| Columbia Pictures | Release Date: February 22, 1934 | CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION | ||
|
Positive:
16
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0
|
Watch Now
| Stream On |
|
| Buy on |
|
| Stream On |
|
| Stream On |
|
| Stream On |
|
| Stream On |
|
Critic Reviews
It’s every goddamn romantic comedy you’ve ever seen. They can all be traced back here, virtually without exception, for eight straight decades now. Technically, the film has never been remade, but that’s largely because, in spirit, it has never stopped being remade. Something so perfectly structured can support nearly endless variations. It’s timeless.
Read full review
For a low-budget production of the early sound era — 1934, seven years after "The Jazz Singer" — It Happened One Night has a wide-open quality that’s miraculous under the circumstances. This comes through in Capra’s technique, like a long tracking shot that follows Ellie’s humiliating trek to a public shower, but it really shows in the film’s ambition to be about more than this one love story.
Read full review
One of those stories that without a particularly strong plot manages to come through in a big way, due to the acting, dialog, situations and direction. In other words, the story has that intangible quality of charm which arises from a smooth blending of the various ingredients. Difficult to analyze, impossible to designedly reproduce. Just a happy accident.
Read full review
Nothing can take away from the strength of Gable and Colbert's performances, the illusion of romance in their interaction, and Capra's deftness in crafting this kind of feel-good narrative. The screwball comedy elements work as effectively as the love story, which is a rarity for romantic comedies.
Read full review
No one has ever fully explained what gives this basically slight romantic comedy its particular - and enormous - charm.
Every line of dialogue is calculated bliss, the chemistry between the leads is magnificent, and the backdrop of Depression-era America allows for a prescient and amusing subplot about how well-heeled urbanites are compelled to misbehave when they have no money in their designer pockets.
Read full review
Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
