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Movies / On DVD / It Happened One Night
It Happened One Night

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It Happened One Night (1934)

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Reviews Counted: 32

Fresh: 31

Rotten:1

Average Rating: 8.8/10

Consensus: Capturing its stars and director at their finest, It Happened One Night remains unsurpassed by the countless romantic comedies it has inspired.

Runtime: 3 hrs 35 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: Director Frank Capra and his two stars, Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert, stole hearts and a quintet of Oscars with this sparkling, legendary romantic comedy. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT is based on the... Director Frank Capra and his two stars, Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert, stole hearts and a quintet of Oscars with this sparkling, legendary romantic comedy. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT is based on the story "Night Bus" by Samuel Hopkins Adams, and it follows a news reporter and a runaway heiress who fall in love while traveling cross country on a bus. But as with any classic, the film is more than the sum of its parts, and special attention should be paid to the fizzy chemistry between the two leads and the witty script from Robert Riskin. This screwball comedy was the first to take home all five major Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor--Clark Gable, Best Actress--Claudette Colbert, and Best Adapted Screenplay. [More]

Starring: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly, Alan Hale

Starring: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly, Alan Hale, Roscoe Karns, Ward Bond, Henry Wadsworth, Claire McDowell

Director: Frank Capra

Director: Frank Capra
Screenwriter: Robert Riskin
Composer: Louis Silvers

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Dec 9, 2008

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert team up for laughs as mismatched lovers in this 1934 screwball comedy classic. Spoiled Ellie Andrews (Colbert) escapes from her millionaire father (Walter Connolly),who wants to stop her from marrying a worthless playboy. En route to New York, Ellie gets involved with an out-of-work newsman, Peter Warne (Gable). When their bus breaks down, the bickering couple set off on a madcap hitchhiking expedition. Peter hopes to parlay the inside story of their misadventures into a job. But complications fly when the runaway heiress and brash reporter fall in love. Directed by Frank Capra, IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT was the first movie to be honored with all five major Oscars(r): Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Screenplay.
  • Source: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
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    Reviews for It Happened One Night

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    1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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    Instead of attempting a journalistic study of bus-travel, regularly punctuated by comic touches, Director Frank Capra and Robert Riskin who adapted Samuel Hopkins Adams' story, fused the two.

    Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
    02/04/09
    TIME Magazine
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    An old school classic.

    Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
    02/20/08
    David Parkinson
    Empire Magazine

    With Gable and Colbert on top form this is a charming and memorable comedy.

    Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
    02/19/08
    Channel 4 Film
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    One of those stories that without a particularly strong plot manages to come through in a big way, due to the acting, dialog, situations and direction.

    Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
    02/19/08
    Variety Staff
    Variety
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The story of a runaway heiress falling in with a devilish, wise-cracking reporter on a cross-country roadtrip now seems like a cliché only because so many other films have copied its structure.

    Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
    12/30/06
    James Kendrick
    Q Network Film Desk

    This charming romantic comedy, while grounded in the context of the Depression, offered light fare that's uncharacteristic of Capra. It might have been the first true sleeper since no one involved anticipated such critical and commercial success.

    Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
    12/25/06
    Emanuel Levy
    EmanuelLevy.Com

    This is Capra at his best, very funny and very light, with a minimum of populist posturing.

    Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
    12/12/06
    Dave Kehr
    Chicago Reader
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Only minorly dated, this film would play well for modern audiences despite being more than 70 years old.

    Full Review Source: Oscar Guy | comment Comment
    10/10/06
    Wesley Lovell
    Oscar Guy

    Capra's sense of humour is a little like that of Preston Sturges, though less caustic; and the film shows its stars at their best, Colbert as one of Hollywood's fresher comediennes, Gable as dumb-but-loveable hunk.

    Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
    02/09/06
    Geoff Andrew
    Time Out

    Who can resist a movie where the girl's father provides his daughter with a getaway car from her own wedding?

    Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
    12/06/05
    Brad Laidman
    Film Threat

    It Happened One Night is a true classic in every sense of the word, one that withstands the test of time and indeed defies it completely.

    Full Review Source: Three Movie Buffs | comment Comment
    09/30/05
    Scott Nash
    Three Movie Buffs

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    07/16/05
    Emanuel Levy
    EmanuelLevy.Com

    The romantic comedy that all others draw from, few imitate effectively, and none have been able to replicate.

    Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
    09/26/04
    Phil Villarreal
    Arizona Daily Star

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    06/25/04
    Nell Minow
    Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

    A very funny and breezy comedy.

    Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
    03/16/04
    Dennis Schwartz
    Ozus' World Movie Reviews

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    12/23/03
    Frank Swietek
    One Guy's Opinion

    No review available.

    comment 2 Comments
    08/22/03
    John Esther
    Pasadena Weekly

    Not only will the Walls of Jericho fall, but so will the walls of your heart.

    Full Review Source: Matt's Movie Reviews | comment Comment
    07/24/03
    Matt Easterbrook
    Matt's Movie Reviews

    One of the most enduring romantic comedies of Hollywood’s golden age… The opposites-attract comedy still works, though Gable’s dismissive treatment of pampered Colbert, which played well with Depression-era audiences, seems dated today.

    Full Review Source: Decent Films Guide | comment Comment
    05/30/03
    Steven D. Greydanus
    Decent Films Guide

    It Happened One Night is a good piece of fiction, which, with all its feverish stunts, is blessed with bright dialogue and a good quota of relatively restrained scenes.

    Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
    05/20/03
    Mordaunt Hall
    New York Times
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
     
     
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    Latest News for It Happened One Night

    June 22, 2007: AFI Announces Top 100 Movies of All Time ... Again
    Ten years ago the AFI gave us a list of the Top 100 American Films Ever Made -- and when that was done they churned out 15 other lists every few years. And then last night they... More...

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