It Happened One Night

 

MOVIE: It Happened One Night (1934)

LENGTH: 105 minutes

GENRE: romance, comedy

WARNING: Sex is heavily implied in this movie, but it isn’t shown at all. After all, this movie was made in the 1930s.

PLOT SUMMARY 

Spoiled heiress, Ellen “Ellie” Andrews (played by Claudette Colbert) elopes with “King” Westley against her family’s wishes. Ellie’s father, Alexander Andrews, immediately wants the marriage annulled because he believes that King only wants Ellie for her money.  Ellie vehemently disagrees and decides to up and leave, eventually boarding a bus to New York City to reunite with her new hubby.

Ellie meets Peter Warne (played by the magnificent Clark Gable), an ambitious reporter in need of a juicy story. Warne, a fellow bus passenger, recognizes Ellie and eventually gives her an ultimatum: he will help her reunite with Westley if she gives him an exclusive on her story or else he will tell her father where she is. Of course, she takes what she thinks is the lesser of the two evils. Problem is, more than just a news deal blossoms between the two.

WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH THIS MOVIE

I saw this movie for the first time while watching Sex and the City 2 – judge me all you want, but I enjoyed all of the Sex and the City movies. Anyway, there was a scene where Carrie Bradshaw, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, is watching It Happened One Night with her lovely husband, Mr. Big. Later in the film, Carrie Bradshaw uses Claudette’s move (on the left) of showing a little leg when hitchhiking in order to get a car to stop. I’m not trying to get you to watch any of the Sex and the City films, but it is a great example of a modern movie that referenced It Happened One Night and, coincidentally, where I happened to discover this wonderful film.

Even though this film deals with a spoiled heiress and a reporter trying to use her for a story, they become very likeable characters. Warne is the perfect gentleman, despite being a story-hungry reporter, and Ellie is…herself. But Clark Gable just nails it as the reporter. After all, no matter what film he acts in or which character he is portraying, you’ll love him. If you’ve seen a few older (pre-1980s) movies, you may recognize Clark Gable from Gone with the Wind or some of the other classics he’s been in.

Based on the short story “Night Bus” by Samuel Hopkins Adams, this classic rom-com includes a wild (I mean, as wild as the 1930s could get) adventure where love blossoms and very cute, endearing moments happen. I can’t imagine anyone not liking this movie. I even got my older brother to watch this movie with me and he is someone who insists on only watching movies made after the 1990s. It may help that this movie actually has sound, unlike the last couple of movies I told you about. Also, It Happened One Nigth is one of director, Frank Capra’s, most famous films. He also directed You Can’t Take It With You, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and It’s a Wonderful Life, so if you like any of these, chances are you will like this one too.

It is also worth noting that this is the last film to not be enforced to follow the 1930 production code, which is known as the MPAA film rating system today (it what determines what is rated PG-13, Rated R, etc.).

LAST THOUGHTS

This is a great date night movie and yet also the perfect movie to watch by yourself as a blanket burrito. Bottom line, it’s enjoying to watch.

FUN MOVIE FACTS

1.) Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable were not the studio’s first choices to play the lead roles. Here are some actors that either passed on the roles or wanted to be in it but, for various reasons, couldn’t at the time: Bette Davis, Miriam Hopkins, Robert Montgomery, Myrna Loy, Margaret Sullivan, Constance Bennett, Carole Lombard, and even Loretta Young. You may not know this, but these were some of the biggest stars in Hollywood back in the day.

2.) This was the first film to win all of its Oscar nominations:

Best Picture – Columbia Pictures (Frank Capra and Harry Cohn)

Best Director – Frank Capra

Best Actor – Clark Gable

Best Actress – Claudette Colbert

Best Writing, Adaptation – Robert Riskin

3.) This film was digitally restored in 2013 by Sony Colorworks.

4.) Not quite a fact, but more of an interesting, widely held belief. In a scene considered quite racy at the time, Clark Gable undresses for bed. When he unbuttons his shirt, he is revealed to be bare-chested. It’s not shocking today, but undershirts worn, well, under a shirt were the standard of men’s dress. Rumor is, however, that after It Happened One Night was released, many men decided to forgo their undershirts as well, damaging the underwear industry and reducing sales as much as 75%. However, we cannot fully prove that this was because of the movie today, but if it is true – what an impact!

 

Sources

1.) The movie poster and picture of Claudette Colbert showing off a little leg: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Happened_One_Night

2.) http://www.snopes.com/movies/actors/gable1.asp