It Happened One Night

Oscar™ Best Picture - Winning Movies

7.9

16,155

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Original title: It Happened One Night
Year: 1934
Running time: 105 min.
Country: United States
Director: Frank Capra
Screenwriter: Robert Riskin (Story: Samuel Hopkins Adams)
Music: Louis Silvers
Cinematography: Joseph Walker (B&W)
Cast: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly, Roscoe Karns, Jameson Thomas, Ward Bond, Eddy Chandler, Arthur Hoyt, Alan Hale
Producer: Columbia Pictures
Genre: Romance. Comedy | Screwball comedy. Romantic Comedy. Road Movie
Synopsis / Plot: When Ellie Andrews, a millionaire's daughter, marries a man her father dislikes, the resulting family squabble sends the beautiful heiress into hiding. She travels across country by bus, a fugitive from high society. En route, she meets the man of her dreams: a sexy but brusque news correspondent who has just lost his job -- which unknown to Ellie, he hopes to recover by selling her story to his former boss. Together, Peter and Ellie have a series of hapless adventures and comic misunderstandings, leading them to the realization that they were made for each other.

Awards: 1934: 5 Academy Awards: Movie, Director, Actor (Gable), Actress (Colbert) and Screenplay

1934: National Board of Review: Best Film

1934: Venice Film Festival: Official Selection - Nominated to Mussolini Cup

Critics' reviews

"Truly great (...) One of the easiest movies to love"

Michal Oleszczyk: rogerebert.com
"A good piece of fiction (...) Colbert gives an engaging and lively performance (...) Gable is excellent"

Mordaunt Hall: The New York Times
"A refreshing and light romance (...) The direction is excellent (...) It is never very exciting, but it moves along snappily and it is full of amusing situations."

Kate Cameron: New York Daily News
"Fueled by confidently zippy repartee and manic comic invention (...) [An] exquisite comedy (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"

Chris Cabin: Slant
"Every romcom of the last 80 years owes something to 'It Happened One Night' (...) It’s timeless."

Mike D'Angelo: AV Club
"This is Capra at his best, very funny and very light, with a minimum of populist posturing."

Dave Kehr: Chicago Reader
"One of those stories that without a particularly strong plot manages to come through in a big way, due to the acting, dialog, situations and direction."

Variety
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Ranking Lists Position

36 My Favorite Romantic Comedies (129)

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