Customer Reviews
Decent but not Capra's best (despite it's oscars!) - By: anon-london, 15 Apr 2008 
Despite sweeping the oscars at the time, & being a real cinema goers favourite - it's not the best of Capra's by any means.
The two leads are very good,(Claudette Colbert & Clark Gable). And there are some very funny scenes. But it just doesn't quite cut it against some of Capra's later & far superior work.
I'd say that It's a Wonderful Life (1946) is by far Capra's best work. With Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) coming a close second. But it's also worth checking out the lesser known: You Can't Take It with You (1938) which is a great little film.
As for this one - well it's okay. If you ignore some of the jaw droppingly daft bits. Perhaps it's worth it just to see the sparring of Gable & Colbert on screen. Who I think hated eachother at the time.
Top stuff! - By: Crusty, 08 Feb 2008 
Not just for film buffs, this gem of a movie is one of my alll-time favorites. The fast-moving & snappy dialogue is rarely seen in films these days, as Claudette Colbert & Clark Gable reallly seem to be enjoying their work. The hitchhiking scene is a scream & is truly enjoyable watch. This is a true classic & should be enjoyed by everyone.
One of the greatest romantic comedy - By: Jari Ahvalo, 06 Mar 2007 When someone mentions "romantic comedy" this movie always comes into my mind first. Incredibly funny & moving film with more wit than most more serious works. Leading stars Gable & Colbert are magnificent & their chemistry can only be envied by any actor & actress trying to get same results. Film that was greatly respected when it was made 1934 by receiving 4 major oscars (best film, directing & both leading stars)is still a film that has it's place in the heart of any film lover. When most of todays films are doomed to be forgotten, this film is sure to maintain it's status as a true american film classic for at least another seventy+ years.
There reallly isn't many romantic comedies than can match this movie.
When something is good it is good & no matter how long time has passed, it maintains its beauty.
a classic still after all these years - By: Mr. Ian A. Macfarlane, 23 Jan 2007 
This film, over 70 years old, is still well worth watching. The plot is reallly just a device for placing Gable & Colbert side by side in a kind of road movie, but that's justification enough for the film. They are both excellent, particularly Colbert, who combines hauteur with a kind of well-concealed vulnerability in a way that commands the screen. The script crackles, the film is well-paced & it is great fun from beginning to end.
A film which blows its own trumpet - By: Budge Burgess, 05 Dec 2005 "It Happened One Night" is one of the most enduring of romantic comedies. Released in 1934, its black & white images are iconic - Gable & Goddard hitching is a classic scene, but there are many others from the film which have an unforgettable cachet. Set against the realities of the Depression, Frank Capra delivers a distinct feel-good quality; this was a film which attracted a huge popular audience.
Claudette Colbert plays a beautiful heiress who has married a lounge-lizard society type against the wishes of her father. Father keeps daughter locked up on his yacht while he pursues nullification of the marriage, but Colbert escapes & sets off on a bus ride back to her husband in New York. She has never done anything so independent before, has never travelled on anything as cosmopolitan, never mind proletarian, as a bus. She simply hasn't a clue how to survive without servants.
On the bus she meets down-on-his-luck newspaperman, Clark Gable. The pair team up, eking out the few dollars they have between them, travelling by bus, hitching lifts, coyly sharing motel rooms, a blanket hung by rope to separate twin single beds - a system they famously describe as 'the wallls of Jericho'.
"It Happened One Night" won five Oscars - Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, & Best Adaptation (Robert Riskin's script). Made by Columbia, it was an unlikely hit - Capra struggled to cast it & it was certainly not as well promoted as many of its rivals that year. But the public loved it. The film gently disparages the rich, spoiled background of the heiress - the film starts with Colbert on hunger strike, but on the bus journey she will meet people who are actuallly starving because they have no money. Capra was always able to capture that love-hate relationship between the popular audience & images of the rich.
Capra seems to have been the only one who believed in the film - Colbert was not his first choice & she was very reluctant to take the role. Gable was loaned to him, & played against character throughout. Shot in four weeks & on a low budget, Capra & Gable wrung a reluctant performance from Colbert - despite her resistance to the part, she delivers an excellent performance. Capra handles the narrative with expertise, giving the audience time to understand the dynamic between the two characters. He blends drama with comedy with romance. Despite its age, the film continues to work as a delightful story, superbly performed & directed, with timeless humour & compassion.
The DVD offers a very acceptable black & white transfer with adequate sound quality, & some interesting extras - not least a radio broadcast of the play of the film, with Colbert & Gable revisiting their roles before a live audience. Highly entertaining & a film you can watch & watch.
