It Happened One Night (1934)

Note des utilisateurs:

8.3/10   

Réalisateur:

Frank Capra

Writers:

Samuel Hopkins Adams (story)
Robert Riskin (screenplay)

Release Date:

9 avril 1934 (Brazil)

Genre:

Comedie | Romance

Accroche:

Two great lovers of the screen in the grandest of romantic comedies !

Plot:

A spoiled heiress, running away from her family, is helped by a man who's actually a reporter looking for a story. But then he falls for her...

Plot Keywords:

Reporter | Bus | Yacht | Heiress | Newspaper

Awards:

Won 5 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 1 nomination

Avis des utilisateurs:

Travel back in time, to the days when romantic comedies had not yet evolved into chick flicks

US Showtimes:

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Ensemble

Clark Gable	...	Peter Warne
Claudette Colbert	...	Ellen 'Ellie' Andrews
Walter Connolly	...	Alexander Andrews
Roscoe Karns	...	Oscar Shapeley
Jameson Thomas	...	King Westley
Alan Hale	...	Danker
Arthur Hoyt	...	Zeke
Blanche Friderici	...	Zeke's wife
Charles C. Wilson	...	Joe Gordon

Autre(s) titre(s):

Night Bus (USA) (working title)
New York - Miami (France) [fr]

Durée:

105 min

Pays:

USA

Langue:

Anglais

Couleur:

Noir et Blanc

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Son:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Classification:

Canada:G (Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Iceland:L | Portugal:M/12 | Norway:16 (1934) | Brazil:Livre | Argentina:Atp | Germany:o.Al. | Sweden:15 | UK:U | South Korea:15 (DVD rating)

Emplacements De Pelliculage:

Busch Gardens - S. Grove Avenue, Pasadena, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Anecdotes:

While shooting the scene where he undresses, Clark Gable had trouble removing his undershirt while keeping his humorous flow going and took too long. As a result the undershirt was abandoned altogether. It then became cool to not wear an undershirt which resulted in a large drop in undershirt sales around the country. Legend has it that in response, some underwear manufacturers tried to sue Columbia.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: In the opening scene, Daddy's yacht is supposedly anchored off Miami. Yet in the distance are tall coastal hills, similar to what one might see in Southern California. Such a topographical feature is unknown in South Florida.

Guillemet:

[Peter makes a couple of "beds" from hay off of a haystack]
Peter Warne: All right, come on. Your bed's all ready.
Ellie Andrews: I'll get my clothes all wrinkled.
Peter Warne: Well, then take 'em off.
Ellie Andrews: What?
Peter Warne: All right, don't take 'em off. Do whatever you please, but shut up about it!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Prairie Chickens (1943)

Soundtrack:

The Man on the Flying Trapeze

Travel back in time, to the days when romantic comedies had not yet evolved into chick flicks

I was inspired to think of other films with completely mystifying titles. `The Phantom Menace', obviously. Also: `The Shop Around the Corner' (around the corner from WHERE?), `The Empire Strikes Back' (it doesn't), `The Living Daylights', `True Lies', `Batman Forever', `Species', `The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp' ... if anyone has any more suggestions, please send them to me.

In this case, it happens over several nights, and I'm not sure which particular night is being referred to. Probably one of the candidate nights is less unobvious than the rest; so I guess the title isn't COMPLETELY mystifying. But actually, Capra gives us the feeling that everything is up in the air. Everyone knows that the hero and heroine of romantic comedies are bound to get hitched in the end - in most cases it's simply a question of staying awake. But Capra makes us feel the contingency of it all. I, for one, was convinced that right up until the final moment, it could have gone either way. How did Capra manage this? Was it because he was a complete innocent; or was it because he was remarkably sophisticated? I don't suppose it matters: it's results that count.

I'm glad to see very little mention among the comments about the sexism of it all. The characters have life; their words have life; and if such art as this could only be produced by a sexist society, it's almost worth creating a sexist society (and then dismantling it), in order to get the art. In modern romances I get the feeling that the writers are wearily writing `feisty' lines for the heroine in an attempt to fool feminists, who, by and large, aren't so easily fooled. Claudette Colbert isn't feisty. When she DOES assert her independence, she means it.

(And, of course, when Clark Gable asserts his dominance, HE means it. You don't get sincerity like this these days.)

Anyway, the ideology of a film, if there is one, is always beside the point, except inasmuch as the ideology is AESTHETICALLY attractive or unattractive. This is an attractive film. Two real individuals, a real story, some misunderstanding but no tiresome or pointless misunderstanding, constant wit - and, as I expressed amazement at earlier, constant suspense. And if THAT isn't enough to get you to watch it, note that it was released in 1934. The Hayes code didn't come into effect until 1935. Not a moment too late.