It Happened One Night
"Legendary romantic comedy, still as enchanting as ever." - Leonard Maltin
Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert team up for laughs as mismatched loves in this 1934 screwball comedy classic. Spoiled Ellie Andrew (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; Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Screenplay.
Member Reviews
Let It Happen! - Squish
Lucky for It Happened One Night that it was produced in 1934, because this very cheeky screwball Rom Com was one of the last films to be made before the Hays code kicked in to high gear - Hollywood's censorship rules that lasted till the late 60s. Ironically, It Happened One Night ended up being a smash hit and the first of only three films to ever land all 'big 5' Oscars: Best Picture; Best Actor in a Leading Role, Clark Gable; Best Actress in a Leading Role, Claudette Colbert; Best Director, Frank Capra; Best Writing, Adaptation, Robert Riskin
That being said, there's a whole lot going for Frank Capra's It Happened One Night. It goes beyond dated and sits in the realm of socio-anthropological study, while still being bold enough to raise an eyebrow or two. Cheeky scenes include hitchhiking by bearing one's 'assets', intimidating a worrisome witness with the threat of a gangland-style massacre and sharing a cabin without being married *GASP!*
The story revolves around Ellie, a spoiled rich girl who dives off her father's yacht when he forbids her to marry a famous aviator. The famous Ellie Andrew, known to the press for her flighty ways, embarks on a journey from Miami to New York City with plans to elope with her beloved pilot. Enter Peter, a down-on-his-luck reporter who spots Ellie and, seeing an opportunity for an exclusive, finds, follows and befriends Ellie, recording her jaunt's experiences for a fat paycheque. Of course, being a Romantic Comedy you know what's going to happen next, but I won't spoil the obvious for you.
And yes, it's not usually my kind of movie either, and for as much as it's a romantic comedy from the 30s, It Happened One Night is still on IMDb's Top 250 parked at number 145. Did I mention it's also number 35 on AFI's 100 Favorite Movies Of The Last 100 Years?
If that don't makes it officially a classic, I don't know what will.Most Notable For The Performances From Clark Gable And Claudette Colbert - revsdd
This very enjoyable romantic comedy is worth watching primarily for the exceptionally good performances from Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert in the lead roles. The story itself is basically a somewhat fluffy romantic comedy, not unlike hundreds of other romantic comedies that have been made over the years - it's fun, pleasant to watch and more or less predictable. There's no real dramatic tension; the only mystery is how the main characters are going to end up together rather than if they're going to end up together.
Colbert nailed the part of Ellie Andrews - a spoiled and rich young woman who married a man she didn't really love just to get out of her father's controlling clutches. He essentially kidnaps her in a bid to end the ,arriage, and she escapes, trying to get from Miami to New York to be reunited with they guy. On the road she hooks up with Peter Warne (Gable), a down and out reporter who sees the story of Ellie's escape from her father as his way back into the newspaper business. Gable was fun and handled the part well, although to be honest I've seen him in better roles. Colbert and Gable had a pretty good chemistry together, and the supporting cast, while not overwhelming, held up their ends of the bargain well enough.
A winner of multiple Academy Awards for 1934, this is a good movie, and certainly Gable and Colbert are the big attractions in it.The first that everyone copies - MovieOtaku
Aside from Clark Gable being the inspiration for Bugs Bunny in this movie, this is a delightful and heart-warming comedy about love and finding that the best person for you is the one right under your nose.
Gable and Cobert play cynical, selfish characters who find that they really like each other. The comedy between them feels natural, not forced. Especially surprising since Cobert never really did comedy again afterwards.
The most interesting thing is realising how many movies, into to this day, copy the formula and scenes of this movie. You can see how movies like Roman Holiday and even Gigli are pale copies of this very original movie.
Member Reviews
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Let It Happen! - Squish
Lucky for It Happened One Night that it was produced in 1934, because this very cheeky screwball Rom Com was one of the last films to be made before the Hays code kicked in to high gear - Hollywood's censorship rules that lasted till the late 60s. Ironically, ...Most Notable For The Performances From Clark Gable And Claudette Colbert - revsdd
This very enjoyable romantic comedy is worth watching primarily for the exceptionally good performances from Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert in the lead roles. The story itself is basically a somewhat fluffy romantic comedy, not unlike hundreds of other ...The first that everyone copies - MovieOtaku
Aside from Clark Gable being the inspiration for Bugs Bunny in this movie, this is a delightful and heart-warming comedy about love and finding that the best person for you is the one right under your nose.
Gable and Cobert play cynical, selfish characters ...