1001 Movies Club - It Happened One Night (1934)

#86. It Happened One Night (1934)

Why It's In The Book: "Frank Capra's It Happened One Night is movie magic. [Capra had] an impeccable sense of script...and a brilliant rapport with his actors. In the infectious interplay of [Gable and Colbert]... we encounter an ideal that has been well and truly lost in contemporary, mainstream cinema: fighting reciprocity between the sexes." -1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

Member Ratings

Michaël Parent - 10/10
"It's not all the films that won the Oscar or Best Film that are still watchable and entertaining today...."
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Simon Columb - 10/10
"I think, personally, I prefer the relaxed and playful energy of It Happened One Night to the intensity and grand, epic scale of Gone With The Wind."
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Siochembio - 9.5/10
"If Clark Gable was anywhere near the buttons on MY blouse, I wouldn’t be in a big hurry to push him away either."
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Adolytsi - 9/10
"The first ever winner of the Big 5 Academy Awards, It Happened One Night is a Frank Capra picture that gets all the elements right."
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Alyson - 9/10
"Ah yes, the classic that first shaped a romantic comedy."
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ChrisLejarzar - 9/10
"It Happened One Night is every bit as charming and hilarious as you would expect it to be with leads such as Gable and Colbert."
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Doug Tilley - 9/10
"Its impact may feel slightly quaint compared to the relaxed standards of today, but the dialogue remains sharp and the performances unmatched. A pleasure from start to finish."
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TSorensen - 9/10
"It Happened One Night: The mother of all romantic comedies."
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KimWilson - 8.5/10
"Not as sophisticated as The Thin Man (1934) but just as funny, It Happened One Night (1934) is a timeless screwball comedy that examines both the battle of the sexes (circa 1930s) and the divisions between the rich and the poor."
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Chip - 8/10
"It was also quite scandalous for its time.  A running joke is that these two have to sleep in the same room and Gable strings up a blanket – "the walls of Jericho" - to separate the two beds.  It even showed Colbert in her undergarments and Gable bare-chested.  If the internet existed in 1934 there would have been a whole lot of "OMG!"s being posted."
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Klaus Ming - 8/10
"It Happened One Night is essentially a reverse Cinderella story, with the rich young princess wanting to give up her fortune for her true love."
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Nicolas Krizan - 8/10
"The theme is not exactly new, but execution here is almost flawless"
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Jaime Grijalba - 7/10
"It's a shame, I expected more from Frank Capra."
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Movie Guy Steve - 7/10
"For my money, a good number of the awards, particularly the one for screenplay and possibly actor should have gone to The Thin Man instead."
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Squish - 7/10
"Lucky for It Happened One Night that it was produced in 1934, because this very cheeky screwball Rom Com was one of the last films to be made before the Hays code kicked in to high gear - Hollywood's censorship rules that lasted till the late 60s."
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Overall Rating: 8.5/10