It Happened One Night (DVD, 2008, Remastered / Repackaged)

The original romantic screwball comedy. It is hard to believe it was filmed in 1934. The quality of disk is excellent - no rough spots or crackling in the dialogue. The quality of the film is in the script and the acting unlike today when films all seem to rely on special effects and martial arts. If you liked "My Man Godfrey" with William Powell, you'll love this one.

You can't beat stars like Clark Gable & Claudette Colbert for entertainment and great acting ability! A light hearted entertainment.

Most people think that Clark Gable won the Oscar for his portrayal of Rhett Butler in "Gone With the Wind." But no, this 1934 movie won Gable the gold long before GWTW, where he did NOT win. Here Gable is Peter Warne, a down-on-his-luck newspaper reporter who happens on the most exciting story of the year. That story involves Ellen Andrews (Claudette Colbert), a rich ingenue who has swum away from captivity aboard her father's yacht to be with the man she loves, King Westley.

They meet aboard a train from Florida to New York and instantly take a dislike to each other. She is aloof; he is brash. But when Ellen's suitcase with all her belongings and money gets snatched in South Carolina, she is very much in need of help. And Peter sees dollars in the story he could write about saving this damsel in distress. What he doesn't realize is that he might fall in love with this woman.

Yes, this is the movie where Clark Gable sets the undershirt industry on its back when he removes his shirt and exposes a bare chest. Yes, this is the movie where Ellen outdoes Peter's hitchhiking antics by exposing the upper part of her delicious leg. Also look for the scene where they sing "The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze" with the other bus travelers. And the scene where the walls of Jericho fall with the trumpet blast is priceless.

You may not know that this movie was the first movie to win all 5 top Oscars: Best Actor (Gable), Best Actress (Colbert), Best Picture, Best Director (Frank Capra), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Robert Riskin). This feat was not tied until "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" in 1975.

A special feature to the DVD includes an interview with Frank Capra, Jr., who tells the story of how the movie was made. An interesting note is the Claudette Colbert almost didn't make the movie because she wanted to go on vacation to Sun Valley. Neither Gable nor Colbert realized the reaction of audiences to this movie, which invented the romantic comedy genre. Also, the charisma of the two leads together was far underestimated.

This movie is timeless. You will want to watch it again and again and make it part of your permanent collection of DVDs. Except for the black and white filming and the old-timey bus and train rides, you would think that this movie was recently made.