It Happened One Night (1934) - Full Reaction
Added 2024-02-09 05:18:26 +0000 UTCWas this the OG romcom? If not, it was definitely a source of inspiration for a lot modern romcoms! I can't believe it, 1934 and it still held up so well. It didn't feel like that character "overacting" I have sometimes noticed in older movies. Another perfect February watch! Sorry about the lights coming apart in the middle, hopefully it's not too distracting. Still waiting on the bed and headboard to get the room full decorated. Hope you enjoy!
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Comments
I'm always surprised when I find someone who has not seen Gone with the Wind, being one of the most famous movies of all time.
Eddie Perkins
2024-03-05 19:57:41 +0000 UTCYou always forget that you watched Frankenstein (1931). It was cute. Only three films have won all five major awards: It Happened One Night (1934), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), and The Silence of the Lambs (1991). People didn't start kissing until 1935
Eddie Perkins
2024-03-05 18:38:13 +0000 UTCSince nobody above mentioned it, there s a strange drama with a twist named Strange Cargo with Gable and Joan Crawford. The twist has to do with actor Ian Hunter, who was King Arthur in The Adventures of Robin Hood
John
2024-02-20 19:18:52 +0000 UTCNow that you've seen this one, you'd probably like The Sure Thing, a college type remake with John Cusack and Daphne Zuniga( the princess in Spaceballs).
John
2024-02-20 13:59:23 +0000 UTCLove this movie!
Lewis Creech
2024-02-16 02:39:26 +0000 UTCNo the censors mandated separate beds even if they were portraying married couples. The most notable was I Love Lucy in the fifties.
Jason Mangen
2024-02-15 18:47:26 +0000 UTCOh imagine that kiss Cassie! (after she became the 'Runaway Bride)
Terry Yelmene
2024-02-13 04:05:34 +0000 UTCIs this getting a YouTube cut? I unfortunately am so busy with work these days so I never have time to really sit down and watch an additional hour or two . Wish I could but yeah
AC5555
2024-02-12 00:06:00 +0000 UTCI have read before that when they made this movie "It" was a popular euphemism. Everyone in 1934 knew what "It" was! That last statement is very true. I often get frustrated by my beloved classic movies with the way they abruptly end whenever the main conflict is solved. They don't waste any time. Conflict is solved. Movie ends 30 seconds later!
MikeLL
2024-02-11 17:45:56 +0000 UTCThese are not my words. They come from a Terrific Review by someone named Alexis Johnson on February 10, 2016. I wholeheartedly agree, and couldn’t have said it better myself. “What really separates this film from other romantic comedies is Peter Warne as a character and his protection of Ellie. He knows he needs to keep her in his sights until the headline is officially his. He plays off their relationship as husband and wife to throw off the scent from suspicious travelers they meet on their journey. This, of course, brings the awkwardness of a sleeping arrangement when their bus is forced to stop at lodging during a storm.” “Peter makes a blanket wall between their two beds calling it “the walls of Jericho.” He basically implies with a little humor that he will keep this barrier between them and not make any inappropriate advances on her or compromise her honor in any way. He thoroughly enjoys teasing her about it, but he’s also completely sincere. When she’s with him, she is safe. There’s a point where she unwittingly drapes her undergarments on the barrier without thinking. He says to her in quite a serious tone, “I wish you’d take those things off the walls of Jericho…” It gives us a hint that Peter also makes it a point to protect himself from temptation.” “Due to her overly indulged and pampered upbringing, Ellie has little common sense in the real world. Though she’s “over 21,” as she boldly announces in the first scene, she knows next to nothing about how to make it on her own. Peter is acutely aware of this. He can be grumpy or agitated with Ellie’s naivety, and his protective nature toward her can come off as controlling sometimes, but it’s clear he has her best interests at heart. When examined closely, there is truly no chauvinist agenda here. Even when Peter “spanks” Ellie it is a playful moment, not a hurtful one. There are times when it seems Peter values her even more than she values herself. While she’s willing to gold dig for a meal or flash a little leg to get a car to pull over, he is offended by those