars Hoot Gibson and Art Accord to Ronald Colman (The Unholy Garden), Claude Rains, Ralph Richardson, and Melvyn Douglas. She was directed by the masters of the age, from Fred Niblo, Erich von Stroheim (The Wedding March), and Mauritz Stiller (The Street of Sin) to Leo McCarey, William Wyler, Gregory La Cava, “Wild Bill” William Wellman, Merian C. Cooper (The Four Feathers, King Kong), Josef von Sternberg (Thunderbolt), Dorothy Arzner (Behind the Make-Up), Frank Capra (Dirigible), Michael Curtiz (Doctor X), Raoul Walsh (The Bowery), and Vincente Minnelli. The book’s—and Wray’s—counterpart: Robert Riskin, considered one of the greatest screenwriters of all time. Academy Award–winning writer (nominated for five), producer, ten-year-long collaborator with Frank Capra on such pictures as American Madness, It Happened One Night, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Lost Horizon, and Meet John Doe, hailed by many, among them F. Scott Fitzgerald, as “among the best screenwriters in the business.” Riskin wrote women characters who were smart, ornery, sexy, always resilient, as he perfected what took full shape in It Happened One Night, the Riskin character, male or female—breezy, self-made, streetwise, optimistic, with a sense of humor that is subtle and sure. Fay Wray and Robert Riskin lived large lives, finding each other after establishing their artistic selves and after each had had many romantic attachments—Wray, an eleven-year-long difficult marriage and a fraught affair with Clifford Odets, and Riskin, a series of romances with, among others, Carole Lombard, Glenda Farrell, and Loretta Young. Here are Wray’s and Riskin’s lives, their work, their fairy-tale marriage that ended so tragically. Here are their dual, quintessential American lives, ultimately and blissfully intertwined.
Headstrong American heiress Lillian Bowman has come to England to find an aristocratic husband. Unfortunately, no man is strong enough to tame the stubborn beauty's fierce will. Except, perhaps, the powerful and arrogant Earl of Westcliff—a man Lillian despises more than anyone she's ever met. Marcus, Lord Westcliff, is famous for his icy English reserve and his supreme self-control. But something about the audacious Lillian drives him mad. Whenever they're in the same room, they can't stop themselves from battling furiously to gain the upper hand. Then one afternoon, a stunningly sensuous encounter changes everything . . . and Lillian discovers that beneath the earl's reserved façade, he is the passionate and tender lover of her dreams. What neither Westcliff nor Lillian suspect, however, is that a sinister conspiracy threatens to destroy any chance of happiness. After a shocking betrayal endangers Lillian's safety—and possibly her life—will Marcus be able to save her before it's too late?
Written with erudition, insight, and enthusiasm, Runaway Bride is a brilliant mix of film and social history that renews our vision and broadens our understanding of some of the best-loved movies ever made, and the complex, Depression-influenced circumstances from which they were born.
More than one beautiful woman's hopeshave been dashed on the rocky shoals ofJonathan Redmond's heart. With his rivetinggood looks and Redmond wealth and power,the world is his oyster—until an ultimatumfrom his father and a chilling gypsy prophecysend him hurtling headlong toward a fatehe'll do anything to avoid: matrimony. Intoxicating, elusive Thomasina de Ballesteroshas the bloods of London at her feet. But noneof them knows the real Tommy—the one witha shocking pedigree, a few too many secrets,and a healthy scorn for rakes like Jonathan. She's everything Jonathan never wanted.But on one fateful midnight, he's drawn intoTommy's world of risk, danger . . . and a desirehe'd never dreamed possible. And suddenlyhe's re-thinking everything . . . includingthe possibility that succumbing to prophecymight just mean surrendering to love.
Sometimes love finds you when you least expect it. Lana Biel has always wanted to shake the dust of Vermont off her feet and see the world, one exotic country after another. But when a lighthearted spring fling changes her life forever, she turns to the one man whose strong shoulders can lighten any burden: her best friend, Eli Ward. Eli has always been there for Lana--after all, that's what best friends do. But Lana isn't the only one hiding something. Eli is keeping secrets of his own that threaten their relationship. Yet as summer turns to fall, new desires awaken between them, even as old fears tear them apart. Then, when another Vermont winter fills the valleys with snow, Eli and Lana are given the chance for an adventure greater than they ever dreamed possible...and a love that will last for all time.
