Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (film)
"Mr. Deeds Goes to Town" is a classic film directed by Frank Capra, featuring Gary Cooper as Longfellow Deeds, a small-town businessman and aspiring poet who unexpectedly inherits $20 million. Upon arriving in New York City to manage his newfound wealth, Deeds encounters various challenges that highlight the stark contrast between his humble rural values and the elitist attitudes of city dwellers. Jean Arthur co-stars as Louise "Babe" Bennett, an urban reporter who initially intends to mock Deeds but ultimately falls in love with him, complicating their relationship when her deception is revealed.
As Deeds confronts societal pressures and a slew of unscrupulous relatives questioning his sanity, he decides to use his wealth to help those in need, embodying themes of generosity and idealism. The film, based on Clarence Budington Kelland's story "Opera Hut," received critical acclaim, earning five Academy Award nominations and securing Capra a second Oscar for Best Director. Notable for its exploration of class differences and the virtues of sincerity, "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town" remains a significant piece of cinema, reflecting Capra's belief in the dignity and worth of the common man. Its legacy continued with a 2002 remake featuring Adam Sandler and Winona Ryder.
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Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (film)
Identification Film about a small-town innocent in the big city
Director Frank Capra
Date Released on April 12, 1936
At a time when economic pressures affected most people, Frank Capra’s film showed that virtues exist apart from money. Celebrating the “common man,” Capra set a pattern in his movies of showing that populism and goodness can triumph against adversity and power. Considered the first film in his “social problem” trilogy (with Mr. Smith Goes to Washington in 1939 and Meet John Doe in 1941), the film foreshadowed themes in other Capra works, such as It’s a Wonderful Life (1946).
In Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Gary Cooper plays small-town businessman and aspiring poet Longfellow Deeds, who inherits $20 million. When he travels to New York to deal with legalities, he is swept up in several misadventures involving the clash between his rural values and the attitude of city snobs.
In her first featured role, Jean Arthur costars as Louise “Babe” Bennett, an urban reporter who poses as a jobless woman to secretly observe Deeds. Her intention is to mock him in her newspaper stories. Babe appeals to Deed’s romantic side. In turn, she falls in love with him. However, when he discovers her ruse, he is heartbroken. When he is confronted by an unemployed man, he decides to give away his wealth to the needy. When unscrupulous relatives challenge his mental competence, he is despondent. Eventually, Babe convinces Deeds her feelings are genuine, and he is inspired to successfully defend himself. Skeptics are warmed, and idealism is restored.
Based on the story “Opera Hut” by Clarence Budington Kelland, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town was nominated for five Academy Awards, and Capra won the Oscar for best director, his second. Frequent Capra collaborator Robert Riskin wrote the screenplay. The cast also features familiar 1930’s character actors Lionel Stander and George Bancroft. In 2002, the film was remade and starred Adam Sandler and Winona Ryder.
Impact
Capra had made other popular films, such as Platinum Blonde (1931) and It Happened One Night (1934), but soon after the latter film, he became ill; he said he was visited by a stranger who scolded him for making likable escapist films, so he decided to make films with a message. Occasionally criticized for making sentimental cinema, dubbed “Capra-corn,” Capra won his third best director Oscar in 1938 for You Can’t Take It with You, another nostalgic gem about regular people coping with the rich and powerful and earning redemption.
Bibliography
Capra, Frank. The Name Above the Title: An Autobiography. New York: Belvedere, 1982.
Ehrlich, Matthew. Journalism in the Movies. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2004.
McBride, Joseph. Frank Capra: The Catastrophe of Success. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992.
Saltzman, Joe. Frank Capra and the Image of the Journalist in American Film. Los Angeles: Norman Lear Center, 2002.