Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

Plot synopsis:
During the Great Depression, Longfellow Deeds (Gary Cooper), the co-owner of a tallow works, part-time greeting card poet, and tuba-playing inhabitant of the (fictional) hamlet of Mandrake Falls, Vermont, inherits 20 million dollars from his late uncle, Martin Semple. Semple's scheming attorney, John Cedar (Douglass Dumbrille), locates Deeds and takes him to New York City. Cedar gives his cynical troubleshooter, ex-newspaperman Cornelius Cobb (Lionel Stander), the task of keeping reporters away from Deeds. Cobb is outfoxed, however, by star reporter Louise "Babe" Bennett (Jean Arthur), who appeals to Deeds' romantic fantasy of rescuing a damsel in distress by masquerading as a poor worker named Mary Dawson. She pretends to faint from exhaustion after "walking all day to find a job" and worms her way into his confidence. Bennett proceeds to write a series of enormously popular articles mocking Longfellow's hick ways and odd behavior, giving him the nickname "Cinderella Man".
Cedar tries to get Deeds' power of attorney in order to keep his own financial misdeeds secret. Deeds, however, proves to be a shrewd judge of character, easily fending off Cedar and other greedy opportunists. He wins Cobb's wholehearted respect and eventually Babe's love. She quits her job in shame, but before she can tell Deeds the truth about herself, Cobb finds it out and tells Deeds. Deeds, who has been in love with her, is left heartbroken, and in disgust he decides to return to Mandrake Falls.
After he has packed and is about leave, a dispossessed farmer (John Wray) stomps into his mansion and threatens him with a gun. He expresses his scorn for the seemingly heartless, ultra-rich man, who will not lift a finger to help the multitudes of desperate poor. After the intruder comes to his senses, Deeds realizes what he can do with his troublesome fortune. He decides to provide fully equipped 10-acre farms free to thousands of homeless families if they will work the land for three years.
Alarmed at the prospect of losing control of the fortune, Cedar joins forces with Deeds' only other relative (and the man's grasping, domineering wife) in seeking to have Deeds declared mentally incompetent. Along with Babe's betrayal, this finally breaks Deeds' spirit and he sinks into a deep depression. A sanity hearing is scheduled to determine who should control the Deeds' fortune.
During the hearing. Cedar calls an expert who diagnoses manic depression based on Babe's articles and Deeds' current behavior; he gets Deeds' Mandrake Falls tenants, eccentric elderly sisters Jane and Amy Faulkner (Margaret Seddon and Margaret McWade), to testify that Deeds is "pixilated". Deeds is too depressed to defend himself and the situation looks bleak when Babe finally speaks up passionately on his behalf, castigating herself for what she did to him. When he realizes that she truly loves him, he begins speaking, systematically punching holes in Cedar's case—when he asks the Faulkners who else is pixilated, they reply, "Why everyone, but us"—before actually punching Cedar in the face. In the end the judge declares him to be "the sanest man who ever walked into this courtroom."

Tags: depressing

Review:
I want to jump into a time machine and go to those days, the days of Mr Deeds, Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur and Frank Capra..
Frank Capra knew that Gary Cooper was made for the part of Longfellow Deeds, he waited until Harry Cohn could get him from Paramount before making this film.
Or is it my favorite?!Just a wholesome, thought-provoking expose on the weirdness of typical American city thinking and behavior, being brought to light by a naïve young man who has down-to-earth small-town common sense!From the IMDB age-bracket reviews, it seems this movie might not appeal to the younger, especially girls under 18 (go figure).A great Frank Capra-directed film.
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, one important message this film tries to share is-"However smart, sharp or deceit a town can be, a person who has everything good in him, everything elegant in him, can never be affected in a bad way until he himself tries to degrade him."Frank Capra has taken so lively, so real, so effective issue in 1930s,that is still applicable to this 21st century.
OK, that was a minor complaint, but an excellent come-on.I did not realize until after I saw this film how many movies similar to this that Frank Capra directed: You Can't Take It With You, Mr Deeds Goes to Town, Meet John Doe, Mr Smith Goes to Washington, It's a Wonderful Life...
What an amazing film and perfect casting by Frank Capra who knew that Gary Cooper was destined for the part of Longfellow Deeds.
