You Can't Take It with You
1938 Directed by Frank Capra
Synopsis
The Great Pulitzer Prize Play...Becomes the Year's Outstanding Picture!
Alice, the only relatively normal member of the eccentric Sycamore family, falls in love with Tony Kirby. His wealthy banker father, Anthony P. Kirby, and his snobbish mother, strongly disapprove of the match. When the Kirbys are invited to dinner to become better acquainted with their future in-laws, things do not turn out the way Alice had hoped.
Cast
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Frank Capra's films have been deemed by critics as unrealistic and often times corny, supposedly there was even a infamous catch phrase to his films calling them Capra-corn (Capricorn!). I admit I was once one of this critics not only to Capra but to the majority of the films coming out of Hollywood during this time period (the Golden Age). But I have come to realize with Capra mostly but I'm sure it could apply to other directors from this time that realism was not their priority. Reality was depressing in the 30's, movies had to provide this form of escapism in a positive light that people depended on.
Capra to his critics has never once stated his films to…
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**Part of the Best Picture Project**
I have yet to see a Frank Capra film that doesn't put some kind of goofy smile on my face.
This film has to be one of Wes Anderson's favorite. It involves Jimmy Stewart, son of a millionaire banker, falling in love with a girl (Jean Arthur) that has an eccentric family. The colorful cast of characters reminds me a lot of the same one in The Royal Tenenbaums. The family is headed by Lionel Barrymore, and gosh darnit, he's the nicest person you'd ever know. He's a complete foil to Jimmy Stewart's father, played by Edward Arnold, who is your typical stern businessman.
In typical Capricorn fashion, the film relies on sentimentality and…
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At first I thought, "Oh boy, this is corny, naive, and idealistic." But it gets better. It turns out not as predictable as I first thought though. It's a little talky and stagey at the beginning but once it gets rolling it's pretty entertaining. There's a libertarian speech in the middle when the old man won't pay his taxes. And Jean Arthur is a peach.
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This now rivals "Philadelphia Story" as my favorite screwball comedy. I expected Jimmy Stewart (in his first major role) to be his typical affable self, but I didn't realize the rest of the cast would be so effing charming.
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Winning the Academy Award for 'Best Picture' in 1938, 'You Can't Take It With You' also earned Frank Capra his third Award for 'Best Director'. Pairing the director with actor James Stewart for the first time they would go on to make 'Mr. Smith Goes To Washington' (1939) and 'It's A Wonderful Life' (1946).
The highest grossing picture in the U.S for 1938, 'You Can't Take It With You' was adapted from a play of the same name that had won a Pulitzer Prize. Capra had caught a performance of the play whilst in New York for the premier of 'Lost Horizon' (1937). Trying to persuade Harry Cohn of Columbia Pictures to buy the rights proved futile at first when… -
Surprisingly, Jimmy Stewart isn't my favourite thing about this film. Don't let the light-hearted tone fool you though; it touches on some deep and interesting society values. Some of them more applicable today than they were in 1938.
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This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.
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Capra's adaptation of the great Pulitzer-winning comedy is a sweet-natured, good-hearted film, if not quite a great one. The frenzied ensemble is the film's strongest point.
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At first I thought, "Oh boy, this is corny, naive, and idealistic." But it gets better. It turns out not as predictable as I first thought though. It's a little talky and stagey at the beginning but once it gets rolling it's pretty entertaining. There's a libertarian speech in the middle when the old man won't pay his taxes. And Jean Arthur is a peach.
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If you have seen "It's a wonderful life" too often or are not in the right mood for christmas: watch this one. It will cheer you up no matter how blue you feel. Capra may be a naive fella, but he is so with a very charming persuasiveness.
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This now rivals "Philadelphia Story" as my favorite screwball comedy. I expected Jimmy Stewart (in his first major role) to be his typical affable self, but I didn't realize the rest of the cast would be so effing charming.
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No other director created the kind of Americana films that Frank Capra did. With 1938's Best Picture Oscar winner, Capra presents us with Jean Arthur's crazy family and Jimmy Stewart's conservative family. Of course, there's a "meet cute" when Jean and Jimmy's characters fall in love and of course Stewart's character's father is a wheeler-and-dealer who wants to buy up everyone's homes (including Arhtur's character's family's home) so he can develop the area for his own monetary gain. The plot-line exists just to show off Arthur's crazy family, led by grandfather Lionel Barrymore. It's fun, and a "classic" in its way, but it's not a great film albeit an enjoyable one. It's good for a rainy day.
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Painfully overrated. Definitely not one of my favorite screwball comedies.