Turner Classic Movies - Heaven on Earth for classic movie fans or a cog in the evolutionary wheel which will see us one day morphed into a wide-bottomed cyclops with one rectangular eye in the middle of our foreheads?
I've been intrigued by TCM host Ben Mankiewicz's task of recommending one movie per month from the schedule for the print schedule. A lot of film fans find it difficult to choose one movie for any sort of purpose. There is the nagging feeling that you are being disloyal to all of the other films you love with equal fervor. Nonetheless, I decided to challenge myself with that very task. No hemming, hawing, or honourable mentions. One movie.
Frank Capra's 1932 release American Madness is scheduled on TCM for Saturday, September 29 at 6:30 pm est. Capra was a very busy director at Columbia in the 1920s and early 30s. Just prior to American Madness his output included the action-adventure romance Dirigible, the social commentary drama The Miracle Woman, the class conscious romance Platinum Blonde and the woman's picture Forbidden. His success with these varied pictures represents Frank Capra's mastery of his calling.
American Madness was among the first collaborations between Capra and talented screenwriter Robert Riskin which would give us such well-remembered titles as Lady for a Day, It Happened One Night, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Lost Horizon, Broadway Bill, and Meet John Doe. The goal with American Madness was to meet the Depression head-on and kick it in the pants while addressing the fears as well as the optimistic spirit of everyday people.
Walter Huston stars as a bank president, respected by his workers and often at odds with his Board of Directors. His business success has come from his belief in the character of his customers and the simple idea that money must be put to work if it is to do any good. What has made him a success is considered a great failing by the Directors, too frightened to take chances in an iffy economy and too enamored of an offer of quick profit on a deal which would close out Huston and his brand of banking.
A bank employee played by Gavin Gordon is in debt to local gangsters and can only save himself by becoming the inside man on a robbery. The plan goes awry when a watchman is murdered and blame is placed on an ex-con, Huston's protege played by Pat O'Brien. Gordon, a roue as well as a gambler, uses his boss' wife, lovely Kay Johnson as an alibi further complicating the situation.
Capra really grabs a hold of the pacing in this film with overlapping dialogue and quick cuts. It moves. The grapevine scene which starts with the robbery and from telephone call to telephone call leads to a run on the bank is top-notch. You feel for Huston and Johnson as their personal relationship gets mixed up with banking and legal disaster. Can nothing save Pat O'Brien and his trusting girlfriend played by Constance Cummings? The only distraction in the cast may be Gavin Gordon's drawn-on eyebrows, but the story gathers steam that carries the audience along and makes them easy to overlook (eventually).
American Madness
The run on the bank.
Two other frequent Capra collaborators worked on American Madness with great skill. Architect and Oscar-winning (Lost Horizon) set designer Stephen Goosson, with his incredibly detailed eye, created the bank set that is breathtaking as we take in the lobby, the offices, the safe. It's a perfect setting for the drama and a reminder of the reverence with which our institutions were built. Innovative Hall of Fame cinematographer Joseph Walker works his usual Black and White magic with his hypnotic images.
A few years ago, along with one of my movie-loving sisters, I caught a theatrical screening of American Madness thanks to Cinematheque Ontario. A couple of young fellows were sitting in front of us, a film student and his friend. After the movie, the friend commented that he had only come along out of curiosity, but he became really caught up in the story and wanted to see more movies like it.
I think that whoever coined the phrase Capra-corn has done an injustice to the director. Frank Capra was, first and foremost, a gifted storyteller and one who knew how to tell his stories cinematically. He knew how to move an audience. He did it all with gentle, insightful humor and true affection for all kinds of people.
Timely and engrossing, American Madness is worth watching on TCM this month, whether it be for the first time or a re-visit.
For more suggestions on our favourite channel check out Laura's Miscellaneous Musings for worthy titles on the September line-up on TCM.
For more suggestions on our favourite channel check out Laura's Miscellaneous Musings for worthy titles on the September line-up on TCM.
