I think of 'Mr. Deeds Goes To Town' as the happier, shinier side of a 'Gary Cooper coin' that features 'Meet John Doe' as the cynical, grubby under side. Both movies feature women who use newspaper stories to distort or manipulate the two leading males, both played by Cooper. In each movie, the two women (Barbara Stanwyck in 'Doe' and Jean Arthur in 'Deeds') end up falling in love with Cooper, as the women start believing in their creation, or in the case of 'Deeds', finally seeing Deeds as he really is. Furthermore, both movies turn an everyday man into a hero of the people. It would seem that Cooper was the perfect fit for whatever vehicle Frank Capra had in mind, so long as it was about a 'hero of the people'.
But as far as 'Mr. Deeds' is concerned, there's so much to like about this film that it hardly matters at all to point out any minor detraction of the film. Capra works his usual magic from a well-assembled cast that includes Jean Arthur as Louis 'Babe' Bennett, and in one of his best roles to date, Lionel Standard as Cornelius Cobb. Fans of Standard may see a similarity between the character of 'Cornelius Cobb' and that of the 'Bodyguard' he played in Harold Lloyd's, 'The Milky Way'. Lloyd's film came out only two month's prior to the release of 'Mr. Deeds'.
With Capra's magic touch we are able to see a wonderful transformation take place inside the courtroom. Stacked with the odds against him, Deeds outwits his detractors by simply pointing out the idiosyncrasies of everyone in the courtroom involved in his virtual lynching. His simple homespun logic and mannerly approach to the proceedings works like Kryptonite over the jaded and corrupt super city slickers looking for the soft spot on his neck.
Although it is true that Capra has a 'magic touch' for appealing to the film going masses of yesterday, as well as today, his deftness in the art of emotional manipulation is a chief by product of that 'magic touch'. How can you not feel good about the character Longfellow Deeds when he's leaving his hometown while the local concert band is playing the song, "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow"? To add more emotional punch to the send off, Capra has Deeds playing tuba to his own going away party. Deeds also plays, "Auld Lang Syne" at his hometown farewell. It would appear that Capra enjoyed using this tune, as he also did so in 'It's A Wonderful Life' ten years later.
Watch the scene where Deeds gets the hired help to yell and whoop it up inside his mansion just so they can all hear and enjoy the sound of their own voices echoing from wall to wall. It is a fantastic scene, but just one of many in this movie where you can feel layers upon layers of cynicism melting away from your soul.
10/10. Clark Richards
But as far as 'Mr. Deeds' is concerned, there's so much to like about this film that it hardly matters at all to point out any minor detraction of the film. Capra works his usual magic from a well-assembled cast that includes Jean Arthur as Louis 'Babe' Bennett, and in one of his best roles to date, Lionel Standard as Cornelius Cobb. Fans of Standard may see a similarity between the character of 'Cornelius Cobb' and that of the 'Bodyguard' he played in Harold Lloyd's, 'The Milky Way'. Lloyd's film came out only two month's prior to the release of 'Mr. Deeds'.
With Capra's magic touch we are able to see a wonderful transformation take place inside the courtroom. Stacked with the odds against him, Deeds outwits his detractors by simply pointing out the idiosyncrasies of everyone in the courtroom involved in his virtual lynching. His simple homespun logic and mannerly approach to the proceedings works like Kryptonite over the jaded and corrupt super city slickers looking for the soft spot on his neck.
Although it is true that Capra has a 'magic touch' for appealing to the film going masses of yesterday, as well as today, his deftness in the art of emotional manipulation is a chief by product of that 'magic touch'. How can you not feel good about the character Longfellow Deeds when he's leaving his hometown while the local concert band is playing the song, "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow"? To add more emotional punch to the send off, Capra has Deeds playing tuba to his own going away party. Deeds also plays, "Auld Lang Syne" at his hometown farewell. It would appear that Capra enjoyed using this tune, as he also did so in 'It's A Wonderful Life' ten years later.
Watch the scene where Deeds gets the hired help to yell and whoop it up inside his mansion just so they can all hear and enjoy the sound of their own voices echoing from wall to wall. It is a fantastic scene, but just one of many in this movie where you can feel layers upon layers of cynicism melting away from your soul.
10/10. Clark Richards