It Happened One Night (1934)

A young socialite escapes her father's yacht hoping to meet up with her new husband; and in her travels by bus, by foot, and by hitching rides (with a Classic scene with Claudette Colbert showing Clark Gable how it's really done after an extended sequence of him 'teaching' her all his various techniques) traveling from Florida to New York teams up with a recently fired reporter who needs a big scoop to regain his former employer's graces.

Her father offers up a reward for her safe return and so it's not just cops on their trail but potentially anyone who recognizes her picture from the papers.

Classic, sexy, romantic comedy with a couple on the run, with these elements Hitchcock might have been a perfectly suitable director in this period, but in this case, we have Frank Capra at the directorial reins.

The movie is also a fun portrait of bus travel and the people one might have met at bus stations, on the bus itself, at the rest stops, and on the road itself (helpful strangers, thieves, annoying mashers, people in trouble, gruff or kind strangers, musicians, etc.) and the camaraderie or conflict that might develop between them.

Even though there doesn't seem to be any intended social commentary it almost creeps in, mostly in Gable's criticism of the spoiled rich, clueless about how the real world works, (she expects a bus to wait for her after she notifies the driver she will be late coming back.)

Pre-Code elements include the romance that develops with a married woman; the fact that the couple passes itself for married and shares a room: Beds separated only by the now-famous Wall of Jericho, but which does not preclude scenes of a shirtless Clark Gable (which supposedly caused undershirts sales to drop, a legend that should probably be taken with a grain of salt: What could possibly be the initial basis for this claim and how could it possibly be proven?) or much robing and disrobing of males and females; smoking (both of them do), etc.

A Classic, Cult, Screwball Comedy and widely hailed as one of the best films ever.

Not to be missed.