He is urged to move to New York into his late uncle's mansion so that he can settle the estate and tie up all the loose ends.His inheritance becomes huge news and the hot shot reporter Babe Bennett played with gusto by Jean Arthur is soon hot on the trail of her target and nicknames him "Cinderella Man".Naturally, they fall in love, naturally he finds out how she has been deceiving him all the time by pretending she is someone else.But in the meantime, he is impressed by the plight of the ordinary farmers in the massive Depression that has hit the U.S.A. and starts to set up help for them.He is soon deemed insane and a court hearing is heard where all the plot threads are then tied up, and very neatly too.What delights and surprises me on the many viewings I've had of this movie over the years is that it is not the simple cornfed aw-shucks type of Capra movie that some make it out to be.
Cedar and two assistants find the person in Mandrake Falls, a small hamlet in Vermont: 28-year-old Longfellow Deeds (an earnest Gary Cooper, who got an Oscar nomination for the role), a shy, eccentric, non-smoking, non-drinking, tuba-playing poet.
He's even dubbed in news articles as "The Cinderella Man" by streetwise reporter, Louise "Babe" Bennett (a sweet, lamb-like Jean Arthur), after her enchanting night-outs, under the guise of poor luck girl Mary Dawson, with the naive Deeds.
Bennett knows she's one, She can't take the words back, but falls for him regardless, and love and humanity conquers all.Thanks to Oscar-winning director Frank Capra (It Happened One Night, Meet John Doe {with Cooper} and It's a Wonderful Life) and his witty scribe pal Bob Riskin, "Deeds" is a smart and smart-aleck satire that celebrates the underdog, giving him wealth and fame, but retaining his dignity and honor.
Cynics and money-loving sharks may pounce on him, but Deeds stands tall and strong, even with friends like the law firm's gravel-voiced P.R. man, Cornelius "Corny" Cobb (Lionel Stander, who later played Max the car driver of the romantic detective TV series, "Hart To Hart") and baby-faced lead butler Walter (Raymond Walburn) and, later, Bennett herself, during the film's climax.
The cast is fun (look out for Western character actor George "Gabby" Hayes as a luckless farmer), the story echoes Shakespeare while being socially conscious (Deeds helps out the victims of the Great Depression, in a way that irks the firm) and Capra and Riskin had a good time orchestrating it.Stay far away from the Adam Sandler remake.
Gary Cooper does well in a somewhat atypical role for him, Jean Arthur does well in the kind of role that she often played very well, and Frank Capra applies his usual touch to hold it all together.The story has a light but interesting premise, with Cooper as the naive Mr. Deeds who is confronted with the consequences of sudden wealth.
What director Frank Capra is able to do here is create a tale of little city versus big city but also in dealing with corruption and helping out your fellow man.These are themes common to nearly all Capra films and here Gary Cooper is able to transcend the idea of a major Hollywood star playing a down to earth, small-town idealist nice and considerate to all he meets unless they get deep under his skin.
This other theme of the dark side of media use is another Capra feels strongly about and it shines through especially in the final courtroom scenes when all is revealed and the true colors of all characters are established.Gary Cooper is one of the most under-appreciated leading men in Hollywood history, perhaps because he didn't show the archetype leading man quality other big stars of his time did.
The two main characters for instance already like each other from the start, which of course makes the movie and its love-story a totally different one.On top of that it has a better written story in my opinion, even though "It Happened One Night" is a more respected movie than "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town", also award-wise.
Then there's the entire court room sequences as he sits there acting only with expressions, it's special I tell you.Jean Arthur has a back story to the film that makes me admire her all the more, she was only chose quite late on in casting by Capra after he caught her in a small low budget production, and she suffered violently with nerves on each shoot, but the results are incredible as she dominates the camera in every scene she is in, with her delivery, her voice that makes me ache in a good way, this lady covers herself in glory.
Jean Arthur, Capra's favourite actress is again great as Babe Bennett, the big city reporter who betrays and eventually comes to love the naive country man.
The movie appealed to the Depression American audiences as they watched ordinary,shy Mr.Deeds,played wonderfully by Gary Cooper go up against the phony,pretentious rich people who try to prove deeds insane because he wants to help the downtrodden with his inherited money.
Although he had earlier successful films ("American Madness", "The Bitter Tea Of General Yen"), Frank Capra's real success in American movies began with "It Happened One Night", and was quickly solidified by "Mr. Deeds Goes To Town".
It breaks my heart that millions of younger people are going to see *that* and believe it is an original tale.Anyway, Gary Cooper plays Longfellow Deeds, a small-town man who is the sole heir of his uncle's twenty million dollar estate.
