It's a Wonderful World

"THE HAPPENINGS OF ONE WONDERFUL NIGHT!"

1939 1h 26m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

⭐

6.8

IMDB

★6.5TMDB · 50★6.8IMDB · 3,368

ComedyRomanceCrimeMystery

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Detective Guy Johnson's client, Willie Heywood, is framed for murder. While Guy hides him so he can catch the real killer, both of them are nabbed by the police, tried, convicted and sentenced to jail: Guy for a year with Willie to be executed. On the way to jail, Guy comes across a clue and escapes from the police.

“THE HAPPENINGS OF ONE WONDERFUL NIGHT!”

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Cast

Claudette Colbert
Edwina Corday
James Stewart
Guy Johnson
Guy Kibbee
Fred 'Cap' Streeter
Nat Pendleton
Sergeant Fred Koretz
Frances Drake
Vivian Tarbel
Edgar Kennedy
Lieutenant Miller
Ernest Truex
Willie Heyward
Richard Carle
Major I. E. Willoughby

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: W.S. Van Dyke
Writers: Ben Hecht, Ben Hecht, Herman J. Mankiewicz
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

86 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

87 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by W.S. Van Dyke, shot by Oliver T. Marsh. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Edward Ward. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Editor Harold F. Kress shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Claudette Colbert and James Stewart and Guy Kibbee carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

AWARDS

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "THE HAPPENINGS OF ONE WONDERFUL NIGHT!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0031500 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

W.S. Van Dyke directs. Oliver T. Marsh behind the camera. Edward Ward scores. Harold F. Kress cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

186 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
287 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by W.S. Van Dyke, shot by Oliver T. Marsh. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Edward Ward. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Harold F. Kress shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Claudette Colbert and James Stewart and Guy Kibbee carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "THE HAPPENINGS OF ONE WONDERFUL NIGHT!".
8IMDB entry: tt0031500 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 50 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
10Classified under 14 themes, including "escape", "police", "kidnapping", "detective".

The technical file

Cinematography: Oliver T. Marsh
Original score: Edward Ward
Editing: Harold F. Kress
Runtime: 86 min · 1h 26m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: It's a Wonderful World (1939)
IMDB rating: 6.8/10 · 3,368 votes
MPAA: Not Rated

Also by

W.S. Van Dyke

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-06-22
★ 7/10
This is a cracking, quickly paced little comedy thriller with Claudette Colbert really on form as the rather dreamy poet who finds herself caught up in James Stewart's murder shenanigans. He is a PI whose wealthy pal is held for murder. When Stewart ("Johnson") is offered $100k to get to the bottom of it all, he tries to investigate, gets arrested, escapes from the cops into a river and alights on poor old "Edwina Corday" (Colbert) whose car he hijacks. After a bumpy start to their relationship, the pair of them are soon on the case to solve the mystery. It moves along well, the two stars - along with Guy Kibbee as "Cap Streeter" - gel well with some pithy lines from Colbert and daft scenarios well executed by them both as they close in on their prey. In the end, it doesn't really matter who killed whom - it's just an enjoyable vehicle for the two stars who are having some fun - and it is contagious.

Production companies