gestures. He is not a misogynist who wants to reel her in, he is genuinely concerned for her welfare. Peter knows the world, so he knows that many people really could mean her harm, and it’s not something to be taken lightly.” “He makes sure all her needs are met on their journey. He clothes her when she’s cold, finds food for her when she’s hungry, even gets her clothes pressed for her. He also keeps her at a distance from several shifty characters. This caring nature is something maybe even he didn’t know he had until Ellie came into his life. It’s not that Ellie truly is helpless, she’s just accustomed to dependency on others, as well as apathy toward her own inexperience. Thus, her decisions are often impractical and rash. Her time with Peter opens her eyes to an independence she’s always craved, but never fully comprehended in a practical way until now.” “It is clear that Ellie and Peter are absolutely perfect for each other. Their differences are wonderfully complimentary, and their similarities are comical and fun. They both have a sort of carefree madness that comes out when they are together. They come alive.” “They are also both closet romantics. Ellie asks Peter if he’s ever been in love. He delves into his fantasy of adventuring with someone for the rest of his life. Peter is a man of experience, and it is something Ellie truly admires. He desires to get the most out of life, and she does too. As Peter explains his romantic plans for his future, she realizes she wants to be the one adventuring by his side.” “Peter rejects her when she tells him she wants to be with him. He loves her, but she’s technically married to King Westley. It is painful for both of them, but at this point it seems nothing can be done.” “We now come to the climactic story beat of the romantic comedy. This is the point where it seems all hope is lost and each character does something stupid to the other unintentionally because of a misunderstanding. The misunderstanding is usually something that could have easily been avoided by communication, but then, of course, there would be no story. Despite that common narrative flaw of keeping your characters from exerting common sense simply to create drama, this film ends on an exhilarating note.” https://www.reelworldtheology.com/reviewing-the-classics-it-happened-one-night/ Now My Words… This film comes from a different time in filmmaking. The writers and directors were not able to show every “detail” of Romance and Sex, like they do today. They had to be Resourceful. (I miss this in films of today.) Even though this film is technically Pre-Code, that doesn’t mean every filmmaker felt the need to push the boundaries, whenever possible. At most, all we could have gotten in the end was a kiss or an embrace. That is what Every film had… even then. A Romantic Kiss in a Romantic Film might actually be the oldest cliche ever. What this film tried to do was be Clever, and I believe it succeeded. Instead, what you see is Not the Obvious, such as Peter and Ellie being together. You already know they are together. A kiss or an embrace would be the easy spoon fed thing to do. What we do see, is the Symbol of the Barrier between Peter and Ellie… “Toppling.” The Walls of Jericho was the symbol of all the barriers between them stopping them from being Morally and Scrupulously intimate with each other. With the Toot of a Trumpet, a shot of a Blanket falling, and the lights going out… the viewer knows exactly what is happening. There’s more “information,” romance, sex, comedy and Happily Ever After in those last 30 seconds than any final kiss, embrace or “love” words could say. And… If you keep watching Classic films, this won’t be the last time you see an Ending of this kind.
Larry Darrell
2024-02-11 15:41:18 +0000 UTCI watched this with you cassie and i love it.
ExploreWinnipeg
2024-02-11 05:13:45 +0000 UTCOften it is better to let the audience imagine than to spoon feed them. What would a fight scene have added to the story? It would simply have taken up time. We know what Peter was doing after his editor gave him money to get drunk on, so what's the problem?
Ted Little
2024-02-10 11:18:45 +0000 UTCYou listed so many favorites of mine. I wonder how many here have seen TROUBLE IN PARADISE? I had not seen it myself until 5 or 6 years ago. It would change many minds about how charming an old movie can be . . . that Lubitsch touch!
MikeLL
2024-02-10 10:26:21 +0000 UTCSee her reaction to THE QUIET MAN for more explanation about “overacting”.
