Sony Pictures presents The Premiere Frank Capra Collection: American Madness, 1932, 76 minutes; It Happened One Night, 1934, 105 minutes; Mr. Deeds Goes To Town, 1936, 115 minutes; You Can’t Take It With You, 1938, 126 minutes; Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, 1939; 129 minutes. None of these films are rated.
Director:
Frank Capra
American Madness Cast:
Walter Huston”¦”¦”¦.Thomas Dickson
Pat O’Brien”¦”¦”¦.Matt Brown
Kay Johnson”¦”¦”¦.Mrs. Phyllis Dickson
It Happened One Night Cast:
Clarke Gable”¦”¦”¦.Peter Warne
Claudette Colbert”¦”¦”¦.Ellie Andrews
Mr. Deeds Goes To Town Cast:
Gary Cooper”¦”¦”¦.Longfellow Deeds
Jean Arthur”¦”¦”¦.Louise Bennett/Mary Dawson
You Can’t Take It With You Cast:
Jean Arthur”¦”¦”¦.Alice Sycamore
Lionel Barrymore”¦”¦”¦.Grandpa Martin Vanderhof
James Stewart”¦”¦”¦.Tony Kirby
Mr. Smith Goes To Washington Cast:
James Stewart”¦”¦”¦.Jefferson Smith
Jean Arthur”¦”¦”¦.Clarissa Saunders
Claude Rains”¦”¦”¦.Sen. Joseph Harrison Paine
The Movies:
If ever there was an American director who perfectly embodied the working class man, the little man, it was Frank Capra. Capra was born to a poor family and worked his way to the top of the film industry just like a character in one of his films. Maybe that’s why the running theme of the small town man versus the big corporation or government is so prevalent in almost every one of his important works. Capra made feature films for Columbia Pictures from 1928 to 1939. In those 11 years he made 25 films. This collection gives us five of the best. Yes, five movies, with 9 Academy Award wins and 27 total nominations.
American Madness is the only film in this collection not to win any Academy Awards. Inevitably every box set has a stinker and while this isn’t a bad film, it certainly pales in comparison to the others. However, its inclusion in this set is warranted if only for historical reasons. American Madness is documented as being Capra’s first dive into the little man vs. big man scenario; it is also loosely based on fact. Walter Huston plays Thomas Dickson, a bank owner who will give loans to people who can’t get them anywhere else. This is a theme that will be revisited in a later Capra film, It’s A Wonderful Life. After his bank is robbed word spreads and people begin to fear for their money. A mob of townsfolk forms at the bank trying to get all their money out before it’s too late.
This film was made in the early 30’s during the great depression when banks were closing left and right so there is another level of historical context. For the most part, the film moves at a snail’s pace, and Huston is no James Stewart; but the climax of the film is very well done and shows what a young Capra was capable of.
Up next is It Happened One Night, which won all five Oscars it was nominated for: Best Actor (Gable’s’ only one), Actress, Director, Picture, and Writing. This is the first film to sweep the big awards – (the feat didn’t happen again until One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest in 1970).
This is one luscious love story. Ellie Andrews (Colbert) is a stuck heiress who has run away from her father, because he wants her recent marriage annulled. Peter Warne (Gable) is an out of work newspaper reporter with a drinking problem. The two stumble into one another on the bus to New York and the rest is history. A classic road picture that puts Ellie and Peter through all sorts of crazy situations as they spend more time together the two begin to fall in love. Though neither is willing to admit it. Clark Gable is a screen presence that cannot be ignored and Claudette Colbert is a vision. There really aren’t any actors like them today. They work tremendously together on screen and this film contains some scenes that are classic comic gold.
After that comes Mr. Deeds, which won the Best Actor award and was also nominated for Picture, Writing and Sound Recording. The movie is a beautiful blend of humor and drama. It’s the story of a small town man, Longfellow Deeds (Cooper), who inherits $20 million and is whisked away to New York to deal with it. Anyone who has seen the Adam Sandler remake pretty much knows how this movie goes, only this one’s much better. Where this differs from its remake, and really hits home Capra’s idea of the betterment of the workingman, is when Deeds decides to give all his money to a bunch of out-of-work farmers. The greedy lawyers, who want the money for themselves, say that Deeds is insane and take him to court to stop him from giving the money away. The court hearing turns into a witch-hunt until Deeds says his piece, and boy does he have a lot to say. This is easily the funniest and most heartfelt scene in the film.
Gary Cooper, the original Mr. Deeds and Jean Arthur.
Following that there’s You Can’t Take It With You which brought home Best Director and Picture for Capra. It was also nominated for Best Actress, Cinematography, Writing, Film Editing, and Sound Recording. When most people think of Capra and Lionel Barrymore, they think of the evil Mr. Potter from It’s A Wonderful Life, however in this film Barrymore plays the complete opposite. Grandpa Martin (Barrymore) is a carefree man who lives life by his whims and encourages others to do the same; he even refuses to pay his taxes cause he doesn’t know where the money goes. Things get tricky for his family when his granddaughter, Alice (Arthur) falls for Tony Kirby (Stewart), the son of a wealthy businessman who’s trying to buy out the neighborhood to build over it. When Alice and Tony bring their families together, sparks fly and hilarity ensues. James Stewart is a fantastic actor, comedic or otherwise, and this film is no exception for him.
