61
It
Happened One Night
Release date 22nd February 1934
Country : USA
Running time : 105 mins
Genre : Comedy
Starring Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert
Screenplay by Robert Riskin
Directed by Frank Capra
A Columbia Picture
A spoiled daughter runs away from her wedding and meets a journalist on the road. They fall in love but will there be a happy ending ?
This film has a sharp, witty script and direction that takes advantage of every delightful scene. Frank Capra allowed the real Gable to come through onscreen for the first time, Colbert offered a neat contrast.
No one expected the film to be a hit. Louis B. Mayer the head of MGM turned the story down and it was bought by minor studio Columbia.
Columbia head Harry Cohn asked Mayer if he could borrow Gable, promising the loan of Capra in return. Mayer thought Gable, who had checked himself into a hospital, was faking, so he sent him over to Columbia as punishment.
After Miriam Hopkins, Constance Bennett, and Margaret Sullavan turned down the female lead, Cohn suggested Claudette Colbert. Capra managed to hire the French-born Paramount star, though he had to double her usual $25,000 fee and agree to finish in four weeks so she could join friends for Christmas in Sun Valley. Ultimately, he managed to complete the film in that time on a total budget of $325,000.
Release date 22nd February 1934
Country : USA
Running time : 105 mins
Genre : Comedy
Starring Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert
Screenplay by Robert Riskin
Directed by Frank Capra
A Columbia Picture
A spoiled daughter runs away from her wedding and meets a journalist on the road. They fall in love but will there be a happy ending ?
This film has a sharp, witty script and direction that takes advantage of every delightful scene. Frank Capra allowed the real Gable to come through onscreen for the first time, Colbert offered a neat contrast.
No one expected the film to be a hit. Louis B. Mayer the head of MGM turned the story down and it was bought by minor studio Columbia.
Columbia head Harry Cohn asked Mayer if he could borrow Gable, promising the loan of Capra in return. Mayer thought Gable, who had checked himself into a hospital, was faking, so he sent him over to Columbia as punishment.
After Miriam Hopkins, Constance Bennett, and Margaret Sullavan turned down the female lead, Cohn suggested Claudette Colbert. Capra managed to hire the French-born Paramount star, though he had to double her usual $25,000 fee and agree to finish in four weeks so she could join friends for Christmas in Sun Valley. Ultimately, he managed to complete the film in that time on a total budget of $325,000.
DVD
available from Columbia Tristar
Home Video:
DVD Verdict
DVD Movie Guide
Classics on DVD
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Written content copyright Derek McLellan,2005.
Copyright © The Fedora Chronicles
