“I just had the unpleasant sensation of hearing you referred to as my husband.” – It Happened One Night (1934)

This week, returning guest Andrew Daniels joins us to break down the original screwball sensation: Frank Capra’s It Happened One Night. As the first film to ever sweep the “Big Five” Oscars, this charming romantic comedy set the template for the genre, with pitch-perfect performances from Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert, and enough innuendo, wit, and roadside bickering to fuel decades of imitators.

We explore how Capra’s Depression-era romance struck a chord with audiences, changed the course of Hollywood stardom, and remains as irresistibly funny and tender today as it was in 1934.

Episode Notes:

• It Happened One Night (1934) was directed by Frank Capra and stars Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert
• Selected to the National Film Registry in 1993
• First film to win all five major Academy Awards: Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and Screenplay

Notable for:

• Launching the screwball comedy genre
• Iconic scenes like the hitchhiking lesson and the “walls of Jericho”
• Bridging escapism and social commentary during the Great Depression

Discussion topics include:

• The film’s influence on romantic comedies for generations
• How it reshaped the public personas of Gable and Colbert
• Capra’s blend of populist ideals and sharp dialogue
• Why the film continues to resonate with modern audiences

Featuring returning guest:

• Andrew Daniels, author of The Barstool Book of Sports: Stats, Stories, and Other Stuff for Drunken Debate

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Music by Mike Natale