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Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

  • 19361936
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 55m
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
21K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
Official Trailer
Play trailer1:29
1 Video
85 Photos
  • Comedy
  • Drama
  • Romance

A unassuming greeting card poet from a small town in Vermont heads to New York City upon inheriting a massive fortune and is immediately hounded by those who wish to take advantage of him.A unassuming greeting card poet from a small town in Vermont heads to New York City upon inheriting a massive fortune and is immediately hounded by those who wish to take advantage of him.A unassuming greeting card poet from a small town in Vermont heads to New York City upon inheriting a massive fortune and is immediately hounded by those who wish to take advantage of him.

IMDb RATING
7.8/10
21K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Frank Capra
  • Writers
    • Robert Riskin(screen play)
    • Clarence Budington Kelland(story)
  • Stars
    • Gary Cooper
    • Jean Arthur
    • George Bancroft
Top credits
  • Director
    • Frank Capra
  • Writers
    • Robert Riskin(screen play)
    • Clarence Budington Kelland(story)
  • Stars
    • Gary Cooper
    • Jean Arthur
    • George Bancroft
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 142User reviews
    • 50Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 1 Oscar
      • 5 wins & 7 nominations total

    Videos1

    Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
    Trailer 1:29
    Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

    Photos85

    Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
    Gary Cooper in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
    Jean Arthur and George Bancroft in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
    Jean Arthur and George Bancroft in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
    Gary Cooper, Douglass Dumbrille, Emma Dunn, and Lionel Stander in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
    Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
    Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
    Gary Cooper and Lionel Stander in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
    Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
    Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
    Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
    Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, and Jack Cheatham in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Gary Cooper
    Gary Cooper
    • Longfellow Deedsas Longfellow Deeds
    Jean Arthur
    Jean Arthur
    • Babe Bennettas Babe Bennett
    George Bancroft
    George Bancroft
    • MacWadeas MacWade
    Lionel Stander
    Lionel Stander
    • Cornelius Cobbas Cornelius Cobb
    Douglass Dumbrille
    Douglass Dumbrille
    • John Cedaras John Cedar
    Raymond Walburn
    Raymond Walburn
    • Walteras Walter
    H.B. Warner
    H.B. Warner
    • Judge Mayas Judge May
    Ruth Donnelly
    Ruth Donnelly
    • Mabel Dawsonas Mabel Dawson
    Walter Catlett
    Walter Catlett
    • Morrowas Morrow
    John Wray
    John Wray
    • Farmeras Farmer
    Stanley Andrews
    Stanley Andrews
    • James Cedaras James Cedar
    • (uncredited)
    Frank Austin
    Frank Austin
    • George Rankinas George Rankin
    • (uncredited)
    John W. Austin
    • Party Guestas Party Guest
    • (uncredited)
    Irving Bacon
    Irving Bacon
    • Frankas Frank
    • (uncredited)
    Louise Bates
    Louise Bates
    • Minor Roleas Minor Role
    • (uncredited)
    Bobbie Beal
    • Chorineas Chorine
    • (uncredited)
    Hank Bell
    Hank Bell
    • Unemployed Farmer in Line and Courtroomas Unemployed Farmer in Line and Courtroom
    • (uncredited)
    Billy Bevan
    Billy Bevan
    • Cabbyas Cabby
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Frank Capra
    • Writers
      • Robert Riskin(screen play)
      • Clarence Budington Kelland(story)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit
    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. —A.L.Beneteau <albl@inforamp.net>
    • breadline
    • nickname
    • screwball comedy
    • shaking one's head no
    • longfellow deeds character
    • 201 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Meet Gary as Mr. Deeds- and fall in love with him -as he panics Broadway with the audacity of his adventures-strikes back at his enemies in the most startling climax ever seen upon the screen! (Print Ad- Albany Times-Union, ((Albany NY)) 22 April 1936)
    • Genres
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Romance
    • Certificate
      • Not Rated
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This movie marks the entry of the verb doodle (in the sense of absent-minded scribbling) into the English language. The word was coined for the movie by screenwriter Robert Riskin.
    • Goofs
      When Deeds is interviewing the farmers and one of them gives him a sandwich, he takes a normal-sized bite out of it, which shows as he holds it afterward. But the bite is much smaller a few minutes later when the police come in and walk up to him.
    • Quotes

      Longfellow Deeds: People here are funny. They work so hard at living they forget how to live.

    • Crazy credits
      Winthrop Oliver Warner (a studio musician) actually played the tuba for the film.
    • Connections
      Edited into High Hopes: The Capra Years (1981)
    • Soundtracks
      For He's a Jolly Good Fellow
      (uncredited)

      Traditional

      In the score during the opening credits and often throughout the film

    User reviews142

    Review
    Top review
    10/10
    This really is is what being human is all about !
    Unvrivalled in the history of cinema and having just watched it again for the umpteenth time, I thought a short review on IMDb was necessary. I have watched the film regularly for the last twenty years and never tire of its humour, its tenderness, its wit, its romance, its general actors' performance and the originality of its subject matter. Never have tears and laughs been so much intermingled in the same film..I was gushing tears in the scene where Deeds hands a poem which Babe reads in the fog on her doorstep ... a few minutes later Deeds goes running off home, tripping up over a dustbin in the process and I was howling with laughter ... likewise the long passage in the courtroom when Deeds finally decides to "speak up" has me in fits of laughter over its finesse and wit. The final scene, where Deeds comes back to the almost empty courtroom to "collect" Babe who had been sitting by herself there once again started off my waterworks as he picks her up and tenderly embraces her all over the place. Indeed that final "kiss" is one of the photos featured on France's 3rd TV channel's "Cinéma-Club" on most Sunday nights.

    They are truly indeed a BEAUTIFUL couple in all senses of the world. I will not go through the story of the film again as this has been more than amply related by others but suffice it to say I have never seen any other film made with quite this calibre and actors' performance. Ineed this is the type of film that could only be made once ! Each character is extremely well developed and each actor/actress has exactly the physique of the character they play - an absolutely perfect match, one of those "one-off" films where everything combines to make for the spectator's perfect pleasure.

    What a shame that in the twenty first century we cannot produce films of this calibre using story line, actors' performance and plot alone - to obtain thrills from present-day audiences, large quantities of excessive noise, flashing lights and especially computer-generated imagery are necessary .... all this at the expense of plot and of the humour and witty lines. But, with modern technology being a double-edged knife, we should nevertheless thank God for it's enabling us to henceforth be able to appreciate these "golden oldies" for years to come !
    helpful•42
    12
    • nicholas.rhodes
    • Jan 8, 2006

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 12, 1936 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Mister Deeds - Milijonar dobrotnik
    • Filming locations
      • Columbia/Sunset Gower Studios - 1438 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Columbia Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $800,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 55 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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