Gary Cooper is typically laconic playing small town milquetoast Longfellow Deeds who is named as the sole recipient of a millionaire's estate; he's so well-scrubbed, he'd just as soon give away the money rather than have his life changed by fortune.
Certainly this is not meant to be a suspense film, but it needn't go out of its way to kill all the suspense it has set up, either.It should be said that this film didn't stand much of a chance with me to begin with, what with the lead role being played by Gary Cooper - an actor who, to my mind, possesses all the rugged good looks of George Formby and all the dashing charm of Boris Karloff.
Capra's usual ensemble of characters are all there - Cooper plays the all-American small town everyman hero, there is a mystifyingly odd performance from Jean Arthur as the pithy love interest, Douglas Dumbrille is the fuddy-duddy clueless old gentleman and the always awful Lionel Stander is the sort of character he always plays.
All loose threads of storyline had been tied up and the curtain was ready to fall  I was about to award this film kudos for actually doing something different and out of tune with the Hollywood fairy-floss that makes up the rest of the story - then Capra spoils it all by tacking on a brief and unnecessary coda that makes it indistinguishable from every other bit of feel-good plop he ever excreted.To briefly give some credit where it's due, at least the Mr Deeds character was not entirely as wholesome as Mr Smith, making him not an exact carbon copy  and I must confess that the first forty minutes of the film was mildly entertaining in its own way, although seldom funny.
The less cynical viewers amongst us who don't notice every plot device, every stock character and every recycled storyline in a film like I do, may well be able to find some enjoyment in the rest of the film as well; though I struggle with the possibility of the courtroom scene being anything less than painful.If one thing can be said for Capra, he was many years ahead of his time - he paved the way for many of today's clueless directors with no concept of the art of cinema.
DEEDS GOES TO TOWN seems like a retread of other Frank Capra movies.
Frank Capra classic about a good-natured small town man named Longfellow Deeds (Gary Cooper) who inherits a fortune and finds himself surrounded by opportunists in the big city.
As usual with Frank Capra's movies, the supporting cast is made up of excellent character actors like George Bancroft, Lionel Stander, Ruth Donnelly, Douglas Dumbrille, and H.B. Warner.
while, unlike "Meet John Doe" or more overtly "It's A Wonderful Life", "Mr Deeds Goes To Town" has no immediate tie-in to the Christmas period, its ideas of universality, common decency and the brotherhood of man, particularly towards the deprived in society will always chime in with the season of good will, the time when I've just watched it.For me, the quality of Capra's work from 1934 "It Happened One Night" right through until "It's A Wonderful Life" in 1946 is almost unparallelled in the annals of Hollywood.
Its sympathy with the dispossessed working farmers must have had particular relevance to viewers of the time coming out as it did in the midst of The Great Depression, but as ever, Capra, masterfully sidesteps the obvious pitfalls of over-sentimentality with this sparkling mixture of pathos and humour, topped off with an uplifting message of nothing less than love thy neighbour and do unto others...It always helps when you've got big stars doing good jobs in the leads and Cooper and Arthur are superb in their roles.
In the end though, Capra plays out his updated Christ and the Money-lenders parable to brilliant comic effect, allowing both we the audience and a silently glum Cooper to wait and wait and wait before he takes up the cudgels and wins the day (and of course the heart of Jean Arthur in the process).A simply marvellous, timeless movie from Hollywood's Golden Age with a recurring message that will not go way and will always have relevance in modern society..
The impression I get here, is as if the character is too ashamed even to show her face to the audience.Mr Deeds Goes to Town is a delightful relic of a bygone age, before film-making became a mess of technical stylisation, when direction meant nothing more than finding the best way show the story and performances.
this movie is all about being true to yourself and sticking to your convictions.Gary Cooper is Longfellow Deeds,a simple,small town humble man who inherits a large fortune of 20 millions dollars.soon,everybody wants money from him and many people try to change him.this movie succeeds for a number of reasons,one of which is the appeal of star Cooper.he's just so likable,you can't help but empathize with the character.but the message of the film also helps a great deal.it's not preachy at all,and it's very relevant.even more so today.it's nice to see a movie that has a moral centre to it.there's also some humorous and romantic moments that work well.the supporting cast is also effective..
Capra's direction is great & the story of the big city lawyer having already stolen money from the estate before Deeds Uncle died is a classic story which all too often happens in real life.Jean Arthur is great in her role & the sparks between her and Cooper are in evidence in this.
