It Happened One Night

Director: Frank Capra Frank Capra

Overview

"The very definition of ""screwball classic,"" this film is complemented by this excellent disc. The film is presented in its original full-screen (standard) format with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The sound is in Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono. The print quality is exceptional, with a nice balance of blacks and whites. Audio choices are English and Spanish with subtitles in these two languages as well as Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, and Thai. There is also a commentary track offered by Frank Capra Jr. that focuses on the very creation of the film; though there are some pauses, it is definitely worth a listen. Other ""Special Features"" include a brief interview with Capra Jr. in which he discusses his personal relationship to the film. A ""Vintage Advertising"" section features 12 lobby cards and posters for the film. Also included is the hour-long Lux Radio broadcast of It Happened One Night, which originally aired on March 20, 1939, and includes the two main stars of the film, Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. Theatrical trailers for the features Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Lost Horizon are also included. There are ""Talent File"" listings for Capra, Gable, and Colbert. A great disc for a great film."

Product Details

Release Date:	12/28/1999
UPC:	0043396039490
Original Release:	1934
Rating:	NR
Source:	SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMT
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[B&W, Full Frame]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital]
Language:	English
Time:	1:45:00
Sales rank:	43,147

Special Features

Frank Capra, Jr. remembers "It Happened One Night"; Frank Capra, Jr. audio commentary; Digitally remastered audio & video; Original live radio broadcast; Languages: English, Spanish; Subtitles: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Thai; Talent files; Vintage advertising; Original theatrical trailer; Bonus trailers

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Claudette Colbert	Ellie Andrews
Clark Gable	Pete Warne
Walter Connolly	Alexander Andrews
Jason Thomas	King Westley,King Westley
Roscoe Karns	Shapeley
Ward Bond	Bus Driver
Henry Wadsworth	Drunk Boy
Claire McDowell	Mother
Arthur Hoyt	Zeke
Wallis Clark	Lovington
Hal Price	Reporter
Eddy Chandler	Bus Driver
Ky Robinson	Detective
Frank Holliday	Detective
James Burke	Detective
Joseph Crehan	Detective
Milton Kibbee	Drunk,Reporter
Matty Roubert	Newsboy
Sherry Hall	Reporter
Charles Wilson	Joe Gordon
George Breakston	Boy
Earl Pingree	Policeman
Harry Hume	Policeman
Oliver Eckhardt	Dykes
Bess Flowers	Secretary
Fred Walton	Butler
Ethel Sykes	Maid of Honor
Edmund Burns	Best Man
Neal Dodd	Minister
Eva Dennison	Society Woman
Eddie Kane	Radio Announcer
Harry Holman	Manager Auto Camp
Tom Ricketts	Prissy Old Man
Maidel Turner	Manager's Wife
Irving Bacon	Station Attendant
Frank Yaconelli	Tony
Harry C. Bradley	Henderson
Harry Todd	Flag Man
Bert Starkey	Bus Passenger
Rita Ross	Bus Passenger
Ernie Adams	Bus Passenger,Actor
Billy Engle	Bus Passenger
Dave Wengren	Bus Passenger
Kit Guard	Bus Passenger
Blanche Friderici	Zeke's Wife
Jessie Arnold	Actor
Alan Hale Jr.	Danker
Charles Brown	Reporter
Douglas Carter	Actor
Mickey Daniels	Vender
Alan Hale Sr.	Actor
Louis Silvers	Composer

Technical Credits

Robert Riskin

Samuel Hopkins Adams

Frank Capra	Director,Producer
Robert Riskin	Screenwriter
Harry Cohn	Executive Producer,Producer
Samuel Hopkins Adams	Screenwriter
Edward Bernds	Sound Mixer

Editorial Reviews

Scripted by Capra's frequent collaborator Robert Riskin, Frank Capra's It Happened One Night (1934) became the prototypical screwball comedy and elevated Columbia Pictures from Poverty Row status to respectable "major minor" studio. Starring Clark Gable, on loan from MGM as punishment, and Claudette Colbert, on loan from Paramount for twice her usual pay, Capra's and Riskin's comic romance between a down-to-earth newspaper reporter and a spoiled runaway heiress set the standard for screwball. Its fast-paced repartee, kooky heroine, witty gags, and class-crossing love story became hallmarks of the genre in such later films as My Man Godfrey (1936) and Bringing Up Baby (1938); the overt lustiness barred by the 1934 Production Code was transmuted into clever banter and the romance conveyed an ideal Depression-era fantasy. A critical and commercial hit, It Happened One Night was the first film to sweep the top five Oscars, rewarding Capra, Riskin, Gable, and Colbert, and fulfilling Columbia impresario Harry Cohn's desire to turn his B-studio into a class act. Undershirt sales reportedly plummeted when Gable revealed on screen that he wasn't wearing one.