You Can't Take It with You [DVD] [2003]

When people think of Frank Capra the film that normally pops into their head is "It's a Wonderful Life". Capra however made many wonderful films and none better than this made during his most productive period.
You Can't Take it With You gained Capra his third and final Oscar as best Director. It's a Wonderful Life made eight years later gained him a nomination but he lost out to William Wyler for "The Best Years of Our Lives".
You Can't Take it With You is funny, touching, beautifully acted by a sumptuous ensemble cast and above all it espouses the sort of values that many of us wish we could live by but rarely do. It's a film that transcends the ages, I watched it recently with my elderly parents, aged 85 & 87 and my grandson, aged 13. We all laughed, cried and enjoyed every minute of it. If you get an opportunity then see this film, it will leave you feeling that the world isn't such a bad place after all.

On a personal level I'm very fond of this film but being more objective it's actually not very well put together. Capra has basically built a wonderfully eloquent grandfather figure ( played by Barrymore ) and wrote a less inspiring screenplay around him. Barrymore's character has superb dialogue and it carries the film along in a heartwarming sort of way.

Despite it's age this film has a lot to say about our modern long hours in the office culture and how we're losing sight of the more important things in life (friendship and family). That might sound like modern Hollywood cheesiness but in truth such concepts were handled much more intelligently in those days and I didn't find myself cringeing once.

If you liked "It's a wonderful life" then you'll probably like this too. It's in that kind of vein.

This is a movie version of another successful play on Broadway performed during 1936-1938 season. Frank Capra received the best director award from the Academy in recognition of his superb work, and the film also won in the best movie category.

During the post-depression era, Hollywood was obsessed with making movies that poked at the rich and famous, especially those who lived lavishly through banking and investments in stock market, some of whom were responsible for economic depression, and large scale unemployment that followed. There is a long list of movies casting some of the best from Hollywood, and Jimmy Stewart and Lionel Barrymore are two players who have made such movies. This is a comedy-drama of two families pitted against each other during the post-depression years (1938). One is poor, down to earth eccentric family; and another, a rich family who are concerned about their wealth and social status. Lionel Barrymore offers a brilliant performance as Grandpa Martin Vanderhof, as the head of a poor family, and Jean Arthur offers another splendid performance as his grand daughter Alice Sycamore, who is independent, with her own mind and in love with a rich young man, named Tony Kirby (Jimmy Stewart). Penny does not think much of the differences in their social status, and so is Tony, but when his parents meet Vanderhof's extended family, things turn into a very ugly surprise, and they all end of in jail!

The members of Vanderhof family are a strange bunch of characters with peculiar hobbies and interests. Grandpa Vanderhof doesn't believe in paying income taxes to IRS, and his only daughter, Penny Sycamore (Spring Byington), a lovable, down-to-earth character writes unpublished plays, and her husband Paul Sycamore (Samuel Hinds) experiments with fireworks often with mild explosions: All these consequences taken with a smile and humor! Adorable Ann Miller plays the second grand daughter Essie Carmichael who aspires to be a ballerina, and her husband Ed Carmichael (Dub Taylor) plays xylophone.

When Anthony Kirby (Edward Arnold) buys out dozens of buildings for a new factory in the Vanderhof's neighborhood, Grandpa refuses to sell his home, but later he decides to leave his home. In the mean time, Tony after losing Alice, who is staying her relatives in Connecticut, quits his job at his father's corporation, and Mr. Kirby begins to wonder if his life is really is empty, and if he really has true friends. In the end all ends well after some fine drama in the court.

My favorite scenes in the film are; when Tony proposes to Alice indirectly, when he says, "Scratch hard enough and you'll find a proposal," and when they start dancing with the neighborhood kids and start running when the neighborhood cop shows up. The most hilarious scene is when the house catches fire when fire crackers accidentally ignite, and in the next scene they all will be in jail. George Kaufman and Moss Hart wrote this film, and their fine work was honored with a nod from the Academy during the nominating process in the best writing category. Another interesting story is that during this film, Lionel Barrymore experienced the effects of arthritis and director Capra had his leg put in a cast and made him walk on crutches, which I thought was a nice touch. Screenwriter Robert Riskin also created a new character for the film, Mr. Poppins (Donald Meek), who becomes a permanent house guest of Vanderhof's family after quitting his job at a printing shop, and pursue his dream of making toys and masks. Director Frank Capra is a master of making movies in which a little guy stand up against the big in the society, and eventually win: This is evident in some of his most successful movies. It is also a bit of change in the direction of his cast, because in Capra's wildly successful Christmas classic, It's a wonderful life, Barrymore is the wealthy banker who tries to take advantage of Jimmy Stewart's character during his financial turmoil. It is nice to see Barrymore plays an adorable old man. This film was James Stewart's first and Jean Arthur's second film with Frank Capra. The following year, they would do their second and last film together, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. As all fans know that there is always a powerful message hidden in all Capra movies and the take-home message in this film is that you can't take your wealth with you, but you can always have the love and warmth of a loving family and good friends.

1. Jimmy Stewart Signature Collection [DVD] [2008] [US Import]
2. It's A Wonderful Life [DVD] [1946]
3. Mr Deeds Goes To Town [DVD] [1936]
4. The Frank Capra Collection - Feat: It's A Wonderful Life (4 Disc Box Set) [DVD]
5. Dinner at Eight [DVD] [1933] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]