MikeLL
2024-02-10 10:17:47 +0000 UTCThank You Cassie. This is a beautifully Written, Directed, Photographed and Acted Film. It’s these that I find it hard to find the words to express my feelings for, because there are so many… words and feelings. Letting the films speak for themselves, seems like a good thing at this point. I hope to see you return to this ERA of filmmaking sooner rather than later. Thank You Again. Other Titles for Future Memory Recognition… Some 30s RomComs Libeled Lady (1936) My Man Godfrey (1936) The Awful Truth (1937) Nothing Sacred (1937) Bringing Up Baby (1938) Holiday (1938) Ninotchka (1939) Some 30s Romances with more than Comedy Trouble in Paradise (1932) Design for Living (1933) Camille (1936) Jezebel (1938) Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939) Only Angels Have Wings (1939) Love Affair (1939) Made For Each Other (1939) Some Early 40s Romances + Other His Girl Friday (1940) My Favorite Wife (1940) The Philadelphia Story (1940) Third Finger, Left Hand (1940) Rebecca (1940) Waterloo Bridge (1940) The Lady Eve (1941) Sullivan’s Travels (1941) Love Crazy (1941) I Married a Witch (1942) Random Harvest (1942) Woman of the Year (1942) The More the Merrier (1943) A Few more from 1934 The Thin Man (1934) Twentieth Century (1934) The Gay Divorcee (1934) More Frank Capra Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) Lost Horizon (1937) You Can’t Take it With You (1938) Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) Meet John Doe (1941) More Claudette Colbert Cleopatra (1934) The Gilded Lily (1935) Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife (1938) The Palm Beach Story (1942) Since You Went Away (1944) More Clark Gable Red Dust (1932) Hold Your Man (1933) Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) Gone With the Wind (1939) Comrade X (1940) Some Musicals from the 30s 42nd Street (1933) Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933) Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935) Top Hat (1935) Born to Dance (1936) Swing Time (1936) Shall We Dance (1937) Like I said… just Memory Recognition. Not asking. Just Listing…. For any possible Future Interests. ;-) PS:: Anyone notice similarities between the final wedding scene and the wedding scenes from another film Cassie has seen… Spaceballs (1987)?
Larry Darrell
2024-02-10 09:50:55 +0000 UTClove love love that movie.
Matt Rose
2024-02-10 05:13:11 +0000 UTCI feel like Captain Ron (1992) with Kurt Russell is near to being watched (partly because I sent her a copy last month) But now I hope Cassie sees a Carole Lombard film beforehand. It would add just a little more to a sweet moment. Some of her biggest films… Twentieth Century (1934) My Man Godfrey (1936) Nothing Sacred (1937) To Be or Not To Be (1942)
Larry Darrell
2024-02-10 04:15:32 +0000 UTCAt least One Classic a month, would be an Awesome start. Her Reactions to It’s a Wonderful Life and Rear Window are major reasons I’m here.
Larry Darrell
2024-02-10 04:09:14 +0000 UTCHi Cassie, you have slowly been getting introduced to some of the famous leading men from the classic “golden age” of movies. Humphrey Bogart, Jimmy Stewart and now Clark Gable. He was named the “King of Hollywood” he was in 60 films over 37 years and Gone With the Wind is his most famous movie
Tara
2024-02-10 03:59:08 +0000 UTCCassie's snack symbol was recognized in the background of the scene where the hitchhikers' driver stopped for a burger. That driver was in 14 movies in 1934 - film-making was very different. No TV and very little radio made newspapers the prime source for events back then. Reporters back then had decent jobs. Ellie's $4 is about $90 now. The $2 tourist courts were pretty common in the 30's and many charged extra for things like towels.
Bert Towle
2024-02-10 03:52:41 +0000 UTCIf you’re looking for a great romcom from the same era, highly recommend My Man Godfrey.
