A movie that swept the 1934 Academy Awards and captivated Depression-era America, It Happened One Night challenged the ways Americans imagined marriage, romance, gender, and class difference. This book examines key scenes and formal features of It Happened One Night, and explores its lasting importance in film history and in cultural studies.

Consideration of the film’s role in establishing the genre of the romantic comedy film
Investigations into the film’s persistent sexuality and its creativity in avoiding Depression-era censorship
Establishment of the cultural, economic, and political context of a film that directly addresses the Depression and class issues
Exploration of how the film invokes and develops the stardom of Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert and how this stardom intersects with the film’s topics of gender, genre, sexuality, and class