It Happened One Night

  • Review Date: August 31, 2005
  • NR
  • Genre: Comedy
  • 1934
Review

Common Sense Media says

Still one of the best screwball comedies.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Not yet rated

Kids say

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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 messages1
    Despite some old-fashioned gender dynamics with men talking down to and bossing around women, the ultimate message of the film is positive: People can change for the better. Also, parents cannot completely control their kids. And true love conquers all.
  • Positive role models0
    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.
  • Violence1
    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.
  • Sex1
    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.
  • Language1
    The hero calls the heroine “brat” throughout and orders her to “shut up,” more than once.
  • Consumerism0
    Not applicable.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking2
    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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What's the story?

In this classic Frank Capra romantic comedy, fate throws an unlikely pair -- reporter Peter Warne (Clark Gable) and spoiled society woman Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert) -- together on a bus headed for New York. Upon learning that she's fleeing her millionaire father to be with her disapproved-of new husband, Warne smells a headline and tags after her. The two grow close on the trip, and before they reach New York they're broke and in love.

Is it any good?

 

As fresh today as it was in 1934, this sharply written comedy is great fun from setup on through its lively, suspenseful final minutes. An instant hit in 1934, IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT was the first movie to win all five major Academy Awards. The manic story line established the formula for screwball comedies like Bringing Up Baby with Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn.

Frank Capra was a wonderful director with a knack for squeezing the charm out of his actors, which is evident all over the place here. He and screenwriter Robert Riskin would team up again for Meet John Doe.

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What families can talk about

  • Families can talk about how comedies have changed and remained the same since this 1934 film. How has slang changed? Can you figure out the meanings of unfamiliar phrases or words?

  • What do you think about how men and women are portrayed in this movie? What kinds of stereotypes are present? How have things changed in society and in movies since 1934 when this film was released?

This review was written by Scott G. Mignola
Teen, 18 years old
November 8, 2009
AGE
9
 
It's still very funny.
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Teen, 16 years old
June 15, 2009
AGE
11
 
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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Adult
April 9, 2008
AGE
 
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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This review was written by Scott G. Mignola
Studio:Columbia Tristar
Director:Frank Capra
Cast:Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly
Genre:Comedy
Run time:105 minutes
Theatrical release date:February 23, 1934
DVD release date:December 28, 1999
MPAA rating:NR
This review was written by Scott G. Mignola
 

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ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
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