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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:31

Fresh:30

Rotten:1

Average Rating:8.7/10

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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    tomato

    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: | comment Comment | Feb., 04 2009 04:31 PM

    TIME Magazine

    tomato
    5/5

    David Parkinson

    An old school classic.

    Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 20 2008 02:37 PM

    Empire Magazine

    tomato

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

    Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 19 2008 05:29 PM

    Channel 4 Film

    tomato

    Variety Staff

    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: | comment Comment | Feb., 19 2008 05:28 PM

    Variety

    tomato
    3.5/5

    James Kendrick

    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: | comment Comment | Dec., 30 2006 08:10 AM

    Q Network Film Desk

    tomato
    A

    Emanuel Levy

    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: | comment Comment | Dec., 25 2006 04:24 PM

    EmanuelLevy.Com

    tomato

    Dave Kehr

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

    Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 12 2006 08:40 PM

    Chicago Reader

    tomato
    4/4

    Wesley Lovell

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

    Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 10 2006 10:08 AM

    Oscar Guy

    tomato

    Geoff Andrew

    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: | comment Comment | Feb., 09 2006 03:17 AM

    Time Out

    tomato
    3.5/5

    Brad Laidman

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

    Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 06 2005 08:13 PM

    Film Threat

    tomato
    4/4

    Scott Nash

    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: | comment Comment | Sep., 30 2005 03:16 AM

    Three Movie Buffs

    tomato
    4/4

    Phil Villarreal

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

    Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Sep., 26 2004 08:40 AM

    Arizona Daily Star

    tomato
    5/5

    Nell Minow

    No review available.

    comment Comment | Jun., 25 2004 07:31 PM

    Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

    tomato
    B+

    Dennis Schwartz

    A very funny and breezy comedy.

    Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 16 2004 06:23 PM

    Ozus' World Movie Reviews

    tomato
    5/5

    Frank Swietek

    No review available.

    comment Comment | Dec., 23 2003 09:26 AM

    One Guy's Opinion

    splat
    2/5

    John Esther

    No review available.

    comment 3 Comments | Aug., 22 2003 12:28 AM

    Pasadena Weekly

    tomato
    5/5

    Matt Easterbrook

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

    Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jul., 24 2003 08:30 AM

    Matt's Movie Reviews

    tomato
    A-

    Steven D. Greydanus

    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: | comment Comment | May., 30 2003 06:31 PM

    Decent Films Guide

    tomato
    5/5

    Mordaunt Hall

    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: | comment Comment | May., 20 2003 05:02 PM

    New York Times

    tomato

    Marjorie Baumgarten

    This classic comedy is the first movie ever to sweep the five major Oscar categories.

    Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 10 2003 08:07 AM

    Austin Chronicle

     
     
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