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Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
- Review Date: October 4, 2005
- NR
- Genre: Comedy
- 1936
Common Sense Media says
Snappy lines, stellar performances, Capra classic.
Parents say
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that Deeds engages in a fist fight and goes on a comic drinking binge, but that's about as racy as the movie gets. Mr. Deeds examines how the poor were treated during the Depression, and ends up championing common decency.
What's the story?
MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN centers on greeting card poet Longfellow Deeds (Gary Cooper), a nice guy from a small town who finds out he's the only heir to an immense fortune. When he comes to New York to live the high life, he finds he hates being rich. When he tries to give the money away to the poor, he finds himself on trial for insanity. In scathing exposés of his small-town behavior, the newspapers declare him a backwater dope. Meanwhile, Deeds falls for a woman named Mary (Jean Arthur) who turns out to be one of the offending journalists. This tale gets quite dark before its dawn, but in the end, the trial provides the means for reconciliation between Deeds and Mary. Poor Mr. Deeds has a heck of a time weathering the cynical and nasty folk who live in New York. When he's on trial, getting slandered by hypocrite after hypocrite, things get pretty depressing.
Is it any good?
A snappy plot about a simple man made suddenly rich and a strong performance by Gary Cooper drive this wonderful classic. A strong moral foundation, recommending a big heart over a thick wallet, makes the movie ideal family fare, although younger viewers may get lost within the fast-paced story. Some kids might find the courthouse scenes upsetting. Others may find the notion that Deeds can give away his fortune in any equitable manner a bit hard to believe (especially during the Depression).
But the movie is typical Capra fare: It wears its morals and its sentiments on its sleeve. Everything else, including the soundness of Deeds's financial planning and the dreariness of his trial, is secondary to its ultimate championing of common decency. The movie is buoyed by the two fantastic performances of Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur. He is the charming innocent, she the hard-as-nails city woman. Cooper has the ability to proselytize without sounding preachy, using the honest language of the common man. Arthur is sassy but sweet --a perfect foil.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about this movie's message. What do you think the film maker was trying to say with this movie? Is the message still relevant today?
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AGE
Capra Classic!
I think this is a Great movie! It may be black and white and an old movie but it is directed by a great director, who knows how to make a movie! I think this movie has way too much drinking and smoking in it. I wouldn't want any 10-11 year old watching it. I think Capra does a great job of making it seem really real, by filming in real places and showing how the depression affected people and it showed how there weren't lazy people who were jobless, but people who were hard workers who needed a job or money. Overall this is a pretty good movie. I give it a B+
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AGE
Great black and white movie
Mr. Deeds goes to town is a comedy/ romantic movie. It’s a great black and white movie for teens and adults. The world view is a guy from a little town gets a lot of money and everyone is trying to take advantage of him to get his money. The best part of this movie is Mr. Deeds wants to help people in need with the money instead of keeping it to himself. There is some smoking and drinking in this movie but in this movie Frank Capra the director really makes it clear that it’s bad to do those things. This movie sets a great example and is a good movie for the whole family. I really liked this movie because of its message and the experience to watch a black and white movie.
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AGE
My favorite classic movie
I loved this movie! It was great but the content wasn’t amazing , like it showed a lot of drinking and smoking in it and some violence and a little bit of cussing. This movie made my opinion on black and white films a lot better! This is a movie perfect for ages 12+. I give it an –A. :)
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AGE
black and white movie
Mr. Deeds is a great family movie the would view is about a man receiving a big amount of money and gives it to those in need bat other man are trying to cheat him of his money. There is a little smoking and drinking bat it dose not promote it. I enjoyed the comity, the simplicity, and the story it told. I also loved how it showed you what it was like in the 1930 and how simple life was bake thin. It is a grate black and white film that I think any one would enjoy.
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AGE
Mr.Deeds goes to town
I think that Mr.Deeds goes to town is a up lifting movie, it has a lot of humor, but it has a lot of drinking and smoking ,it is a black and white movie.The over all movie is very good. It is not my favorite movie but I would love to watch it again.this is a very good family movie and i encorage every one to watch it and wright a reveiw for every one to see what you what you think about the movie.
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AGE
A True Classic.
Breaking away from the status quo of ‘black and white is boring’ is hard. So I watched this movie. “Mr. Deeds goes to Town,” is a great film, portraying that in America, any man, no matter his background can make his way into the “big time.” This movie shows mild drinking and smoking, but doesn’t in any what promote it. It actually shows the stupidity of it. There is some violence, so watch on when thinking of whose going to see this movie.
I personally liked this movie, kind of changing my ideas on black and white movies. It actually has better meaning, plot line, and more CLEAN comedy than 90% of our movies today (by personal opinion). To me, “Mr. Deeds goes to Town,” is a great film for the whole family.
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AGE
CLASSICAL DEEDS
Mr. Deeds goes to town is about a man that just gets dumped off with 20 million dollars. Mr. Deeds is a guy that is nice, loving, humble .This movie is black and white, but it is still pretty good. This movie is funny and it has some violence, drinking and smoking. There are parts that can be inspranatinal. I think this movie is worth watching maybe watching the whole series.
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AGE
Funny, exciding, and very entertaining!
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town is a true classic. It does have some wrong content in it, like drinking, kissing, and a little smoking. It is a funny and dramatic movie, with a very good message. It is based during the Depression. And it talks about how it’s wrong to be greedy and have money as an idol in your life. Also, that you shouldn’t take advantage of people to get what you want, but instead give to the people who truly need it. I did like this movie. It reminded me not to be selfish, but thankful and appreciative of what I have.
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AGE
A Classic Film with Lots of Heart!
What would you do If you suddenly inherited 20 million dollars? Longfellow Deeds' answer to this question: give it away! In Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Frank Capra presents a good-hearted, eccentric, simple character who is underestimated by those who would jump at the chance to take advantage of him to get a piece of his recent windfall. This is one of my favorite Capra films. It confronts the ubiquitous materialism of the 20th century with a radically simple idea: be content with what you have and do something to make a difference in the lives of others. Although the film portrays excessive drinking and its accompanying stupid behavior, it also demonstrates that there are resulting consequences.
This is a timeless film that seems as relevant today as ever before. It has the makings for some very significant family discussions with tweens and teens. Pop some popcorn and enjoy this one together!
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AGE
an awesome classic film
Mr. Deeds is a good classic movie. Even though it is black and white it can be inspiring. I really thought Frank Capra did a good job directing it. It had a good worldview in it. Some parts can be a little sketchy in some parts. Like sometimes people got drunk and it had a lot of smoking cause it was made in the 1930’s-1940’s. there was no sex in this movie. There were some fight scenes so there was some violence. It is a powerful story about a man everyone thought was insane and dumb comes to be one of the smartest and most clever people ever.
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| Studio: | Columbia Tristar |
| Director: | Frank Capra |
| Cast: | Gary Cooper, George Bancroft, Jean Arthur |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| Run time: | 115 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | April 12, 1936 |
| DVD release date: | February 1, 2000 |
| MPAA rating: | NR |
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