Gary Cooper has the title role in "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town," another wonderful film from Frank Capra that also stars Jean Arthur, Lionel Stander and George Bancroft.
Longfellow Deeds in the person of Gary Cooper is a man you will really like.Cooper is perfect as the hick who inherits a large fortune and wants to give it all away.The movies of Frank Capra from this period are among the best comedies made.They're pure magic.Jean Arthur got her big break in this movie and she is as Cooper..perfect.
DEEDS GOES TO TOWN is relatively light, its professionalism is never in doubt and with this film Capra began in earnest his period of 'message' pictures (his earlier drama American MADNESS [1932], with a backdrop of the Wall Street crash, however had already shown his genuine concern for the 'little people') which culminated in his second collaboration with Cooper  the ambiguous and rather cynical MEET JOHN DOE (1941).
MY RATING- 7.8This is quite a moving tale a la american by the master of socio drama, Frank Capra in which he uses one of his fave actors Gary Cooper as the country man who inherits a fortune from a rich uncle and is double crossed in the city.
A small town "rube", (as he is expected to be), outsmarts numerous big city schiesters, proving that honesty and integrity are more powerful than greed and opportunism.Gary Cooper is absolutely charming in this role, as Longfellow Deeds.
When a small-town guy (Gary Cooper) inherits a large fortune, he goes to New York, where he's preyed upon by his uncle's own lawyers, a newspaper reporter who cozies up to him to get the inside scoop of what he's like (Jean Arthur), and others who are looking to swindle him.
Overwhelmed by the turn his life has taken, and awoken to another use for his new-found fortune, Mr. Deeds makes a momentous decision.Directed by the legendary Frank Capra, this has the Capra trademark features: the main character goes from nobody to somebody, and discovers it's not necessarily a good thing; there's the usual mountains of sentimentality that are laid on so thick and idealistically that they should backfire, but work out in the end.
Capra takes liberal swipes at reporters, lawyers, judges, psychiatrists, poets and opera with comic relish and serious undertone while balancing an engaging romance between leads Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur.Longfellow Deeds (Cooper) , a tuba playing rube from Mandrake, Ohio inherits millions from his New York City uncle.
Acting wise, Gary Cooper is wonderful as Longfellow Deeds, the tuba-playing "Cinderella Man" who inherits a small fortune, and Jean Arthur is a good and alluring match for him.
Gary Cooper gives a great performance as the sympathetic Mr. Deeds, as does Jean Arthur as Babe Bennet.Even that this movie was made over 70 years ago I found it pretty current.
Frank Capra's "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town" is the sort of film that makes people say things like "They sure don't make 'em like they used to".
Capra's trademark style is evident here as he unfolds a story of a simple country boy who inherits a fortune along with all of the complications that go along with it.Gary Cooper plays the titular Mr. Deeds and does a fine job of bringing a sense of innocence & warmth to the character.
Meanwhile, the supporting cast is peopled with interesting characters played by the likes of Lionel Stander, Douglass Drumbrille & H.B. Warner.Capra's direction was rewarded with an Oscar, the film's only win out of five nominations (including Best Picture).
Precisely, that is what happens with the film.Gar Cooper as Longfellow Deeds is wonderful and Jean Arthur as Louise "Babe" Benett was lovely, charming and admirable.
And the plot is a bit plausible, who's to say no one inherits a big fortune.What make this story stand out for me are the characters and what they do throughout the film, that to me is one of the reasons why I like most of Frank Capra's film are that their actually concerned about characters not just plot line alone.I really like the protagonist Longfellow Deeds played brilliantly by Gary Cooper.
Many small pieces give this film enough energy to overcome its nonsensical storyline.******** Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (4/12/36) Frank Capra ~ Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, Lionel Stander, Douglass Dumbrille.
DEEDS GOES TO TOWN (1936) **** Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, Lionel Stander.
Frank Capra struck gold again in this hilarious and heartfelt comedy/drama starring Gary Cooper as Longfellow Deeds, a simple(yet shrewd) small-town Vermont resident who inherits a great deal of money from his uncle.
Cooper is very good in his role but in my opinion it's Jean Arthur who steals the show as the reporter who sets out to make Deeds look like a fool but then falls in love with him.
Capra celebrates the common man and the spirit of man like no other.Here we have Gary Cooper as Longfellow Deeds, a small-town hick idealist who inherits $20 million.