You Can't Take it With You (1938) Review

Title: You Can't Take It With You
Year: 1938
Director: Frank Capra
Country: US
Language: English

James Stewart is an acting legend, but at the time he wasn't a well known actor because Studio Executives didn't believe he could be a lead actor. His sincerity impressed Oscar Winning It Happened One Night Director Frank Capra and Capra was determined to have him star in You Can't Take it With You (1938)/ Stewart was so successful in his role, and their next picture Mr.Smith Goes to Washington (1939), that he became a household name.

The son (James Stewart) of a snobbish Wall Street banker (Edward Arnold) becomes engaged to a woman (Jean Arthur) from a good-natured but decidedly eccentric family, not realizing that his father is trying to force her family from their home for his company's gain. 

You Can't Take it With You earned seven Oscar nominations and is an often revived stage-play. It is a sort-of precursor to It's a Wonderful Life in regards to its themes revolving around love, family, and greed. It is earnest, charming, witty and will strike a cord for those who desire a little Capra-corn. 

Perhaps the weak part of this picture is that it lays out the film's conclusive message (a character says "you can't take it with you.") and then the story somehow continues for another 40 minutes. The script has nowhere to go, but keeps going. Its momentum stalls to a halt and the film begins to feel quite dated. 

You Can't Take it With You (1938) is well acted, with decent cinematography, and a fun score, The editing and screenplay could have been improved to make a more compact picture that ended in a more satisfying way. It's a nice viewing, but I think I'd only watch it once.