The Basics – It Happened One Night (1934) – Director, Frank Capra; starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert; Run Time – 105 mins. – Comedy, Romance – “A spoiled heiress, running away from her family, is helped by a man who’s actually a reporter looking for a story.”
Prior Knowledge
Kristy – Although I have little knowledge on the plot of this movie I am excited to see it because many people have told me how great it is.
Koob – As is the theme with most of these early best picture winners, I saw this film around 12 years ago and I remember it being a very witty and clever romantic comedy. I also know that it is one of only three films to win all five of the major categories at the Academy Awards (Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Director, and Screenplay).
Fun Facts from IMDB
-Constance Bennett and Myrna Loy, among others, turned the script down. Claudette Colbert only accepted because Capra promised he would double her salary and she would be done in four weeks. She disliked the film so much she didn’t even attend the Oscars; when she won for Best Actress she was found about to leave on a trip and was rushed to the ceremony, where she made her acceptance speech in a traveling suit.
-Friz Freleng’s unpublished memoirs mention that this was one of his favorite films, and that it contains at least three things upon which the character “Bugs Bunny” was based; the character Oscar Shapely’s (Roscoe Karns) personality. the manner in which Peter Warne (Clark Gable) was eating carrots and talking quickly at the same time, and an imaginary character mentioned once to frighten Oscar Shapely named “Bugs Dooley.”
-Director Frank Capra came up with the idea about “the walls of Jericho” because Claudette Colbert refused to undress in front of the camera.
-When director Frank Capra asked Claudette Colbert to expose her leg for the hitchhiking scene, she at first refused. Later, after having seen the leg of her body double, she changed her mind insisting that “that is not my leg!”
Viewing Source – Amazon Instant Video ($2.99 rental)
Post Viewing Responses
Ratings (with 1 star = the worst and 5 stars = the best)
Koob: 4 stars
Kristy: 4 stars
Double Gobble Score: 4 stars
The Takeaway: A little dated but still a witty, well-written classic and the standard bearer for all future romantic comedies.
Double Gobble 