Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)

A simple small-town man inherits a massive fortune and is immediately hounded by those who wish to take advantage of him.

Director:

Frank Capra

Writers:

Robert Riskin (screen play), Clarence Budington Kelland (story)

Stars:

Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, George Bancroft

Won 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Gary Cooper	...	Longfellow Deeds
Jean Arthur	...	Babe Bennett
George Bancroft	...	MacWade
Lionel Stander	...	Cornelius Cobb
Douglass Dumbrille	...	John Cedar
Raymond Walburn	...	Walter
H.B. Warner	...	Judge May
Ruth Donnelly	...	Mabel Dawson
Walter Catlett	...	Morrow
John Wray	...	Farmer

Storyline

Longfellow Deeds lives in a small town, leading a small town kind of life - including playing the tuba in the town band. When a relative dies and leaves Deeds a fortune, Longfellow picks up his tuba and moves to the big city where he becomes an instant target for everyone from the greedy opera committee to the sensationist daily newspaper. Deeds outwits them all until Babe Bennett comes along. Babe is a hot-shot reporter who figures the best way to get close to Deeds is to pose as a damsel in distress. When small-town boy meets big-city girl anything can, and does, happen.

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Plot Keywords:

breadline | nickname | screwball comedy | shaking one's head no | longfellow deeds character | 

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Taglines:

Rocking America with laughter!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Columbia Pictures had so much faith in it that they sold the film to exhibitors as a one-shot deal, rather than including it in a package of films designed to sell each other.

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Goofs

The position of Deeds' hands change during the board meeting, after the firetruck goes by.

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Quotes

Butler: The gentlemen from the opera are still waiting in the boardroom, sir. They're getting a trifle impatient, sir.
Longfellow Deeds: They are? I forgot all about them. What do you think they want?
John Cedar: Well, your uncle was chairman of the Board of Directors. They probably expect you to carry on.
Cornelius Cobb: I'll tell those mugs to keep their shirts on.

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Crazy Credits

Winthrop Oliver Warner (a studio musician) actually played the tuba for the film.

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Connections

Featured in My Girl (1991)

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Soundtracks

Hubay: Poeme hongroise Op.27, No.1.
Played by violinist in restaurant

User Reviews

The mystery of it all

No computer generated images, small 1:33 ratio black and white screen and yet there is nothing in the world that comes close to the intimacy of this experience. Just look at Gary Cooper listening, trying to understand. Look at Jean Arthur falling in love. We have lost something very important along the way and it's not just innocence. How is it possible that nobody can get anywhere near this simple magic trick? They used to call Capra films "Capracorn" I wonder what they call Adam Sandler, Freddy Prinze Jr, and Jennifer Love Hewit comedies today? I want to jump into a time machine and go to those days, the days of Mr Deeds, Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur and Frank Capra.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 April 1936 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

Filming Locations:

Columbia/Sunset Gower Studios - 1438 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$800,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1