USA 115m Dir: Frank Capra Key Cast: Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur
Longfellow Deeds (Gary Cooper) inherits a fortune from an uncle he never met and is forced to move from his small village Mandrake Falls to New York City. There he discovers an array of people trying to get their hands on his money and forms a close bond with Babe (Jean Arthur) who is actually a journalist writing sensationalist pieces belittling him. When Deeds decides to give all the money away he finds himself in court charged with being insane.
Basically, this is an exploration of what might happen if a really nice man suddenly becomes a millionaire. If seems logical that he wouldn't be too keen on the idea and that he would try to put the money to good use. It's difficult to watch this and not think of real-world millionaires and consider how far away they are from Mr. Deeds.
As well as being a decent guy, I thought Deeds is an interesting character. Gary Cooper happily plays up his eccentricity and there's several really funny moments of physical comedy when he punches someone that annoys him. It's pointed out in the film that he may be a little eccentric but everyone is in one way or another which is an excellent point. Deeds feels like a real person here, the eccentricity just managed so that he never becomes a cartoon.
The romantic plot is also really interesting. Babe just ones to make money out of Deeds to begin with but she falls in love with him and can longer write stories about him. It's inevitable though that Deeds is going to learn how she betrayed him and the moment when it comes is truly gut-wrenching.
There's quite a lot in common here with Frank Capra's more famous film It's a Wonderful Life. Both are about a really nice guy who goes through a difficult time and both have an utterly joyous ending. The ending here is less sentimental but it's a proper punch the air moment that Capra was an expert in capturing.
It's interesting to note some of the language in this film. There's the word 'pixilated' which has nothing to do with photography but meant crazy. The word originated in New England but became popular at the time thanks to this film. Then there's 'doodle' which Mr. Deeds takes great effort to explain to the courtroom and it's thought this film was a large part of putting the word into common usage.
I absolutely loved this film and am surprised it's not one of the most acclaimed and loved films of the 1930s. Fantastic!
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