Frank Capra had
his first massive success with It
Happened One Night in 1934, a film that had such a massive cultural impact
that it was the first movie to sweep the Academy Awards and caused a massive
drop in the sale of undershirts after featuring Cary Grant without one. Capra
chose to follow up that screwball comedy with the socially conscious fairy
tale, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. It
would be a familiar trait in Capra’s films, giving audiences the entertainment
they wanted while giving society the message it needed.
The story begins
with a fortune, a $20 million inheritance left to the small-town oddball and
poet, Longfellow Deeds (Gary Cooper). Deeds must go to New York city in order
to claim the inheritance, and finds himself at the mercy of the press when a
cynical reporter (Jean Arthur) writes a series of articles about his
fish-out-of-water bumbling. Mr. Deeds
Goes to Town begins irreverent enough that it seems fitting Adam Sandler
would some day adapt this film, but it takes a turn for the serious when a
desperate man enters the narrative. He forces his way into the story, waving a
gun around as if hijacking the narrative.
When Deeds tries to use his fortune
to help those facing the hardship of the Depression, the act of charity is used
to question his sanity. It is a dose of social realism invading a film of
escapism, and suddenly it is a message picture that entertains as much as it
inspires. This is what Capra was best at, and he would repeat the formula in
the political terrain. Instead of Deeds defending his sanity in court, Mr.
Smith defends his name in Congress.
This 80th Anniversary
Blu-ray release comes in a collectible book with production photos, the
original promotional artwork, and an essay about the making of the film by
Jeremy Arnold. The special features include a commentary track with Frank Capra
Jr., as well as a featurette with interviews of the filmmaker’s son. Likely
more interesting to fans of history is the inclusion of a gallery of vintage
artwork for the film, as well as an original theatrical trailer. The highlight
is the restored high definition presentation, however, which I compared to my
DVD copy with noticeable difference.
Entertainment Value:
10/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 10/10
Historical
Significance: 10/10
Special Features: 7/10
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