The film tells the story of two very different families who meet upon
a young couple's engagement. Tony Kirby (James Stewart) is a vice president
in his wealthy father's bank. His father, played by Edward Arnold, is
seeking to acquire a 12-block area to complete a major deal. The only
holdout is the eccentric Martin Vanderhof, who happens to be the grandfather
of son Tony's fiancée, Alice Sycamore (Jean Arthur).
Alice, who is also Tony's secretary, is arguably the most normal member
of the family, although she does like to slide down the stairs. Viewers
might recognize Jean Arthur from her roles in other Capra films (Mr.
Smith Goes to Washington and Mr. Deeds Goes to Town).
Lionel Barrymore stars as Grandpa Vanderhof, who encourages his household
to pursue their dreams without fear. Alice's mother, Penny Sycamore
(Spring Byington) is a would-be playwright, who's been writing plays
ever since a typewriter was accidentally delivered to the home several
years ago. Alice's father, Paul Sycamore (Samuel S. Hinds), makes fireworks
(and tests them) in the basement.
Sister Essie Carmichael (Ann Miller) dreams of being a dancer and takes
lessons from a surly Russian, Boris Kolenkhov (Mischa Auer), who criticizes
everything but is always pleased to stay for dinner. Essie's husband,
Ed (Dub Taylor), is a former football player who came for dinner one
night and stayed. He also plays a mean vibraphone. A couple adopted
family members, both inventors, conduct experiments in the basement.
Even the household help are given to dancing and singing along with
the merriment.
When Tony proposes, Alice fears that his family will never approve
of her, especially Tony's mother (Mary Forbes), a judgmental society
wife. So Alice invites the Kirbys over for dinner, instructing her family
on how to put their best foot forward. All these plans go out the window
when the Kirbys show up a day early, catching Alice's family at their
oddball best.
You Can't Take It With You gets performed quite often by amateur
theater groups, because it's a fun play that doesn't demand much of
its actors except to be silly. I remember watching my dad's Rotary club
performing it when I was a little girl. Dad did the sound effects, which
are very important to this play, and I found the production delightful.
What could be more enchanting than a household where everybody does
exactly what they want and supports each other's dreams, no matter how
far-fetched?
It makes a difference seeing it performed by more accomplished actors,
who portray these characters much more believably, instead of making
them caricatures. In particular, the Kirbys, rather than being overly
officious and snooty, seem to be merely set in their ways
James Stewart is, of course, charming as Tony, a young man with dreams
of his own but who feels obligated to follow his father's footsteps.
At heart, he fits in quite well with Alice's family, and he appreciates
their anarchic approach to self-reliance. Lionel Barrymore is perfectly
cast as Grandpa Vanderhof, a soft-spoken man with a twinkle in his eye,
who accepts everything with a calmness forged from years of life experience.
He believes that, rather than being fearful, it's best to put a song
in your heart, and he does his best to teach this lesson to the elder
Mr. Kirby.
The dialogue is entertaining, but the DVD copy I saw had poor sound.
I'd love to see a restored version of this classic movie, perhaps with
a few extras about the making of the film.
Movies about quirky families abound in Hollywood, and yet this one
truly gets what makes such movies so charming. In a sense, everybody's
family is like Alice's: we all have our quirks. Yet, Capra realized
that oddness alone was not the point. This movie was not about laughing
at this strange family. It was about rediscovering the childlike joy
inside ourselves and reassessing our values.
As Grandpa Vanderhof put it, we spend too much time worrying about
money, which after all, you can't take with you. But the love of friends
and family endures.
Rating (out of 5): ****
Musings
on Best Picture Winners
