It Happened One Night

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source: It Happened One Night

It Happened One Night

Sorry to say but this movie is just a bit too overrated. Especially Capra's directing is disappointing, since it's done in such an extremely old fashioned manner for 1934 standards. Surprisingly enough he still won an Oscar for his directing of this movie though. It's definitely an entertaining enough movie to watch. These type of movies were the romantic comedies of the '30's, the sort of Cameron Diaz and Asthon Kutcher flicks of their time, only done with more class and better actors involved. Nevertheless it's just as clichéd and predictable though. Dozens of these type of movies got made in the '30's and quite frankly I just can't see what it is that makes this movie a better one than any of them. It's a boy meets girl story and of course they can't get along at first but slowly begin to like each other better and more. What makes this movie its story more special is its adventurous elements being thrown in. It's a movie that involves lots of traveling and therefor also many different characters, which mainly gives the movie its adventurous feeling, without ever really getting a big adventure. More fireworks was to be expected, especially from Frank Capra's directing. It's just too formulaic and at times even just plain poor. It's way too old fashioned for 1934 and it's one of those typical movies that features long close-ups for the dramatic moments. It's a very static made film, as if it was just a job that had to be done and no real passion was thrown into it. As could be expected, the acting is still great though, from Clark Gable and the much more unknown Claudette Colbert. They were good together and luckily shared some good chemistry, which made the movie all the more fun to watch. This was actually the movie that earned Clark Gable his only Oscar out of his career. Ironicly enough non of the actors really enjoyed starring in this movie and also lots of well known actor turned the script down and Claudette Colbert, who also received an Oscar for her role in this movie, even didn't took the trouble to attend the award ceremony at first, until hearing upon her win. Yes, I know I'm making the movie sound horrible, which it really isn't. It's basically a movie I enjoyed watching but is no way worthy of this currently high rating on here. There are way better genre movies and Capra movies, with a much lower rating on here though. There are better and more interesting Capra movies to watch out there, which does not mean that this movie is an horrible one though. 7/10 http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

From my fairly dissatisfied point of view, the absolute highlight of this decidedly disappointing "Screwball" comedy from 1934 took place within the first 15 minutes when wealthy bank Pres, Alex Andrews, so rightly slapped the face of his snitty, snotty, snooty, spoiled-brat daughter, Ellie. (And, boy, did she ever have it coming to her!) I can't begin to tell you how much I wished that this royal, high'n'mighty bitch had gotten her over-lacquered face slapped a few more times, but, of course, it never happened. Over the years I have heard (time & again) people literally falling all over themselves, raving away to me about "It Happened One Night" (IHON) being the ultimate "be-all-and-end-all" of Hollywood, screwball comedies. Well, I must say, that after giving IHON a fair enough view, I couldn't believe how petty, small and downright trivial its sappy story was. Not only was there absolutely no on-screen chemistry, whatsoever, taking place between IHON's 2 co-stars (Clark Gable & Claudette Colbert), but, I thought that Colbert's character (Ellie Andrews) was positively despicable and I couldn't have given a wet fart about her "poor-little-rich-girl" problems. And, not only that, but, Colbert (who was 31 at the time) was clearly way too old to be playing this part which would have been more suited for a younger woman of about 20. I am absolutely shocked out of my socks that this trite, little, nothing-of-a-movie actually swept the 1935 Oscar presentations by scoring for itself 5 of its prized awards in all of the top categories of "Picture", "Actor", "Actress", "Director" & "Screenplay". Back in "Depression Era" America IHON might have thrilled and delighted its audiences to literal pieces, but, today, 80 years later, its apparent charm & appeal (which doesn't hold up very well) got completely lost on this here viewer. All that IHON came across as being was just a completely contrived, clichéd and predictable story whose attempt at cuteness and coyness left me utterly unmoved. From my point of view, this rather flat and tired "Boy-Meets-Girl" Comedy/Romance was, at best, only mediocre entertainment.

Samuel Hopkins Adams' story "Night Bus" turned into a big, commercial audience-pleaser circa 1934. The unhappy daughter of a wealthy banker flees daddy's yacht in Miami, intent on getting to New York City to be reunited with the man she married against her father's wishes; a recently-fired newspaper reporter attempts to befriend the spoiled heiress on their journey by bus. Wafer-thin material stretched to the breaking point, with a rollicking first-half (in buses and roadside motels) let down by less-funny second and third acts more concerned with a quasi-introspective study of character. Robert Riskin won the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar; Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert also won for their performances. Indeed, their rapport is easy and free of gimmicks, though some of the sniping grates. Frank Capra won two Academy Awards, one for his direction and the other for producing this Best Picture winner. Its American minutiae was fresh and novel at the time--and some of it still holds up today--but when the wisecracks turn somber, and Riskin's script loops around to bide time, the film seems less a feel-good trifle than an over-praised, desperate movie-star "product". Remade in 1956 as "You Can't Run Away From It". **1/2 from ****

The first movie to sweep all the major Academy Awards, this film is still popular today. That's probably so because the dialog between the two stars of the picture - Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert - is just great. Those two make this fun to watch. I enjoyed it, however, much more on the first viewing than subsequent ones. It lost some of its zip after I knew what to expect. The ending, too, was very weak. Over the last 20 minutes, the two stars go their separate ways (until the very end) and the story gets very stupid. The nice romance that had developed between the two seemed to have disintegrated when Gable left one early morning (for good intentions) but didn't tell Colbert. The latter thought Gable ran out on her. Hollywood, in films of the 1930s and 1940s, loved to have romances in which confusion abounded and everything was misinterpreted for the worst....until the happy ending when the truth somehow would surface. That same theme was in here, along with yet another trivialization of marriage, another common theme during the classic era. Colbert says it herself in one line, mentioning she doesn't care for this other guy, but what the heck, might as well get married, what's the difference? Huh? If the scriptwriters here would have just kept the "road" part of this film going longer - with Gable and Colbert trading barbs - it would have been super. Gable has the best lines an is the most fun to watch but Colbert can hold her own. She looks really pixie-ish and cute, although most of her closeups are done with a fuzzy lens, another habit of filmmakers of that era had with female stars. One of the film world's most famous scenes is in this movie: the hitch-hiking scene in which the cocky Cable explains the different ways of successful thumbing in order to get a ride....and gets nowhere while Colbert, on her first try, gets a car to stop immediately after she lifts up her skirt! That is still one of the great comedic scenes in movie history. Overall, this is still one of the best comedies of "The Golden Age," even with its faults.

It's a true call that they don't make the movies as they used to. There are very less movies coming near to the brilliance of "It Happened One Night". This movie is about a rich brat running from her home to get married with her lover, accompanied with struggling free lancer reporter in her journey. And in the journey they fall for each other. The romance building between two of them is nicely depicted and the blend of Peter Warne (Gables) arrogant personality gives it a nice stir. The story of the movie is very interesting and the comic attribute added by both Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert is sufficed to make anyone laugh. The perfect direction from the master of his domain Frank Capra takes the movie on highest level; because of this it's the first movie to be honored with all major five Oscars (Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Movie, Best Director and Best Screenplay).

Saw it for the first time yesterday, and knew in advance it was an American classic, so I expected a lot. What a disappointment, though. Clever, funny, OK, I guess, but could this picture have been any more predictable? Movie was about two hours long, and I had the ending figured out after about ten minutes- you too? Here's the plot: Boy meets girl....boy/girl/girl's father hate one or the other, boy gets girl in the end. Exactly like every Elvis Presley movie ever made. Whoopie. Again, a decent movie, but four Oscars? Just not getting it, unless the fix was in. Who knows for sure?