ctomvelu1 Review of You Can't Take It with You

You Can't Take It with You (1938)

Forgotten gem, although creaky by today's standards

[7/10 · 7 December 2011]

Unjustly forgotten screwball comedy about class differences, marred only by a sappy, antiquated message that money won't buy happiness. Having no money and playing the harmonica apparently will. But then again, this was made for Depression-era audiences, so the notion of money as the root of all evil and being happy derived without benefit of money must have been a sure crowd pleaser in its time. Very populist, right down to repeated crowd shots of everyday folks in a courtroom scene. Jean Arthur lives with an eccentric, extended family that does not worry about money (although its is made plain early on that family patriarch Lionel Barrymore earned quite a bit of moolah in his time, so no one in this crazy family need worry about where their next meal is coming from or whether they will have a roof over their heads. Heck, they even have a pair of black servants! Arthur falls in love with her boss at the bank, played by rising start Jimmy Stewart. Stewart's stuffy old dad, bank president Edward Arnold, is all about money and status, nothing else. A plot element has Arnold trying to buy Barrymore's house for some nefarious project. Arthur insists on Stewart's family meeting her family before they tie the knot. You can imagine what transpires when they finally gather (collide might be a better word) for dinner at the Barrymore household. We get a little bit of "A Christmas Carol" thrown in when an old tycoon and crony of Arnold's, now destitute, confronts Arnold about his greedy and sinful ways. For this scene, the camera is stationed behind and to the left of the old tycoon, with Arnold standing several feet away intently and silently listening to him. We never get thee expected reverse shot as the tycoon delivers his sermon. Only after he finishes his speech and turns to leave, do we see him plainly. In this way, the fellow seem almost spectral and unreal, like Marley's ghost, and this makes his speech all the more powerful. Or maybe it's just me. A stellar supporting cast includes Donald Meek, Spring Byington, Mischa Auer, Eddie Anderson, Harry Davenport and several others. By today's standards, the film is much too preachy and dated. But it is still lots of fun. Wait until you see the wildly improbable jail sequence about halfway through.