Brian Lowery
2024-02-10 02:29:17 +0000 UTCLove that you watched this movie. It’s one on the greats and there was no reason for it to be as good as it was. Gable and Colbert weren’t who the studio wanted. Colbert didn’t want to work with Capra again and Hollywood legend says that Gable was loaned to Colombia as punishment. It all paid off though, the film was Colombia’s biggest success until the 80s, it was the first of only 3 movies to win the big 5 Oscars and it was the only film to get best actor and best actress until 1974. I think if this is your first Clark Gable, you probably need to watch Gone with the Wind at some point. Yeah, it’s long, it’s racist, and I’ve never been Scarlett’s biggest fan, but Gable is fantastic in that film. Plus, I think you have to watch it at least once. A lot of people really love GWTW and it is one of the most successful films ever made. Mutiny on The Bounty and The Misfits are also good Gable watches.
Tinkerbell
2024-02-10 01:22:02 +0000 UTCThis was also my first time watching. Capra made two very weird choices: 1. We see Clark Gable running after the Skipper's car. then we see him return to the scene; he tells the girl he beat the shit out of Alan Hale and tied him to a tree. Do you think we'd've liked to have seen that? How did he catch that car? Show, don't tell. 2. Similarly, like Cassie, it was extremely weird that Clark Gable just disappeared from the last 5 or 8 minutes of the film. Where the fuck is he? I don't even give a shit about romcoms, but there needed to be a kiss and some sort of dialogue between the two leads. An imperfect movie to say the least. I get that it was a huge smash hit, but Capra's instincts were really off here.
Carol_White
2024-02-10 00:17:21 +0000 UTCThat makes up for all the Star Wars
Thomas Thompson
2024-02-09 20:52:46 +0000 UTCI do not get this 'overacting'?
thansen
2024-02-09 20:35:37 +0000 UTCNot just a change of pace...Gable and Colbert did the movie under duress. Neither wanted to be in the film at all but (short version) they both had different contract issues such that they were forced to do it. Both thought that the film would be garbage, although Gable thought they may be on to something special towards the end of the shoot. Neither of them thought it would be successful. Both were surprised when it swept the awards that year, Colbert especially. She wasn't even at the Academy Awards to accept her award. When she was announced as the winner, someone went and got her from the train station to accept.
Matt Rose
2024-02-09 20:11:30 +0000 UTCHopefully this will a window opening to Gable's iconic role and #1 line in movie history, with Gone With The Wind. Thank again Cassie.
Brian Wood
2024-02-09 20:00:56 +0000 UTCI hope she'll watch it with Carley.
Brian Wood
2024-02-09 19:59:40 +0000 UTCIn a Clark Gable mood? There are so many to pick from. Anything from San Francisco to The Misfits. You can even go back a little further than San Francisco, but the names are eluding my brain right now and I don’t feel like looking them up.
Marja
2024-02-09 19:53:26 +0000 UTCThis was a change of pace for both the stars; they were noted for melodramas and neither had done a movie comedy. This film, for which they both won Oscars, expanded their careers and from then on they did comedies and dramas. To see them in their typical films before this, watch Gable in Dance Fools Dance, and Colbert in The Sign of the Cross.
Ted Little
2024-02-09 17:52:16 +0000 UTCImitation of Life is a powerful movie and very hard at times to watch. Louise Beavers gives a very touching performance. Bring Kleenex.
Ted Little
2024-02-09 17:46:11 +0000 UTCClark Gable "King of the Silver Screen'..he was a heartthrob in his day,best friends with Spencer Tracy,CG's marriage to Carol Lombard is a dramatic story all unto itself.💕
Celeste McAllister
2024-02-09 17:29:47 +0000 UTCThank You, Bright Angel Cassie, for watching this movie. As you know, my wife has her good and bad days, but your kindness in showing this film (one of her favorites) brought her big smiles and joy watching it together with you. You may never know the ripple effect a simple gesture of kindness can bring the homebound elderly.
Clifton Owens
2024-02-09 16:27:07 +0000 UTCthat's fair. Between this and THE AWFUL TRUTH, the formula was perfected.
Matt Rose
2024-02-09 15:54:57 +0000 UTCThat’s not the OG romcom, it’s the OG screwball comedy.
