Deeds Succeeds

Before you click to a vogue epinion on How to Handle Your Palm Pilot or Being a Woman in the 21st Century (Yes, Stan, I'm talking to you), let me assure you --Mr. Deeds Goes to Town is not a silent film about a happy go-lucky milkman who delivers fresh dairy to all the merry children of Smiley-Ville. Granted, it's an older film. It is in black-and-white and shot on plastic that wrinkles over time, so the quality of the picture itself is not clean and smooth. But the film is entertaining and profound. Do not be fooled by its simple title. Get over the fact that this movie is over 65-years-old (found in the Jurassic period of filmmaking), and read why its script is captivating, its directing is art, its message is timeless.

Plot Summary:
There once was a fellow called Deeds
Twenty million from a will he receives
To New York he does travel
And things quickly unravel
But in the end he gets what he needs.

Script
The script is simple and beautiful. The dialogue is straight talk and witty. The characters are clear and human. The movie moves at a good pace and never loses its focus. Through these strong, credible elements grows a profound story of an honest man who turns a big city upside down by being himself.

Coming from the rural town of Mandrake Falls, Longfellow Deeds seems like a child, unfit for big city life. Soon, however, we see the big-city cynics are the true children, playing silly games and caught in the muck of self-deception. Every city character has a thick persona helping to serve a dubious agenda. Deeds is the true man. He's as playful and free in public as he is in private. Cutting through the pretenses and self-importance of society, Deeds reminds us of the value of honesty, goodness, and self-reliance. He is a mirror of truth in a dirty city; the sophisticated schemers who look at him cringe, unable to accept his solid integrity.

The tension of an honest man condemned is resolved brilliantly in Capra's trademark courtroom climax. Justice tests all characters, and the good prevail.

Direction
Like the hero of the film, Frank Capra's direction (It's a Wonderful Life) is simple, clear, and honest. Capra presents truth, allowing the action and characters to tell their tale, allowing the audience to judge and feel the results.

Players
Gary Cooper (Longfellow Deeds) gives a deeply honest, human performance to rival the best of today's leading men. He has the quiet power of Brad Pitt in Meet Joe Black. Like Kevin Spacey, his presence is comfortable and strong. What Cooper does best, better than any leading man today, is express his feelings. Longfellow Deeds is a man of few words, but his emotions are deep and real, and Cooper conveys their purity with his body and face. From Love with Babe Bennett, to Hurt by the dishonest, to Depressed in the courtroom, Cooper communicates a wide range of feeling with raw intelligence and energy.

Jean Arthur (Babe Bennett) is convincing as a slick city girl. She is the most complex character in the film. Bennett's conflicting identity from hard-nosed reporter to vulnerable woman is a modern struggle, and Arthur has the strength and emotional depth to play it well.

Lionel Stander (Cornelius Cobb) has a small role, but he makes a big impression. With a scratchy voice and a stiff suit, Cobb is a smart, quick newsman typical of the early twentieth century. He's fun to watch.

Dig This Up
Find this film in a library or at the video store and enjoy it. Its quick humor, memorable characters, and genuine humanity make it classic.

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(POSTSCRIPT)
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. Again.

Look for Adam Sandler in Deeds, a remake of the film, opening in the U.S. June 21, 2002.

Sandler likes to play the odd, freakish character who turns out to be more than you expect. In Waterboy, crazy Bobby Boucher goes from waterboy to football star. In Happy Gilmore, Sandler is a rejected golfer who finds a way to save his grandmother's house. In Billy Madison, the title character is an uneducated dunce who passes a test and receives a family fortune. It's clear why Sandler would want to play Longfellow Deeds, the eccentric simpleton who takes on New York City.

Sandler and Capra share the theme of "good-man-with-low-status succeeding." The difference is that Sandler's comedy is loud and over-the-top, while Capra's heros are more reserved and psychologically complex. Sandler's films tickle, Capra's inspire.


Here ends the review.
(You may now resume your search for Bad Deeds IV: Sandra Goes to Town)