MUBI brings you a great new film every day.  Start your 7-day free trial today!
Watch a new film every day for $4.99.
Try MUBI for FREE.
 

It Happened One Night

United States

1934

105 Min
Black and White
1.37:1
English
  • Currently 4.2/5 Stars.
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

   |   

DIR Frank Capra

PROD Frank Capra

SCR Samuel Hopkins Adams, Robert Riskin

DP Joseph Walker

CAST Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly, Roscoe Karns

ED Gene Havlick

Venice (In Competition)

Synopsis

Ellie Andrews has just tied the knot with society aviator King Westley when she is whisked away to her father’s yacht and out of King’s clutches. Ellie jumps ship and eventually winds up on a bus headed back to her husband. Reluctantly she must accept the help of out-of- work reporter Peter Warne. Actually, Warne doesn’t give her any choice: either she sticks with him until he gets her back to her husband, or he’ll blow the whistle on Ellie to her father. Either way, Peter gets what (he thinks!) he wants…a really juicy newspaper story. –IMDb

Director

Original

Frank Capra

The most honored and well-liked director of his generation, Sicilian-born Frank Capra graduated from the California Institute of Technology as a Chemical Engineering major. Down on his luck after service during World War I, he bluffed his way into the movie business and learned films from the bottom up, from the film lab to the prop department to the editing department. He settled in as a gagman during the 1920s, and soon became a director specializing in comedy. After a stint with Mack Sennett, Capra moved to Columbia Pictures, where he came into his own as a filmmaker.

Displaying a good feel for drama as well as comedy, and a common touch with which ordinary viewers could resonate, Capra quickly became the star among the tiny studio’s stable of directors. His pictures, starting with American Madness in 1932, displayed themes that audiences regarded as important and uplifting during the worst days of the Great Depression, and Capra, despite the relatively modest budgets with… read more

Wall

Displaying 4 of 32 wall posts.
Picture of Mic in Port

Mic in Port

26May13

Let the walls of Jericho come tumbling down. The sophistication of this early talkie romance comedy is absolutely sublime. Apart from the smart conversations and endearing chemistry, it is the silence the film-makers allow to fill in-between the spaces of their growing relationship that allows this movie to breathe so freshly even nearing its 80 year anniversary.

Picture of Ana Aguiar

Ana Aguiar

21Feb13

Best runaway bride scene ever, love it a million!

Picture of Lynch/Fellini

Lynch/Fellini

16Sep12

Typical Capra..... Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable had some really amazing chemistry!!!

Picture of Classroom Battles

Classroom Battles

21Jun12

Amazing dialogues between Colbert and Gable !

Related Films

Fans

Displaying 5 of 1380 fans.

Articles

Our roundup of essays and articles on this film.
W184

Movie Poster of the Week: “Design for Living”

By Adrian Curry on December 9, 2011

A Lubitsch poster and the story of the artist behind a batch of rare early 1930s oversized posters that turned up in auction in 2008.

read article

Lists

Displaying 5 of 328 lists.

Reviews

Displaying 3 of 3

It Happened One Night

By Adam Suraf on March 20, 2010
This Frank Capra, Robert Riskin comedy really struck a chord with the viewing public in the heart of the Depression, blending a nominal opposites attract road comedy with deeper issues of human connection…

Untitled

By J. Ridicul​ous on June 8, 2009

Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert light up the screen in this seminal screwball. Colbert is a socialite on the run from a wedding, and Gable is the tough reporter sticking to her to get the story…  read review

Untitled

By Beneezy on May 28, 2009

(Thursday, May 28, 2009 8:23pm)

The smartest, funniest, and loveliest romantic comedy film of all time in my opinion is Frank Capra’s “It happened one night.” People might not agree with me…  read review

Forum

Displaying 0 discussion topics.