It Happened One Night (1934)

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Director:

Frank Capra

Writers:

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

Release Date:

23 February 1934 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | 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:

Reporter | Yacht | Bus | Heiress | Newspaper

Awards:

Won 5 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Clark Gable	...	Peter
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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ernie Adams	...	The Bag Thief (uncredited)
Jessie Arnold	...	Woman at Auto Camp (uncredited)
Irving Bacon	...	Gas Station Attendant (uncredited)
William Bailey	...	Clark (uncredited)
Ward Bond	...	Bus Driver #1 (uncredited)
Harry C. Bradley	...	Henderson (uncredited)
George P. Breakston	...	Boy Bus Passenger (uncredited)
Charles A. Browne	...	Reporter (uncredited)
James Burke	...	Detective (uncredited)
Edmund Burns	...	Best Man at Wedding (uncredited)
Ken Carson	...	Guitar Player on Bus (uncredited)
Eddy Chandler	...	Bus Driver #2 (uncredited)
Wallis Clark	...	Lovington (uncredited)
Ray Cooke	...	Drunk Reporter (uncredited)
Joseph Crehan	...	Detective (uncredited)
Ray Creighton	...	Bus Passenger (uncredited)
Jack Curtis	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Mickey Daniels	...	Vendor on Bus (uncredited)
Eva Dennison	...	Society Woman (uncredited)
Neal Dodd	...	Minister at Wedding (uncredited)
Oliver Eckhardt	...	Mr. Dykes - Auto Camp Owner (uncredited)
Billy Engle	...	Bus Passenger (uncredited)
Jack Evans	...	Man Saying 'Your Bus Leaves in 5 Minutes' (uncredited)
Bess Flowers	...	Agnes - Gordon's Secretary (uncredited)
Allen Fox	...	Bus Passenger (uncredited)
Dolores Fuller	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Carlton Griffin	...	Wedding Guest (uncredited)
Kit Guard	...	Bus Passenger (uncredited)
Sherry Hall	...	Drunk Reporter (uncredited)
A.R. Haysel	...	Bus Dispatcher (uncredited)
Frank Holliday	...	Detective (uncredited)
Harry Holman	...	Last Auto Camp Manager (uncredited)
Harry Hume	...	Policeman (uncredited)
William Irving	...	Passenger on Second Bus (uncredited)
Sam Josephson	...	Bus Passenger (uncredited)
Milton Kibbee	...	Drunk Reporter (uncredited)
Mimi Lindell	...	Bus Passenger (uncredited)
Marvin Loback	...	Bus Passenger (uncredited)
Rose May	...	Bus Passenger (uncredited)
William McCall	...	Bus Passenger (uncredited)
Claire McDowell	...	Mother on Bus (uncredited)
Kate Morgan	...	Bus Passenger (uncredited)
Patsy O'Byrne	...	Bus Passenger (uncredited)
Earl Pingree	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Hal Price	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Margaret Reid	...	Bus Passenger (uncredited)
Ky Robinson	...	Detective (uncredited)
Blanche Rose	...	Bus Passenger (uncredited)
Rita Ross	...	Bus Passenger (uncredited)
Matty Roubert	...	Newsboy (uncredited)
Marvin Schecter	...	Bus Passenger (uncredited)
Harry Schultz	...	Bus Passenger (uncredited)
Bert Scott	...	Bus Passenger (uncredited)
Harry Semels	...	Bus Passenger (uncredited)
S.S. Simon	...	Bus Passenger (uncredited)
Linda Lee Solomon	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Bert Starkey	...	Bus Passenger (uncredited)
Ethel Sykes	...	Maid of Honor (uncredited)
Jane Talent	...	Bus Passenger (uncredited)
Emma Tansey	...	Ticket Buyer (uncredited)
Harry Todd	...	Flagman at Railroad Crossing (uncredited)
Maidel Turner	...	Last Motel Manager's Wife (uncredited)
William Wagner	...	Waiter at Wedding (uncredited)
John Wallace	...	Bus Passenger (uncredited)
Fred Walton	...	Butler (uncredited)
Dave Wengren	...	Bus Passenger (uncredited)
Charles Wilroy	...	Bus Passenger (uncredited)
Buck Woods	...	Cook Serving Food to Passengers (uncredited)
Frank Yaconelli	...	Tony (uncredited)

Directed by
Frank Capra

Writing credits
Robert Riskin		(screenplay)
Samuel Hopkins Adams		(short story)

Produced by
Frank Capra	....	producer (as A Frank Capra Production)
Harry Cohn	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Howard Jackson		(uncredited)
Louis Silvers		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Joseph Walker		(photography)

Film Editing by
Gene Havlick

Art Direction by
Stephen Goosson		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
Robert Kalloch		(uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Charles C. Coleman	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Edward Bernds	....	sound engineer (uncredited)

