Capturing its stars and director at their finest, It Happened One Night remains unsurpassed by the countless romantic comedies it has inspired. Read critic reviews
It Happened One Night
1934, Romance/Comedy, 1h 45m
107 Reviews 25,000+ RatingsWhat to know
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Movie Info
In Frank Capra's acclaimed romantic comedy, spoiled heiress Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert) impetuously marries the scheming King Westley, leading her tycoon father (Walter Connolly) to spirit her away on his yacht. After jumping ship, Ellie falls in with cynical newspaper reporter Peter Warne (Clark Gable), who offers to help her reunite with her new husband in exchange for an exclusive story. But during their travels, the reporter finds himself falling for the feisty young heiress.
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Genre: Romance, Comedy
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Original Language: English
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Director: Frank Capra
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Producer: Frank Capra, Harry Cohn
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Writer: Samuel Hopkins Adams, Robert Riskin
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Release Date (Theaters): original
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Release Date (Streaming):
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Runtime:
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Distributor: Columbia Pictures, Columbia TriStar Home Video, RCA/Columbia
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Sound Mix: Mono
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Aspect Ratio: 35mm, Flat (1.37:1)
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Critic Reviews for It Happened One Night
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Clark Gable dials up the 1934 beefcake with his shirt off in one seen, and Colbert famously stops a car while hitchhiking by revealing her leg, but the movie is quite innocuous, and is better known for essentially being the blueprint for romantic comedies to this day. Colbert is a spoiled, rich heiress who runs away from her family (actually starting this by jumping off a yacht and swimming away from them). Gable is a newspaper reporter who's been fired. They find each other on a crowded train, and are forced to sit together. They hate one another at first, but after spending time on a couple of busses, a car, in the haystack together, and in a hotel room divided by a clothesline with a blanket hanging over it ... well, you get the idea. At one point he carries her across a stream caveman style, over his shoulder, and gives her a swat on the behind as they debate what constitutes a piggyback ride. They confuse each other's motivations and split at the end, Colbert off to wed another (and in a very pretty dress), but we all know where it's heading, and this one is complete with a 'runaway bride' scene. I don't know if the movie was worthy of sweeping the Academy Awards (and Colbert herself didn't think much of it), but it's still sharp with its dialog, and quite entertaining. Aside from the main story line, it has a nice 'Capra' touch in having everyone on a bus (including the driver) singing verses of 'The Man on the Flying Trapeze' to pass the time. I also smiled over this interchange after Gable's character had tossed some newspapers off the bus to make space for his seat: Bus driver: "Oh, fresh guy, huh? What you need is a good sock in the nose." Clark Gable: "Listen pardner, you might like my nose, but I do. I always wear it out in the open, where if anyone wants to take a sock at it, they can do it." "Oh, yeah?" "Now that's a brilliant answer. Why didn't I think of it? Our conversation could have been over long ago." "Oh, yeah?" "You keep that up, we're not going to get anywhere." "Oh, yeah?" "Ya got me. Yeah!" (to chuckling from the other passengers)
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Yes, the plot is hugely influential, but its the details, like the minor digressions, odd little comedic bits, and the electric chemistry of Gable and Colbert, that make the whole film hold up so well.
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Gable, who I don't tend to like, is wonderfully charming with Colbert as two characters thrown together for a road trip for the ages. Capra brings us a sentimental masterpiece once again.
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Colbert and Gable hated making it and it ended up being one of Hitler's favorite films, but Capra's perfectly scripted romantic comedy has a stamp of glorious old-Hollywood quality.
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