Thomas Thompson
2024-02-09 15:32:33 +0000 UTCI don’t mind you accidentally including another poll request 😜 . I miss seeing you watch classic films. I hope it can happen more again since that’s why I got excited by your channel in the first place. You still haven’t seen all of Hitchcock’s films and I’d love to see you watch multiple classic films every month only of course if you’re down to do that.
AC5555
2024-02-09 15:27:28 +0000 UTCIs she releasing it on YouTube? I don’t have time to watch full reactions anymore because of work.
AC5555
2024-02-09 15:27:08 +0000 UTCCassie: if this has put you in a Clark Gable mood, consider watching 1935's MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY. That also won Best Picture. Fantastic movie featuring another excellent performance by Clark Gable. The 1962 remake (same title) with Marlon Brando is ok. The 1984 remake (THE BOUNTY) is excellent and features Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins (with Liam Neeson and Daniel Day Lewis in early roles as well).
Matt Rose
2024-02-09 14:53:07 +0000 UTCAlso: I believe this film is in the public domain now. I don't believe you needed to blur it on your full reaction, nor should you have any issues with your youtube edit. edit: my error, it's not in the public domain yet. The copyright was renewed in 1962 so it doesn't hit the public domain until 2030 in the US.
Matt Rose
2024-02-09 14:39:09 +0000 UTCCassie: yes, this was the OG RomCom. This film created the template/formula, whatever you want to call it. Glad you liked it!
Matt Rose
2024-02-09 14:34:24 +0000 UTCIt is such a treat to see a very modern young woman watch this 90 year old film and enjoy it so much. Piece of trivia. In the famous scene where Clark Gable takes off his shirt, he wasn't wearing an undershirt. Because of this movie, purchase of undershirts plummeted. Cassie, if you want to see the ultimate best Clark Gable movie, watch Gone With the Wind. It's a long one, but it does have an intermission and you could do it in two parts. Carly would also enjoy it. It's from 1939, in brilliant technicolor and it's an epic story.
sharkey197
2024-02-09 13:40:13 +0000 UTCThis is one of the classics I haven't watched before now. I think the only other film with Gable in it I've seen is Gone With The Wind. This was a really fun film and most definitely the prototype for romcoms to follow.
Walter
2024-02-09 12:19:01 +0000 UTCThis movie is available for free on YouTube. "The walls of Jericho are toppling." Their chemistry came across. He did seem over the top harsh. I guess the shocking scene of the shirtless Gable made up for no embrace at the end of the movie.
Clay F
2024-02-09 09:45:00 +0000 UTCPerhaps, technically, not the first talkie rom com, but it’s the one that Matters! Writing, acting, lighting, pacing, directing, humor, sophistication, and a dozen other qualities makes it the granddaddy of the genre. Not to be confused with screwball comedies, which also included romance, usually. I’m so glad Cassie enjoyed this true film classic. Claudette Colbert films worth watching include Midnight, The Palm Beach Story, Since You Went Away, and for an extra dash of melodrama, Imitation of Life.
Marja
2024-02-09 09:25:27 +0000 UTCHe's describing his real-life romantic partner in Carol Lombard.
John Liebling
2024-02-09 07:44:03 +0000 UTCActors Cassie has seen in other movies: In a small role, Ward Bond was the first bus driver, the “Oh, yeah” guy. He was Burt the cop in IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE and Father Lonnegan, the priest and narrator of THE QUIET MAN. The highway man who tried to steal Peter’s suitcase was Alan Hale who was Little John in THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD. When Cassie posts this movie on YouTube, 347 people will tell her Alan Hale is the Skipper’s Dad, that being Alan Hale Jr from Gilligan’s Island..
MikeLL
2024-02-09 07:05:47 +0000 UTCIf you use this film as a starting point and go back another 90 years, that would be 1844 and Abraham Lincoln would be 35 years old at the time, And the entire United States under a constitution would be only 55 years old.
John Liebling
2024-02-09 06:55:49 +0000 UTCI came on here to say the same thing, but you beat me to it!
