I don’t expect many readers to know this 1934 screwball comedy, but hopefully this review might open some eyes. It Happened One Night is a comedy directed by Frank Capra starring the immortal Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. It begins with a frantic Ellie (Colbert) trying to escape her father’s yacht. She has married a man by the name of “King” Westley against her father’s wishes and he wants to have it annulled. Out of desperation, she dives overboard and makes her way to land where she boards a bus to New York City, where her husband is located. Also boarding the bus is down-on-his-luck newspaper reporter Peter Warne (Gable). Ellie and Peter become seat mates, much to both of their chagrins, and quickly argue. Eventually, Ellie misses the bus after a quick stop but Peter waits for her. He recognizes her after seeing her face on a newspaper and gives her the choice of getting to NYC alone or giving him the exclusive story for his newspaper in exchange for him helping her. She agrees to the latter and they engage on a series of mishaps and adventures on their way to NYC. Along the way, they begin to fall in love with each other.
Needless to say, when Clark Gable is involved, the acting is awesome. It must be taken into account by new viewers that this was a different era and acting was done a bit more like stage acting. Regardless, Gable is amazing. Admittedly, I had never heard of Claudette Colbert, but she was also incredible. There are even a ton of small, one-scene characters that are laugh-out-loud hysterical, such as a man by the name of Shapely who simply won’t stop talking.
The cinematography, while simple by today’s standards, was excellent for the time-period. Nothing is overly fancy but it withstands the test of time for sure.
In regards to the filmmaking, it was the first film ever to win the “Big Five” Academy awards, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay, despite both Gable and Colbert’s initial displeasure with the script. While I highly doubt that it could win most of those awards at today’s Academy Awards (for more reasons than just the film itself), it’s still a fun movie.
While it is an incredibly enjoyable film, many people may find it too “old-fashioned” to enjoy. The humor still holds up today but a lot of younger people might be put off by the look of the film. Regardless, it’s a great film and really fun to watch. It Happened One Night gets an 8/10.