Stunts
Mary Wiggins	....	stunt double: Claudette Colbert's dive off ship (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Cliff Shirpser	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Music Department
Louis Silvers	....	musical director

Other crew
Harry Cohn	....	president: Columbia Pictures Corporation
Samuel J. Briskin	....	executive assistant: Mr. Cohn (uncredited)
George Brown	....	general press agent (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation (presents)

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1934) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures (1949) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Columbia Pictures Television Distribution (????) (USA) (TV) (a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (USA) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (USA) (laserdisc)
• Columbia TriStar (Brazil) (DVD)
• Cult & Classic (Brazil) (VHS)
• RCA Home Video (video)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (USA) (laserdisc)
• Sony Pictures Entertainment (2000) (Japan) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Sunset Gower Studios  sound stages (uncredited)

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:G (Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Iceland:L | Portugal:M/12 | Norway:16 (1934) | Brazil:Livre | USA:Approved (PCA #4311-R: 11 May 1938 for re-release) | 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:

Constance Bennett and Myrna Loy, among others, turned the script down. Claudette Colbert only accepted because Capra promised he would double her salary and she would be done in four weeks. She disliked the film so much she didn't even attend the Oscars; when she won for Best Actress she was found about to leave on a trip and was rushed to the ceremony, where she made her acceptance speech in a traveling suit.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: After King lands and taxis in the autogyro, apparently the sole occupant, a man is visible in the cockpit crouching down as King walks around and to the rear of the autogyro.

Quotes:

[Peter is carrying Ellie across the creek slung over his shoulder]
Ellie Andrews: You know this is the first time in years I've ridden piggy-back.
Peter Warne: This isn't piggy-back.
Ellie Andrews: Course it is.
Peter Warne: You're crazy.
Ellie Andrews: I remember distinctly my father taking me for a piggy-back ride.
Peter Warne: And he carried you like this, I suppose?
Ellie Andrews: Yes.
Peter Warne: Your father didn't know beans about piggy-back riding.
Ellie Andrews: My uncle, mother's brother, has four children and I've seen them ride piggy-back.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Baciami piccina (2006)

Soundtrack:

The Flying Trapeze

Introducing... the Screwball Comedy

Frank Capra's idealistic outlook on life is evident in his films. From It Happened One Night to It's a Wonderful Life, Capra has always had a tendency to let the little guy rise above it all and beat the odds. It is no small wonder that Capra enjoyed much of his success during the Depression, when movies were used to truly pull an audience out of the despair of the 1930s into a world where anything can happen, where being a nice person is all you need to succeed. While the fact that the country was in the middle of the Depression was not completely ignored, an overly optimistic view on life was taken to counter the despair of everyday life.

There were many points in It Happened One Night where the true state of the country was indicated. Homeless people hitching rides on trains seemed perfectly normal. Rather than regard them with apprehension and pity, you smile and wave at them. Another example is the hostile reaction proprietor Zeke's wife had to the fact that her husband had let Peter and Ellie stay the night with promises of being paid. Upon seeing Peter and Ellie's car missing, they rush to the cottage to see if Peter and Ellie are still there. They cannot afford freeloaders.

In another scene, a child's mother has passed out from hunger, because they have no money to buy food. Peter and Ellie have nearly depleted their funds, but decide that the mother and child need money more than they do and give some to them.

Despite these instances, the movie was altogether cheerful in its depiction of the world. In the throes of the stock market crash, this movie signaled the birth of the screwball comedy. At a time when the country needed release, they could find that release and laughter in movies like It Happened One Night. Audiences were amused by scenes in the film, such as the segment in which Peter teaches Ellie how to dunk a donut. Or, when forced to share a room, Peter puts a blanket between his and Ellie's beds and calls it the `wall of Jericho,' which is revisited when the walls of Jericho come tumbling down after Peter and Ellie's marriage. Probably the most famous scene in the film is the hitchhiking sequence, which features Peter standing by the roadside trying to thumb a ride unsuccessfully, finally giving up after more than a dozen cars speed by without paying any heed to his attempts. After he gives up, beaten, Ellie simply lifts her skirt above her knee. The first car that passes stops, as we see extreme close-ups of a foot slamming down on the brakes and a hand applying the hand brake.

A master in his profession, Capra left his mark on the films he directed. With an almost childlike cheerfulness, he maintains a sense of dignity and class. The viewer is left with a feeling of hope for humankind, even if its only that a person's ideals could be used to make such a film. Capra's films are still regarded as masterpieces. It Happened One Night arguably remains to this day unparalleled in screwball comedies. It was one of many movies made during the Depression, a sometimes sad and even lonely time in our history. It gave its audience a chance to escape and forget their troubles for a few moments in time.

9 out of 10 stars