It Happened One Night (1934)

Director:

Frank Capra

Writers:

Samuel Hopkins Adams (story)
Robert Riskin (screenplay)

Release Date:

9 April 1934 (Brazil)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Two great lovers of the screen in the grandest of romantic comedies !

Plot:

A spoiled heiress, running away from her family, is helped by a man who's actually a reporter looking for a story. But then he falls for her...

Plot Keywords:

Check | Piggy Back Ride | Runaway Bride | Rope | Bus Accident

Awards:

Won 5 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Clark Gable	...	Peter Warne
Claudette Colbert	...	Ellie Andrews
Walter Connolly	...	Alexander Andrews
Roscoe Karns	...	Oscar Shapeley
Jameson Thomas	...	King Westley
Alan Hale	...	Danker
Arthur Hoyt	...	Zeke
Blanche Friderici	...	Zeke's wife
Charles C. Wilson	...	Joe Gordon

Also Known As:

Night Bus (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Iceland:L | Portugal:M/12 | Canada:G (Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Brazil:Livre | Norway:16 (1934) | Argentina:Atp | Germany:o.Al. | Sweden:15 | UK:U | South Korea:15 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Busch Gardens - S. Grove Avenue, Pasadena, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Claudette Colbert only wears four different outfits throughout the course of the film: a flimsy nightgown at the beginning, her traveling suit, Clark Gable's pajamas, and her wedding dress.

Goofs:

Continuity: As Peter is singing and threatening to take off his pants, Ellen begins to bolt behind the hanging blanket. A half second later there is a shot of Ellen looking at him for a solid second, and then bolting to the other side of the blanket.

Quotes:

Ellie: [to Peter] You think I'm a fool and a spoiled brat. Well, perhaps I am, although I don't see how I can be. People who are spoiled are accustomed to having their own way. I never have. On the contrary - I've always been told what to do, how to do it, and when, and with whom. Would you believe it? This is the first time I've ever been alone with a man! It's a wonder I'm not panic-stricken.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Newhart: It Happened One Afternoon: Part 1 (#2.1)" (1983)

Soundtrack:

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf

Travel back in time, to the days when romantic comedies had not yet evolved into chick flicks

I was inspired to think of other films with completely mystifying titles. `The Phantom Menace', obviously. Also: `The Shop Around the Corner' (around the corner from WHERE?), `The Empire Strikes Back' (it doesn't), `The Living Daylights', `True Lies', `Batman Forever', `Species', `The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp' ... if anyone has any more suggestions, please send them to me.

In this case, it happens over several nights, and I'm not sure which particular night is being referred to. Probably one of the candidate nights is less unobvious than the rest; so I guess the title isn't COMPLETELY mystifying. But actually, Capra gives us the feeling that everything is up in the air. Everyone knows that the hero and heroine of romantic comedies are bound to get hitched in the end - in most cases it's simply a question of staying awake. But Capra makes us feel the contingency of it all. I, for one, was convinced that right up until the final moment, it could have gone either way. How did Capra manage this? Was it because he was a complete innocent; or was it because he was remarkably sophisticated? I don't suppose it matters: it's results that count.

I'm glad to see very little mention among the comments about the sexism of it all. The characters have life; their words have life; and if such art as this could only be produced by a sexist society, it's almost worth creating a sexist society (and then dismantling it), in order to get the art. In modern romances I get the feeling that the writers are wearily writing `feisty' lines for the heroine in an attempt to fool feminists, who, by and large, aren't so easily fooled. Claudette Colbert isn't feisty. When she DOES assert her independence, she means it.

(And, of course, when Clark Gable asserts his dominance, HE means it. You don't get sincerity like this these days.)

Anyway, the ideology of a film, if there is one, is always beside the point, except inasmuch as the ideology is AESTHETICALLY attractive or unattractive. This is an attractive film. Two real individuals, a real story, some misunderstanding but no tiresome or pointless misunderstanding, constant wit - and, as I expressed amazement at earlier, constant suspense. And if THAT isn't enough to get you to watch it, note that it was released in 1934. The Hayes code didn't come into effect until 1935. Not a moment too late.