It Happened One Night. 1934. Directed by Frank Capra

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It Happened One Night. 1934. USA. Directed by Frank Capra. Courtesy of Photofest.

It Happened One Night. 1934. USA. Directed by Frank Capra. Screenplay by Robert Riskin, based on the short story by Samuel Hopkins Adams. With Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly, Roscoe Karns. 105 min.

The first film to sweep all five major Academy Awards, Frank Capra's Depression-era romantic comedy remains a deft blend of star comedy and social observation. Robert Riskin’s screenplay abounds in Depression archetypes: Spoiled heiress Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert) flees her controlling father (Walter Connolly) and crosses paths with recently-fired, cynical newspaperman Peter Warne (Clark Gable), who recognizes her as a ticket back to employment. Their journey from Miami to New York becomes a backroads odyssey through an America of buses, hitchhiking, and roadside motels, where class barriers dissolve against the backdrop of shared hardship.

This film accompanies The Lady at 100: Columbia Classics from the Locarno Film Festival.

Past events

Thu, Apr 24, 4:00 p.m.

MoMA, Floor T2/T1, Theater 1

The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 1
Wed, Apr 16, 7:00 p.m.

MoMA, Floor T2/T1, Theater 2

The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 2

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