Mr. Deeds Goes To Town is a Classic screwball comedy

Mr. Deeds Goes To Town is a Classic screwball comedy

On my last trip to São Paulo (15-hour trip) I was surfing the ICE of the Emirates onboard entertainment when I noticed the film poster below, depicting the faces of Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur and I don't know why, but I felt immediately dazzled in a nostalgic vibe, and I decided to check out what this film was about. The plot was set against the backdrop of the Great Depression, a guy named Deeds, co-owner of a tallow factory, part-time greeting card poet and tuba player, inhabitant of the village of Mandrake Falls, Vermont, inherits 20 million dollars of his late uncle. This story added to the possibility of travelling back in time when NY was completely different seemed like a breeze, enough to spark my curiosity.

A charming innocent(?) man from a village

Moving from a small town in Vermont he heads to New York City upon inheriting a massive fortune, and is immediately hounded by those who wish to take advantage of him. Obs.: $1,000,000 in 1936 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $22,143,093.53 today, an increase of $21,143,093.53 over 87 years.

"Mr. Deeds Goes to Town" is a 1936 American comedy-drama romance film directed by Frank Capra and starring Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur in her first featured role. The screenplay was written by Robert Riskin in his fifth collaboration with Frank Capra, based on the 1935 short story "Opera Hat" by Clarence Budington Kelland, which appeared in serial form in The American Magazine.

Mr. Deeds a pure homespun all-american type

Gary Cooper played the lead role of Longfellow Deeds in "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town". The film was a turning point in Cooper's career, as it established him as a pure, homespun all-American type, rather than a popular male sex symbol. The success of the film also allowed Cooper to maintain his independence from Hollywood studios. "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town" is considered a classic of American cinema and has stood the test of time with its heartfelt depiction of endearing characters and its victory over greed and corruption.

It was originally called "Opera hat"

Despite his penchant for coming in "under budget", Capra spent an additional five shooting days in multiple takes, testing angles and "new" perspectives, treating the production as a type of workshop exercise. The project still retained Kelland's original title, Opera Hat, although Capra tried out some other titles including A Gentleman Goes to Town and Cinderella Man before settling on a name that was the winning entry in a contest held by the Columbia Pictures publicity department.

My opinion - What would you do if out of nowhere you inherit 400 million dollars?

The reaction here can vary drastically from one being to another, however, Deeds' reaction was simply not what I would expect from someone living in the 21st century, no matter if they live in a big city or in the countryside. His (non)reaction is absolutely surprising and (and I won't give any more details here so as not to reduce the expectation and surprises for those of you who want to watch the film), from this moment it made me wonder what kind of values this man would project throughout the film, would he change his goodwill? To deviate from his moral conduct in the face of adversity? Or even could he be corrupted by the new, an accelerated arrangement of a city such as NY?
The result couldn't be better and surprising. Mr Deeds is now part of my favourite nostalgic films of all time.

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