It Happened One Night DVD (1934)

It Happened One Night

1934

Overall rating: 3.5 out of 5

from 5235 members

Frank Capra's seminal screwball comedy, which won all five major Academy Awards for 1934, is still as breezy and beguiling today. Claudette Colbert plays Ellie Andrews, a spoiled heiress who has married fortune-hunting aviator King Westley (Jameson Thomas), despite her father (Walter Connolly)'s objections. To keep Ellie from marrying this lothario, her father has been holding her prisoner aboard his yacht. But Ellie bolts from the yacht, swims ashore in her clothes, and eventually slips onto a Greyhound bus bound for New York. Aboard the bus is newspaper reporter Peter Warne (Clark Gable), who has recently been fired for drinking on the job. Peter gets the last seat on the bus -- but when he gets up to argue with the bus driver, Ellie takes his seat. Since it is the last seat on the bus, they have to share it. When Ellie has her purse stolen and she refuses to report it, Peter begins to suspect something. The next morning, they both miss the bus after a leisurely breakfast, and Peter reveals that he knows her identity. She makes a deal with him: if he helps her get to New York, he can write a scoop about her for his paper. Peter thinks she is a spoiled brat, however, and refuses a monetary bribe: I'm not interested in your money or your problem. You, King Westley, your father -- you're all a lot of hooey to me! But as they travel northward and engage in a series of misadventures, the gruff newspaperman and the spoiled rich girl, thrown together by circumstances, fall in love with each other. This movie set the pace for the screwball comedy, the witty and romantic clash of temperaments between a man and a woman mismatched in both personality and social position, a type of movie often associated with Katherine Hepburn in such classics as Bringing Up Baby (1938), The Philadelphia Story (1940), and, with Spencer Tracy, Adam's Rib (1949), Pat and Mike (1952), and Desk Set (1957), among others. The only other movies to win all five major Academy Awards (Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Director, and Screenplay) were One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991).~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

It Happened One Night details

Format:	U DVD
Starring:	Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert
Director:	Frank Capra
Genres:	Comedy - Romantic, Romance - General
Studio:	UCA
Collections:	American Film Institute's top 100, Best Picture Oscar Winners, Feel Good Films

DVD 1 disc

Name	Discs
It Happened One Night	U Feature

DVD Information

Run time:	1 hour 41 minutes
Rental release:	12 Aug 2004
Main languages:	English
Dubbed:	German, French, Spanish, Italian
Subtitles:	Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish

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Most helpful review It Happened One Night

It Happened One Night

By roncoach (365 reviews) from suffolk , 20 Mar 2010

[Highly rated reviewer]

What can I say-----one of THE great classics : in any Top 50 from The Golden Age of Hollywood, 37-47.A firm 5 star film . Why can't modern film-makers understand just why films such as this one , Gone With The Wind, The Adventures Of Robin Hood, It's A Wonderful Life, etc etc, last forever and continue to be viewed long after their latest blockbuster Tom Cruise movie has been covered with cobwebs ??? Blimey, even the blood and gore fans of modern horror need to pop back to the 1960s' Hammer Horror films to see how pitiful the present day attemts at horror GENERALLY are ( always exceptions of course , in every genre).
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A great film still making us laugh today

By Abby88 (167 reviews) from Bognor Regis , 03 Oct 2012

This film was a treat to find. An engaging story with lots of funny lines and moments. A great romantic comedy! One for my top list.
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Did this film inspire C0cktail?!

By Timbob16 (7 reviews) , 10 Sep 2012

My research for this film extended to knowing it was one of three films to ever win all five major Academy Awards (Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Director, and Screenplay) see also One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991). I didn't know however that both Gable and Colbert hating the filming, process and entire prospect of It Happened One Night.

This film was hilarious, comic timings delivered with epic control and several scenes still make me laugh thinking of them.{Hitch-hiking scene and the bed sheets}.

We have a plot we've seen hundreds of times, rich privileged girl clashes with gruff handsome drunk. Love ensues. {African Queen and Star Wars spring immediately to mind} Ashamedly so does C0cktail but we can ignore that.

However, we don't need to be reminded by the pre war cinematography and the abuse of fedora hats that this really sets an early trend in film romances. Though I wouldn't attribute the original plot line to Frank Capra.

What makes this film stand out for me is that despite the genre defining, incredible script and the leading stars is that the interplay between Gable and Colbert is so charming and sincere we simply don't mind that we can see the ending a mile away. What's more we look forward to it.
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it should happen every night,

By lukasz84 (75 reviews) , 08 Feb 2012

frank capra gives a directorial masterclass in 'it happened one night'. his work is sharp and focused, and the film is a real joy.

made in 1934, it remains fresh and vivacious. its charm and humour stand the test of time not solely because of mr capra's exquisite control, but also due to clark gable's irresistible charisma and super human sex appeal. whatever 'star quality' means, mr gable defines, or even supersedes it.

this is brilliant fun. it should happen every night,
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Like der...

By a customer , 18 Dec 2011

Great old fashioned fun film. What kind of idiot writes a review complaining about aspects of this films age ?!?!?!?
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It Happened One Night

By Emjay69 (327 reviews) from Kidlington, Oxford , 17 Feb 2011

Once again this is the sort of film that might not suit everyones taste. For me it was excellent and considering the age it's very well presented and superbly acted. If I found it in a second hand shop I'd buy it for my collection.
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