Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) on Netflix
Approved19361h 55mComedyDramaRomance
Longfellow Deeds writes verses for postcards and plays tuba in Mandrake Falls, Vermont. When he inherits 20 million dollars he moves to New York City, where opportunists want a share.
- Netflix4.2/5
- IMDb7.8/1025,233 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes91%
Trailer
Plot summary
Longfellow Deeds lives in Mandrake Falls, Vermont, where he co-owns a tallow works, writes verses for greeting cards and plays the tuba. A rich uncle dies and leaves him 20 million dollars, and the uncle's attorney, John Cedar, brings him to New York City. Cedar has his troubleshooter Cornelius Cobb keep reporters away from Deeds, and Cedar wants the newcomer's power of attorney. Deeds proves hard to fool, and his plain common sense handles the city people who come asking for money. Louise "Babe" Bennett, a star reporter, gets past Cobb by pretending to be Mary Dawson, a poor worker who has fainted from exhaustion, and wins his confidence. She writes popular articles about him, though affection complicates her plan.
Cast
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Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Frank Capra had intended to make Lost Horizon after Broadway Bill, but the lead actor Ronald Colman could not get out of his other filming commitments, so Capra began adapting Mr. Deeds Goes to Town instead; Gary Cooper was his "first, last and only choice" for the eccentric Longfellow Deeds.
- A planned sequel titled Mr. Deeds Goes to Washington became Mr. Smith Goes to Washington: Cooper was unavailable to reprise his role, so Capra reenvisioned the project for Jimmy Stewart, borrowed from MGM, with Jean Arthur playing a character under a different name.
- Carole Lombard, the original female lead, quit the film just three days before principal photography in favour of a starring role in My Man Godfrey; the first scenes had already been shot on the Fox Studios New England street lot before Capra found his replacement heroine in a rush screening.
- The modern sense of the word doodle, drawing on paper rather than the older sense of fooling around, may owe its entry into common usage to the final courtroom scene, in which the Longfellow Deeds character explains to the judge what a doodler is.
- The word pixilated, previously limited to New England and attested there since 1848, had a nationwide vogue in 1936 thanks to its prominent use in the film, although its use in the screenplay may not be an accurate interpretation.
- The lyrics to the 1977 Rush song "Cinderella Man", on the album A Farewell to Kings, are based on the story of Mr. Deeds Goes to Town.