MikeLL
2024-02-09 06:55:46 +0000 UTCSo Cassie has yet to see CUCKOO’S NEST. She has seen the only other two movies to win the top five Oscars, this film and THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.
MikeLL
2024-02-09 06:55:00 +0000 UTCOG RomCom? No. Source of Inspiration?… “We’ve Only Just Begun…” This is just the Tip of the Iceberg. I Promise. Carl Weathers knew what I’m talking ‘bout. https://youtu.be/lkjXcRLNZHQ?si=OZ4PkUxeao4wWCIn RIP.
Larry Darrell
2024-02-09 06:42:36 +0000 UTCFirst romantic comedy, Cassie? I kind of doubt it. But definitely the most well known and famous from the early "talkie" era, and most awarded with all the Oscars, it's not hard to see how this brilliant film earned its reputation. A great Frank Capra film, he directed another film you might remember, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, and a couple of other highly requested films, MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON, with James Stewart, and ARSENIC AND OLD LACE, with Cary Grant. You remember the name Clark Gable from that first Star Trek episode you watched where they went back to the 1930's and Edith Keeler suggested to both Kirk and Bones that they go see the new Clark Gable movie, and they both said "Who?" Your grandmother and every other woman of that era had quite a thing for him. When they made GONE WITH THE WIND in 1939 the studio spent months casting the female lead, but the public demanded Clark Gable play Rhett Butler. Thanks for watching one of the top ten films I will ever want you to watch. The movie is so charming, full of character moments that make you want the movie to never end. I only wish that they showed the happy couple at the end, but that is way Capra wanted it, so that is the way we have it.
MikeLL
2024-02-09 06:40:18 +0000 UTCIt all happened 90 years ago.
John Liebling
2024-02-09 06:38:26 +0000 UTCNuts, I can't watch this until my wife is with me! I'm so happy you get to see the first big rom-com, and 2 of the biggest stars of the time, neither of whom wanted to do this movie. It was the first movie to win the top 5 Academy Awards - in the year Oscar became the nickname for the statue. It took until 1975 for another film to win the top 5 (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest).
Bert Towle
2024-02-09 06:38:20 +0000 UTC"My young man is taking me to a Clark Gable movie". Cassie heard that from The City on the Edge of Forever, her first Star Trek episode.
Shawn Kildal
2024-02-09 06:23:33 +0000 UTCFirst rom com. First screwball comedy. First clean sweep at the Oscars. Definitely a major trailblazer in a lot of areas. 😁
Zane From Canada
2024-02-09 05:52:54 +0000 UTCI think that character overacting you see in older films especially early film is because of the fact that many of these actors are former stage performers so the transition to film was gonna be weird so some of that larger than life stage performance was still there.
Night King01
2024-02-09 05:47:16 +0000 UTCI'm so happy! This is an event for me!
Ben Livingstone
2024-02-09 05:30:32 +0000 UTCYay Love Month! Barf. I am NOT ready to be swept off my feet by a classic love story but I know how much you love love month. So I'll not be a negative Nancy throughout. I'm glad you really really enjoyed the movie!
My_Cousin_Mose
2024-02-09 05:28:29 +0000 UTCSuch a classic love story, so beautiful and the black and white give it great ambience. One of my favorites. Old Cupid is drawing back is bow with this one.
Zachary K. (Swiftie)
2024-02-09 05:28:29 +0000 UTCYou also got to see the birth of Bugs Bunny. The animators copied Gable peeling the carrot, as well as him being called doc by one of the bus passengers.
Bill Hayden
2024-02-09 05:27:48 +0000 UTCI've been waiting for you to see this for forever, and I'm so happy the day has arrived! Such a great movie, and one of only three to win all five major Academy Awards at the Oscars. Yes, this is the start of our modern conception of romcoms, the OG. If you want to see another Clark Gable movie, there's always Gone With the Wind (1939), one of the most famous films of all time.
Hunter DeRensis
2024-02-09 05:22:57 +0000 UTC
