Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

You know the stereotype. A young, bucolic hick for some reason inherits a boatload of money and leaves his quiet hometown to go to the big city. While high on morals, he’s low on street savvy and manages to make a fool of himself by trusting con men, loaning money to moochers, falling in the clutches of some evil estate lawyer, and getting burned by some city girl.

That’s what I thought Frank Capra’s Mr. Deeds Goes to Town would be like, but I rented it anyway, trusting in my enjoyment of many of Capra’s other movies, a chance to see Gary Cooper again, and the promise of ‘madcap comedy’ on the back cover.

The film started with the death of some millionaire, and the discovery that his closest living relative was a hillbilly somewhere in Vermont – Mr. Deeds, played by Gary Cooper. The big town lawyers all tramp out to visit him and tell him the good news, only to be surprised that he’s more interested in playing the tuba in the town band than spending the money.

Cut to New York. Mr. Deeds has gone to town, and finds it filled with moochers, con men, and other normal people. But here’s when the first surprise comes: Mr. Deeds is not so low on street savvy. He properly lays into a dishonest lawyer who tries to get the money. He sees right through the attempts of a group of poets to make a fool of him. He carefully stalls his decision as to whether he should give the estate lawyer the rights the lawyer wants until he knows more about the situation. Mr. Deeds has demolished the presupposition of the bucolic hick that both the characters and I had.

The next surprise happens halfway through the movie. Mr. Deeds, on his way out of his house, runs into a homeless man who begs him for money. “What right do you have, eating fancy food and going to balls and feeding hundreds of donuts to horses? People are suffering out here, and you just fool around and live high. Have you no sense of duty?”

There’s a pause as we dwell on Mr. Deed’s face. You can see the conflict. Oh no, I thought, he’s going to cave in and give the guy money. I’ve seen other Capra films, and he gets socialistic at times. I waited to see what form it would take.

“No,” says Mr. Deeds. “Get out of here. You’re just a moocher like the rest of them.” Yes! He did the right thing, recognizing the man for a vagabond and knowing that he had no right to anyone else’s money. Capitalism triumphs!

The scene continues, but I won’t give it away. Suffice it to say that our Mr. Deeds is deeply moved by the plight of the jobless struggling to feed their families – this movie is set, after all, during the Depression. He comes up with a brilliant idea: he will use the money to help the poor. But not in the way the Liberal thinkers usually ask for.

Here’s his plan: He will buy a large plot of land, and give each family a farm on a section of it. The families are carefully interviewed, to make sure that no freeloaders are hopping on. After three years of hard work – the profit going to their landlord, Mr. Deeds – the farm will be theirs legally to do with as they wish.

This, I thought, is where it’s at. Finally, a gem in the sea of socialist films.

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