Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)

A simple, small town man inherits a massive fortune, making him the target for scammers and publicity-seekers. Overwhelmed by the turn his life has taken, and awoken to another use for his new-found fortune, he makes a momentous decision.

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

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 April 1936 (USA)

Also Known As:

El secreto de vivir

Filming Locations:

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

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Harry Cohn had a dictum in that he would only allow his directors to print only one of their takes, thereby saving the studio a great deal of money. Frank Capra found a loophole in getting round this. At the end of each take, instead of shouting "Cut" he would shout "Do it again", and the actors would launch immediately into an unbroken repetition of the scene.

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Goofs

When Longfellow Deeds is preparing for his "engagement" lunch, he has a pipe in his hands or mouth throughout (sliding down the banister, discussing the utensils, flowers, etc.). But after he "practices" the seating with the butler, he gets up and leaves and the pipe has disappeared.

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Quotes

Babe Bennett: Got any news? I mean, eh, has anything exciting been happening lately?
Longfellow Deeds: Sure. I met you.

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Crazy Credits

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

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Connections

Referenced in The Practice: Mr. Shore Goes to Town (2004)

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Soundtracks

Old Folks at Home (Swanee River)
(1851) (uncredited)
Written by Stephen Foster
Played with drumsticks and sung by Jean Arthur
Also sung a cappella by Gary Cooper

User Reviews

A terrific film

Thank you Library of Congress for restoring this wonderful film. Initially, I expected this Frank Capra flick to overwhelm me with sentimentality and false, overly contrived setups. Well, yes and yes with two huge buts: Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur. The acting is so good, so right in tone, humor, pace -- it makes everything believable (even the silly court scene at the end). It's a feel-good movie that still has a bitter-sweet message. Jean Arthur's acting is beyond anything I've recently seen -- every emotion is perfectly telegraphed with just the right intonation. Gary Cooper (who was nominated for best actor) sprinkles his complex role with the necessary amount of macho pixie dust. Highly recommended. Can't wait to see Mr. Smith goes to Washington.