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Master Rank #88

It Happened One Night

1934

GCML Total9.2040% Greatness · 40% Engagement · 20% Ease

Directed by Frank Capra

CastClark Gable · Claudette Colbert

USAEnglishComedy / Romance105 minNot Rated
AFI 100Narrative FeatureModerate pace
Find Where to Watch
Original poster artwork · Great Cinema Master List
Oscar · 5

Spoiler-free premise

Ellie Andrews has just tied the knot with society aviator King Westley when she is whisked away to her father's yacht and out of King's clutches.

Read expanded premiseLonger, still spoiler-free

Runaway heiress Ellie Andrews travels by bus toward New York while reporter Peter Warne recognizes her and offers help in exchange for an exclusive story. Their improvised journey turns class conflict and mutual irritation into reluctant dependence.

Why it belongs

In It Happened One Night, a runaway heiress, a reporter, a shared bus, and the Walls of Jericho transform class conflict into one of Hollywood comedy's most effortless romances.

Read expanded why it belongsThe fuller editorial case

Capra and his leads make buses, roadside cabins, hitchhiking, shared meals, and the 'Walls of Jericho' blanket into instruments of comic intimacy. Colbert and Gable's timing keeps class friction and attraction in constant, buoyant argument.

Major award record

Metadata only · zero points in 40/40/20
Academy Awards5 wins1935 · official ceremony record ↗
Directing1935 · Frank Capraofficial ceremony record ↗Actor1935 · Clark Gableofficial ceremony record ↗Actress1935 · Claudette Colbertofficial ceremony record ↗Writing (Adaptation)1935 · Robert Riskinofficial ceremony record ↗

Plus 1 additional win

Totals include every recorded competitive win. Only Picture or top-film honors, Direction, Screenplay, and lead or supporting performances are named.

Good for
Date NightFilm Club
Descriptive guidance derived from rating, genre, runtime, mood, and GCML scores.

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