It Happened One Night (1934)

Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert

Directed by Frank Capra

Available to stream on Amazon Prime

Our theme of the month of May is "Gentlemen of the Press." We're focusing on four classic movies that involve reporters, usually out to get a big story but who somehow get sidetracked along the way by a little romance.

Our first pick is the classic It Happened One Night. In this romantic comedy, wealthy heiress Claudette Colbert experiences life as an ordinary person as she travels from Florida to New York by bus and hitchiking, helped by reporter Clark Gable who hopes to get a big story.

Clarke Gable and Claudette Colbert hitchhiking in It Happened One Night

Why we love it: This is where the modern film era began. Like The Thin Man of the same year, this film inaugurated a new natural style of acting in the movies that changed everything. It all came together in this unlikely story that swept all major Academy Awards (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Screenplay.) Initially called Night Bus, it’s a portrayal of ordinary life in 1934 – the bus travel, the motor court cabins, the shared showers – all daily life of Depression America contrasted with the super-rich in their “auto-gyros.” Somehow it all works magically, and still charms. It still feels fresh, even nearly 90 years later. It Happened One Night is so entertaining that you forget how old it is and just enjoy it for the story.

Claudette Colbert, Clark Gable, and "the Wall of Jericho"

Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert traveling by bus

Fun facts:

• Claudette Colbert, who was not the first choice to play Ellie, didn't really want to be in the movie and only agreed if she was paid more and if shooting was over in a few weeks so she could take a planned vacation. She famously told her friend after filming ended that she had just finished making the worst picture in the world.

• Clark Gable was also not thrilled to be cast in this movie. Unhappy with Gable's behavior, MGM required him to do it.

Clark Gable teaching Claudette Colbert how to properly dunk a donut

• Clark Gable caused a sensation in this film when he took his shirt off and revealed that he wasn’t wearing an undershirt! Gasp! Apparently, sales of undershirts went down and it was the new “modern” thing to wear a shirt with nothing under it.

• This was the first comedy to win the Academy Award for best picture (still a rare occurrence to this day.)

Claudette Colbert and Shirley Temple with their Oscars, from Silver Screen 1935

To read what people thought of the film at the time, go to Fan Magazine Reviews.

Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert, from Photoplay, 1934

Featured cocktail:

Between the Sheets

Created in the 1930s, this became a favorite after-Prohibition after-dinner drink.

1 oz (30 ml) brandy

1 oz (30 ml) Cointreau

1 oz (30 ml) light rum

dash of lemon juice

Shake all ingredients with ice. Strain into chilled cocktail glass.

Cheers to the Classics!