It Happened One Night

Wall Street heiress Ellie Andrews has eloped with glamorous pilot King Westley. Her father, who considers Westley a fortune hunter, sequesters Ellie on his Florida yacht while his lawyers arrange an annulment. Ellie escapes and swims to shore, where she boards a Greyhound bus bound for New York City to reunite with Westley. Mr. Andrews makes headlines by offering a $10,000 reward ($240,672 in 2025) for her safe return. On the bus, Ellie meets Peter Warne, a newly unemployed newspaper reporter. Peter is annoyed by Ellie, who expects special treatment and lacks practical life skills. However, drawn to Ellie's strong personality, he helps her after a thief steals most of her money. During a scheduled stop in Jacksonville, Florida, Ellie misses the bus, wrongly assuming the driver would wait for her. Having read the headlines, Peter stays behind to accompany her, and they catch the evening bus that night. On the evening bus, Ellie initially sits next to salesman Shapeley, who hits on her until Peter claims to be her husband. The bus is forced to stop for the night when a bridge washes out on the road, and Peter rents them a motel room together. He gives her an ultimatum: if she gives him an exclusive story, he will help her get to New York; otherwise, he will tell her father where she is. Ellie agrees to the story. Peter strings up a blanket room divider between their respective beds, which he jokingly calls the "walls of Jericho". In the morning, Mr. Andrews' private detectives question Peter and Ellie, who evade them by pretending to be a married couple having a stormy argument. On the next bus, Shapeley recognizes Ellie from a newspaper and offers to split the reward with Peter. Pretending to be a gang member kidnapping Ellie for a higher ransom, Peter scares off Shapeley, who runs off. Worried Shapeley will report their location to Ellie's father, Peter insists they leave the bus and go on foot. The next morning, Peter and Ellie hitchhike. Though they argue about Ellie's privilege and Peter's cockiness, they begin to fall in love. While Peter's technique fails to hail a series of cars, Ellie succeeds on her first attempt by displaying her leg. The driver who stops is a highwayman who drives away with their luggage. Peter chases him down and steals his car, enabling them to continue their journey. At a New Jersey motel, Ellie confesses her love to Peter, who is moved but rebuffs her because he considers himself unworthy as long as he remains unemployed. Early next morning, while Ellie sleeps, Peter drives to New York to sell his story to his former newspaper for $1,000 ($25,700 in 2026). Seeing Peter drive away, the motel owners conclude Ellie is a deadbeat and evict her. Believing Peter has deserted her, Ellie calls her father to take her home. On their way back, their motorcade passes Peter, who realizes he is too late. Shortly before a second, formal wedding ceremony with Westley, Ellie confesses to her father her love for Peter. After Peter reaches out to Mr. Andrews about a "financial" matter, which Ellie assumes is the $10,000 reward, she resolves to marry Westley anyway. Rather than claim the reward, Peter asks Mr. Andrews to reimburse him for his expenses from the trip, which total $39.60 (equivalent to $953 in 2025). Impressed by Peter's honesty, Mr. Andrews asks whether Peter loves Ellie; after dodging the question several times, Peter admits he loves her. While walking Ellie down the aisle, Mr. Andrews reveals Peter's full story. He expresses his approval of Peter and urges that if Ellie changes her mind, he will help her escape the wedding and pay Westley to go away. Dumping Westley at the altar, Ellie seeks out Peter. As Mr. Andrews predicted, Westley agrees to an annulment for $100,000 ($2.4 million in 2026). Anxiously waiting for the annulment to go through, Peter telegrams Mr. Andrews that "the walls of Jericho are toppling"; Mr. Andrews confirms that Peter can "let 'em topple". At the honeymooners' motel, a trumpet plays, and a blanket falls to the floor in the couple's cabin, after which the lights go out.

Plot from It Happened One NightCC BY-SA 4.0