The Best Picture of 1938 is…..”You Can’t Take It with You.” This is a romantic comedy about a man from a family of wealthy snobs who becomes engaged to his secretary, a woman from a good-natured and eccentric family of a lower middle class background. Director Frank Capra (“It Happened One Night” 1934) was exceptional at the helm of this screwball comedy, from a well written script by Robert Riskin. It was adapted from the 1936 play of the same name penned by George Kaufman and Moss Hart.
James Stewart and Jean Arthur are the leads of the film, exceptional in their roles. This pairing is straight out of central casting in this modern-day “Romeo and Juliet” story. Wonderful performances in the supporting cast include Lionel Barrymore as Arthur’s eccentric grandfather, Edward Arnold as Stewart’s businessman father, Spring Byington as Arthur’s mother, and a young Ann Miller as her sister, dancing even then. Other co-stars include Donald Meek, H. B. Warner, Eddie Anderson, Dub Taylor, Mischa Auer, Samuel S. Hinds, Halliwell Hobbs, Mary Forbes, Lillian Yarbo, Ann Doran, Charles Lane, and Harry Davenport as the night court judge. Ward Bond appeared in an uncredited cameo as a policeman.
The very watchable “You Can’t Take It with You” was very good escapist entertainment for Depression Era audiences and therefore a big success at the box office for producer Frank Capra and Columbia Pictures. It won two Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director. Five other nods went to Best Supporting Actress (Spring Byington), Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography (Joseph Walker), Best Film Editing, and Best Sound Recording.
You Can’t Take It with You (1938)
cinema
My Review
The Best Picture of 1938 is…..”You Can’t Take It with You.” This is a romantic comedy about a man from a family of wealthy snobs who becomes engaged to his secretary, a woman from a good-natured and eccentric family of a lower middle class background. Director Frank Capra (“It Happened One Night” 1934) was exceptional at the helm of this screwball comedy, from a well written script by Robert Riskin. It was adapted from the 1936 play of the same name penned by George Kaufman and Moss Hart.
James Stewart and Jean Arthur are the leads of the film, exceptional in their roles. This pairing is straight out of central casting in this modern-day “Romeo and Juliet” story. Wonderful performances in the supporting cast include Lionel Barrymore as Arthur’s eccentric grandfather, Edward Arnold as Stewart’s businessman father, Spring Byington as Arthur’s mother, and a young Ann Miller as her sister, dancing even then. Other co-stars include Donald Meek, H. B. Warner, Eddie Anderson, Dub Taylor, Mischa Auer, Samuel S. Hinds, Halliwell Hobbs, Mary Forbes, Lillian Yarbo, Ann Doran, Charles Lane, and Harry Davenport as the night court judge. Ward Bond appeared in an uncredited cameo as a policeman.
The very watchable “You Can’t Take It with You” was very good escapist entertainment for Depression Era audiences and therefore a big success at the box office for producer Frank Capra and Columbia Pictures. It won two Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director. Five other nods went to Best Supporting Actress (Spring Byington), Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography (Joseph Walker), Best Film Editing, and Best Sound Recording.