"It will be a long day before we see so little made into so much." - Otis Ferguson, The New Republic

Variety recognized It Happened One Night as "spirited and good-humored" with "an intangible quality of charm."

The Film Daily hailed the "simply delightful and entertaining" It Happened One Night as "the finest of the year."

Not everyone was pleased with It Happened One Night and the little film's big win at the Oscars. A stuffy critic at the Hollywood Citizen-News sniffed, "I might be able to understand the hysterical enthusiasm for It Happened One Night if Hollywood had produced no picture of impressive artistry in the past year." The critic flatly preferred One Night of Love (1934), "a brilliant picture which marked a new milestone in the musical field. And, in the years to come, I hardly think that critics or the public will regard It Happened One Night as a great picture."

"It made audiences happy in a way that only a few films in each era do. In the mid-'30s, the Colbert and Gable of this film became Americans' idealized view of themselves -- breezy, likeable, sexy, gallant and maybe just a little harebrained. It was the Annie Hall [1977] of its day -- before the invention of anxiety." - Pauline Kael, 5001 Nights at the Movies.

In Guide for the Film Fanatic by Danny Peary, the writer had this to say about It Happened One Night: "Many critics regard it as the first screwball comedy, but the humor is surprisingly controlled. It comes naturally from the two actors, whose characters are wild only at the beginning. What makes the film so special is that it's composed of small moments - Gable demonstrating hitching techniques for Colbert (who realizes a pretty leg is better than the thumb), Gable teaching Colbert how to dunk donuts properly; Gable carrying Colbert across a stream and arguing with her about the definition of a piggy back ride".

In her essay on It Happened One Night for The International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, film scholar Lauren Rabinovitz wrote "Capra's simple Depression-era philosophy, often labeled "Capra-corn," is conveyed in It Happened One Night as a modern folk tale reversal of Cinderella....The rich girl ultimately gets the poor boy proving that even the wealthy, if given a chance, will subscribe to the working class values that were deemed a prescription for fighting the Depression."

In Lewis Jacob's influential work, The Rise of the American Film, the author wrote, "The success of It Happened One Night, perhaps Capra's most popular picture, disconcerted Hollywood. For it was the audience that spread the praises of the picture - spread them so enthusiastically that the picture became the industry's biggest sensation....Despite all the Hollywood axioms, the film had little of the appeals usually regarded as prime necessities for a hit; "production value," spectacle, gorgeous clothes. It did have other qualities, such as a well-constructed story based on simple human qualities, such as a well-constructed story based on simple human sentiments, fresh locales, witty adult dialogue, intimacy, informality; and above all it was devoid of much of the usual Hollywood affectation. Its success, causing considerable soul-searching in Hollywood, influenced contemporary production as widely if not so deeply as the German and Russian films had in the days of the "silents."

AWARDS & HONORS

It Happened One Night became the first film to win all five top Academy Awards, for Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Director, and Screenplay. Only two other films have duplicated this feat so far, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991).

By the time they got to the Best Picture category, It Happened One Night had also won for Clark Gable as Best Actor and Robert Riskin for Best Screenplay. Cobb opened the envelope and said, "The winner is...you guessed it, it is something that..." and the audience said in unison, "Happened One Night!" In accepting the award, studio head Harry Cohn had to acknowledge that he'd had little to do with the film. As he said, "I was just an innocent bystander."

When dark horse contender Clark Gable actually won the Academy Award for Best Actor in It Happened One Night, the actor confessed, "There are too many good actors in this business. But I feel as happy as a kid and a little foolish they picked me."

An early indication that It Happened One Night was going to clean up at the Oscars® came when it was chosen as Best Picture by the National Board of Review.

The critical response to It Happened One Night was mostly lukewarm, although some critics gave it rave reviews. After one week, the film closed at Radio City Music Hall. However, positive word of mouth from moviegoers spread quickly and the film was given a second chance. Soon audiences were being won over by the screwball charm of the picture, making it the sleeper hit of 1934.

It Happened One Night brought in $1 million in rentals during its first year of release, giving Columbia pictures its most profitable year since 1929.

With the film's success, Gable and Colbert were voted onto the list of top ten box office stars for the first time in either's career.

by Scott McGee, Frank Miller and Jeff Stafford