It Happened One Night (1934)

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

Director:

Frank Capra

Writers:

Robert Riskin (screenplay), Samuel Hopkins Adams (short story)

Stars:

Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly

Top 250 #137 | Won 5 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Clark Gable	...	Peter Warne
Claudette Colbert	...	Ellie
Walter Connolly	...	Andrews
Roscoe Karns	...	Shapeley
Jameson Thomas	...	Westley
Alan Hale	...	Danker
Arthur Hoyt	...	Zeke
Blanche Friderici	...	Zeke's Wife
Charles C. Wilson	...	Gordon

Storyline

Ellie Andrews has just tied the knot with society aviator King Westley when she is whisked away to her father's yacht and out of King's clutches. Ellie jumps ship and eventually winds up on a bus headed back to her husband. Reluctantly she must accept the help of out-of- work reporter Peter Warne. Actually, Warne doesn't give her any choice: either she sticks with him until he gets her back to her husband, or he'll blow the whistle on Ellie to her father. Either way, Peter gets what (he thinks!) he wants .... a really juicy newspaper story.

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Plot Keywords:

bus | reporter | love | yacht | reward | 

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Taglines:

Together for the first time!

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 February 1934 (USA)

Also Known As:

Night Bus

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$325,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min 65 min (cut TV)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Frank Capra came up with the idea about "the walls of Jericho" because Claudette Colbert refused to undress in front of the camera.

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Goofs

In the exterior view of the bus running off the road (after the "flying trapeze" song), the driver is a different person and the curtain that is behind him in the interior view is missing.

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Quotes

Ellie Andrews: How did you get the car?
Peter Warne: I gave him a black eye for it. And had to tie him to a tree.

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Connections

Referenced in Salut... j'arrive! (1982)

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Soundtracks

"The Flying Trapeze"
(1867) (uncredited)
Music by Gaston Lyle
Lyrics by George Leybourne
Performed by all bus passengers

User Reviews

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.