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

Included among the American Film Institute's 1998 list of the 400 movies nominated for the Top 100 Greatest American Movies.

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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

John Cedar: I wouldn't worry if I were you. Of course, a large portion like this entails a great responsibility. But, you'll have a good deal of help. So, don't worry. Leave everything to me.
Longfellow Deeds: Oh, I wasn't worried about that.
John Cedar: No?
Longfellow Deeds: I was wondering where they're gonna get another tuba player for the band.

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Crazy Credits

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

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Connections

Spoofed in The CooCoo Nut Grove (1936)

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Soundtracks

For He's a Jolly Good Fellow
(uncredited)
Traditional
In the score during the opening credits and often throughout the film

User Reviews

A Pure Heart and Strong Morals Are the True Keys to Happiness.

Frank Capra (Oscar-winning for directing) created one of the earlier Hollywood masterpieces with "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town". The film follows a good-hearted small-town Vermont man (Oscar-nominee Gary Cooper) who inherits a fortune from a relative he never knew. Now he must go to New York and take over his late uncle's estate, but he must also contend with a whole host of opportunistic bigwigs who want to take advantage of Cooper's kindness. Cooper is not as slow-witted as he appears though as he seems to outsmart all those around him. When reporter Jean Arthur comes along, Cooper falls hard for her and lets his guard down and forgetting himself, he may lose a part of himself that is priceless. Frank Capra dominated the 1930s and 1940s with life-affirming productions that were just simple human stories that would always strike emotional nerves for the audience. "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town" is no exception. The remake should cause many to check this one out. This one stands up much higher than Adam Sandler's under-achiever. 5 stars out of 5.

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