It Happened One Night vs Inside Llewyn Davis

It Happened One Night

The trip is a string of small problems, with a missed bus, a washed-out bridge, detectives and a car thief. Each one pushes them closer. You watch the road add up to a romance.

Inside Llewyn Davis

The story is a chain of couches, rides and meetings. Llewyn visits the Gorfeins, the Berkeys and his sister, then rides to Chicago with 2 strangers, then comes back. Each stop shows a different corner of the folk scene.

It Happened One Night

A blanket hung on a rope between the beds is called the walls of Jericho. It keeps them apart and gives the film a running joke. When it finally falls, the film's romance is complete.

Inside Llewyn Davis

A ginger cat escapes the Gorfeins' apartment, and Llewyn carries it around town. He leaves a cat in a car and later hits a cat on a road. At the end, the real cat, Ulysses, has found his way home. The cat can go back where Llewyn cannot.

It Happened One Night

The bus passengers sing a song together, with Peter and Ellie among them. Capra decided to add this late and improvised the scene, and he cast himself as the singer of the third stanza. The sing-along turns strangers into a community for a moment.

Inside Llewyn Davis

Most of the folk songs are sung in full and recorded live. Llewyn sings Fare Thee Well at the Gorfeins' dinner, and Mrs. Gorfein sings the harmony he used to share with his late partner. He snaps at her, and the song shows his grief.