Finally we have Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, which won the Oscar for Writing (original story) and was nominated for Best Actor (Leading and two Supporting), Director, Art Direction, Film Editing, Music Score, Sound Recording, Writing (screenplay)”¦ whew! That’s 11 total nominations people and if it weren’t for Gone With The Wind, Mr. Smith it would have swept. Capra teams together once again with Arthur and Stewart for this film that is not unlike Mr. Deeds. This time around Stewart plays Jefferson Smith, a young idealistic man who replaces a dead senator. He’s chosen by bitter senators who want someone who will follows orders. Little do they realize that Smith has plans of his own and it just might go against everything they have envisioned. Arthur is Clarisse Saunders, Smit’s secretary who’s just as bitter as the senators, but spending time with Smith opens here eyes and her heart to his way of thinking. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington could easily win the award for the most patriotic film. Perhaps it’s a little idealistic, perhaps a little cornball, but is a tremendous film.
Mr. Smith pleads his case.
Frank Capra is one of America’s greatest and most heartfelt directors and this collection highlights some amazing moments in his early years. Whether you’re a Capra fan or just a fan of classic cinema in general this is one box set that should be on your Christmas list this year.
American Madness
STORY: 7
ACTING: 7
LOOK/FEEL: 8
ORIGINALITY: 8
ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 8
FINAL SCORE: 8
It Happened One Night
STORY: 8
ACTING: 10
LOOK/FEEL: 8
ORIGINALITY: 8
ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 10
FINAL SCORE: 9
Mr. Deeds Goes To Town
STORY: 9
ACTING: 9
LOOK/FEEL: 8
ORIGINALITY: 9
ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 10
FINAL SCORE: 9
You Can’t Take It With You
STORY: 9
ACTING: 9
LOOK/FEEL: 8
ORIGINALITY: 8
ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 10
FINAL SCORE: 9
Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
STORY: 10
ACTING: 10
LOOK/FEEL: 10
ORIGINALITY: 10
ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 10
FINAL SCORE: 10
The DVD:
The Video:
These films are presented fullscreen 1.33:1. They are quite old, and although they’ve been restored and preserved there are still some nicks and scratches, but they don’t distract from the greatness of the films.
The Audio:
Each film is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround. The sound is good. There’s nothing extravagant or over the top, it’s nice and simple.
Extras:
There are enough extra features on here to keep you busy for a while! You might want to take some time off work. Each disc has the following.
Commentary: There is new commentary on EVERY movie with Frank Capra Jr. and sometimes film a historian. Capra Jr. has an amazing knowledge of his father’s work and imparts a cornucopia of information about each film, all of it interesting. One thing about these commentaries, that you may or may not like, is that Capra does not talk constantly throughout the whole film. He only speaks when he has something interesting to say so there is a lot of silent moments. Here’s one interesting tidbit I can tell you to wet your appetite: MGM loaned Gable out to Columbia for It Happened One Night to punish him for off set behavior. Also, while making the film, Colbert thought it was the worst movie she’d ever made. Then to her surprise, she won the Oscar for it. Capra Jr. also repeats a lot of information so by the time you get to Mr. Smith you feel like you’ve heard most of it before.
Frank Capra Jr. remembers”¦ “_______”: Also on each disc is an interview with FCJ about the film in question along with other film historians. These are like the Cliffs Notes versions of the commentaries. You get some really great info here, if you don’t feel you have the time for feature commentaries than just watch these and you’ll get the gist of the inside scoop.
On top of these the following discs have more extras:
Disc 2: It Happened One Night
Vintage Advertising Gallery: A slideshow of movie posters.
Original Live Radio Broadcast: This one hour retelling of the story stars both Clark Gable and Claude Colbert and is a very interesting trip back to the 30’s when people still sat around listening to the radio.
Original Theatrical Trailer I don’t know about you, but I LOVE old trailers.
Disc 3: Mr. Deed Goes To Town
Vintage Advertising Gallery
Disc 5: Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
Vintage Advertising Gallery
Original Theatrical Trailer
Disc 6: The Bonus Disc
Frank Capra’s American Dream: A documentary about Frank Capra hosted by Ron Howard. This is a truly wonderful documentary about Capra’s life. Where he started, how he found his place in the industry everything you could possible want to know about the man is right here. It also includes interviews with Martin Scorsese and Robert Altman amongst many others.
Conversations with Frank Capra Jr.: A Family History This is a shorter more personal telling of Capra’s life. However, it repeats much of what is talked about in the documentary.
Conversations with Frank Capra Jr.: The Golden Years Capra Jr. can’t seem to shut up about his dad. This one focuses on his laters years with Columbia and the making of the movies in this collection. There isn’t a lot here that isn’t somewhere else in the set.
Frank Capra: Collaboration It’s mentioned many times throughout the discs that Capra loved working with the same people over and over again. This focuses on that aspect of his career, giving more insight into screenwriter Robert Riskin and cinematographer Joseph Walker, amongst others.
The Frank Capra I Knew: The focus of this piece is a young woman who was a Capra fan who met him after he talked at her school and she became caretaker of his estate. She talks about the man she knew personally as opposed to the image everyone else had of him.
Movie Scrapbook On top of everything else, you get a booklet where you can read what Capra had to say about these films. You also get a brief bio about the man and the films are put into historical context. Also there are a few pages from Mr. Smith with Capra notes scrawled along side and Capra Jr. provides liner notes. There are personal family photos and more!
