American Madness (1932)

Director:

Frank Capra

Writer:

Robert Riskin (story)

Release Date:

15 August 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

It's the 1930s, the Depression era, and the Board of Directors of Thomas Dickson's bank want Dickson to merge with New York Trust and resign...

Plot Keywords:

Debt | Alibi | Depression | Guard | Murder

Cast

Walter Huston	...	Dickson
Pat O'Brien	...	Matt
Kay Johnson	...	Mrs. Dickson
Constance Cummings	...	Helen
Gavin Gordon	...	Cluett
Arthur Hoyt	...	Ives
Robert Emmett O'Connor	...	Inspector (as Robert E. O'Conner)

Also Known As:

Faith (USA) (working title)
Money (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric System)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | South Korea:12 (2007) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Finland:K-3 (2007)

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Walter Huston (on loan from MGM) worked 4 weeks and 6 days on this production. Louis B. Mayer exercised a provision in his 1931 contract extending it for his participation in this film.

Quotes:

[last lines]
Thomas Dickson: Matt! I want you both to take the day off, go downtown, get a license, and get married right away.
[Matt starts to protest]
Thomas Dickson: I don't want to hear any more about it. If you don't get married I'm going to fire the both of you. Helen, while you're downtown, you might stop in and make reservations for the bridal suite on the Berengeria, sailing next week.
Matt Brown: Gee, thanks, Mr. Dickson.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Frank Capra's 'It's a Wonderful Life': A Personal Remembrance (1991) (V)

Capracorn, and I like it that way

Walter Huston is typically superb as a principled bank president (this was a busy year for him; he's also interesting in "Kongo" and "Beast of the City"), and Capra's little-people-count theme, so magnificently fleshed out in similar ways in "It's a Wonderful Life," has real resonance here. Riskin's screenplay is pithy and generous to bit players -- get a load of Sterling Holloway's self-important bank clerk -- and Capra's direction is not only faster-paced than most of his compatriots, but wonderful with actors: You can read every single emotion on Huston's face. Add a gleaming Art Deco set, Pat O'Brien in a good early Everyman role, a fabulously staged bank-run set piece, and Capra's ability to turn the bank itself into a character. Those who find later Capra -- "Meet John Doe," "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" -- too preachy would do well to take a look at this one, which shows how engaging he was before he became an institution.