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American Madness (1932) More at IMDbPro »

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American Madness (1932) -- MyMovieScripts.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
7.4/10   587 votes
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Down 36% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writer:
Robert Riskin (story)
Contact:
View company contact information for American Madness on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
15 August 1932 (USA) more
Genre:
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... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
User Comments:
Humble Beginnings for a Bank more (18 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited 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)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Faith (USA) (working title)
Money (USA) (working title)
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Runtime:
75 min
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric System)
Certification:
Argentina:Atp | South Korea:12 (2007) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Finland:K-3 (2007)

Fun Stuff

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. more
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.
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FAQ

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6 out of 7 people found the following comment useful.
Humble Beginnings for a Bank, 3 December 2006
10/10
Author: stevem-26 from United States

The conservative and liberal sides of America seem to have been brought out in sharp relief during the Great Depression. This was a time when solutions were needed. "American Madness" shows the liberal side fighting for fairness and prosperity by what seems odd today, a bank president. The president's populist stance with his loans seems quaint now with today's number-crunching banking corporations, and maybe his was an unrealistic character, or at least rare. Think of the bank president in the "Bank Dick" offering W.C. Field's character a copy of the bank's calendar, "Springtime in Lompoc" and "my heartiest handshake" for saving the money from a robbery. More realistic, if comedic. But think of this: Robert Osborn, on TCM, commented that the movie was inspired by The Bank of Italy, founded in San Francisco by Amadeo Giannini, a bank geared toward working class people and it's reputation was one of basing its loan approvals heavily on the character of the borrower. In 1929, Giannini merged his bank with Bank of America and became its chairman. (By the way, Bank of America financed Harry Cohn's Columbia Pictures which made "American Madness".) Which is all to say that Capra's films so often show a more humane side of people in this country, which of course was there, but it all can seem a little corny in our cynical age. Thing is, what happens if you go to Bank of America now? Will they loan you money based on your "character" ?

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