Review – Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

Until I heard Robert Osborne’s commentary at the end of TCM’s presentation of this picture, I never knew Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was originally intended to be a sequel to this. Frankly, I prefer the second one, though this is entertaining enough. Gary Cooper plays a quirky poet from the sticks who suddenly comes into $20 million (which was a great deal of money back then). When he comes to New York City to claim his inheritance, his small-town ways prove to be quite a contrast to everyone else’s cynical, big city sophistication. The movie is infected with Frank Capra’s witless sentimentality and tin ear for dialogue. I have strongly mixed emotions about his world view. On the one hand, it’s nice to see the suave city folk bested by a rural simpleton. On the other hand, this perpetuates the myth that everyone who lives outside the five boroughs is a simpleton. And I must confess I don’t particularly care for Cooper. Despite all that, it packs enough amusing moments – particularly the sanity hearing scene at the end – to provide a reasonable amount of entertainment. Mildly amusing