It Happened One Night (NR, 1934)
common sense media says
Still one of the best screwball comedies.
parents & educators say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that in this funny and sophisticated early black-and-white romantic comedy, the behavior of the leading male and female characters reflects a gender inequality that was the norm for its time. The strong, dashing hero protects (and even babies) the vulnerable, needy "poor little rich girl." He calls her "brat," tells her to "shut up." She smiles and falls even harder for his brash charms. A fierce argument results in a father slapping his adult daughter in the face. There are flirtatious moments, "winks" to sexuality as the hero and heroine hang a blanket between them in a lodge room and undress on either side of it. Drinking and drunkenness are played for fun in several scenes, with slurred speech and back-slapping male camaraderie. Almost everyone smokes.
Positive role models:
It’s 1934. Men are strong, protective, and powerful. Ellen Andrews wants independence, but has been raised to be helpless, friendless, and consider herself ineffectual. She is spoken down to and ordered around. As a result Ellen is often headstrong, frivolous, and demanding.
Violence:
After a heated argument an angry father slaps his adult daughter’s face. The young woman then dives off the side of yacht and lands in the sea. We don’t see her emerge, but she appears, alive and well in a new scene soon afterwards. A scene with angry threats.
Sex:
Some flirtatious moments -- with light sexual innuendo when the romantic leads are forced to share a room. They get partially undressed (he’s bare-chested; she’s in a slip) standing on opposite sides of a hanging blanket. A coarse man makes an awkward, silly pass at the heroine. In a famous hitchhiking scene, the leading lady reveals some leg to stop a motorist.
Language:
The hero calls the heroine “brat” throughout and orders her to “shut up,” more than once.
Consumerism:
Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
In several scenes, characters are shown drinking, often to excess. Reporters in a group all appear to be tipsy; some are shown drinking whiskey directly from a bottle. The hero is drunk on two other occasions and once is told to "sober up." When she’s upset, the heroine rapidly consumes several drinks. Most characters smoke frequently: cigarettes, cigars, and a pipe.
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BestPicture1996
teen, 16 years old
teen, 16 years old
Really wasn't as good as people cracked it up to be
I'm sure it's one of those "you had to be born in that era to get the humor" type situations, but "Night" wasn't all that funny to me, though I did enjoy that hitchiking scene and the originality of it.
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who3697cares
teen, 18 years old
teen, 18 years old
It's still very funny.
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Kass
adult
adult
A screwball comedy in the truest sense of the word
Ah, what an age it was indeed when romantic movies were truly romantic and even had wit and charm to boot. It Happened One Night opens with socialite Ellie Andrews fleeing her disapproving father to wed her beloved in New York. On the way, she meets journalist Peter Warne who sees a story in the making. Of course, their journey together doesn’t turn out to be a simple one; as a matter of fact chaos reigns- but then so does love. In additional, both parties learn a little something about social classes and prejudices, certainly subjects just as relevant now as they were in 1934.
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