You Can't Take It with You
Reviews
barrymost
If you enjoy this review, please check out my blog, Old Hat Cinema, at https://oldhatcinema.medium.com/ for more reviews and other cool content. A heartwarming film from start to finish My favorite movie is Frank Capra's 1938 Best Picture winner, You Can't Take It with You. Okay, honestly I have a good twenty favorite movies. But this one ranks above them all. Why? Because I love the feel, the message, the theme inherent in the plot. Put very simply, it is this: life is too short to waste it in the pursuit of wealth, which ultimately brings no happiness. It makes infinitely more sense to spend it bringing joy into your own life, and the lives of those around you. Why, you might ask, do you need to spend over two hours watching a movie just to hear this idea reiterated? Because, I would answer, the journey, from the opening scenes of a day in the life of a wealthy Wall Street banker to the final scene of saying grace before supper, is just so much fun - good, clean, heartwarming fun, at that. Also, there is the not inconsiderable merit of Mr. Lionel Barrymore playing the harmonica and railing against the "isms" of the world. Under Capra's expert direction, a mix of acting talents so perfect the cast must have been blessed from above, comes together to create one of the most down-to-earth, enjoyable, and hilarious screwball comedies of all time. Oh, but be warned: the firecrackers do tend to go off with a real bang from time to time. It's the story of Alice Sycamore, a relatively normal young woman - normal considering she comes from an offbeat clan of free spirits, including her grandfather Martin Vanderhof, her aspiring playwright mother Penny, and one old gentleman who came to deliver the ice one day and never left. She's a secretary for the son of banking magnate Anthony P. Kirby, and she falls in love with the boss's son - or rather, with the back of his head, as she tells him herself. But the horribly sane, dull world of Anthony Kirby, Jr. isn't so well-suited to the topsy-turvy, go-with-the-flow lifestyle adopted by Alice's family. The rest of the film deals with the juxtaposition of the two very different ideals and lifestyles, and whether or not Alice and Tony can find happiness together. Some ridicule this film as an over-the-top fantasy slamming work ethic and responsibility, and making the rich look like poor fools. While it's true that life can't always be as simple and beautiful as it is for the fictional Vanderhof family, it's a gentle reminder of what's really important in life, and how we need to take the time to live in the moment, sometimes even with joyous abandon, and never forget to have some fun. Consider the Vanderhof family this way: each person seen as a unique individual; free to do whatever it is they want to do most; never overlooked; never judged; but always loved. I like to think that almost every person secretly, somewhere deep down inside, would want to live that way. I know I would.
Movie Recommendation
Lost Horizon1937-03-03British diplomat Robert Conway and a small group of civilians crash-land in the Himalayas, where they are rescued by the inhabitants of the hidden, idyllic valley of Shangri-La. Protected by the mountains from the world outside, where the clouds of World War II are gathering, Shangri-La provides a seductive escape for the world-weary Conway.More...
Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation1962-06-15Banker Roger Hobbs wants to spend his vacation alone with his wife, Peggy, but she insists on a family vacation at a California beach house that turns out to be ugly and broken down. Daughter Katey, embarrassed by her braces, refuses to go to the beach, as does TV-addicted son Danny. When the family is joined by Hobbs' two unhappily married daughters and their husbands, he must help everyone with their problems to get some peace.More...
The Dreyfus Affair1899-11-04The first movie ever censored for political reasons. The title refers to the then contemporaneous Dreyfus affair in which a Jewish military officer was falsely convicted of treason, and it was alleged that he was framed due to anti-semitism.More...
Caprice1967-04-18Patricia Foster, an industrial designer, causes chaos when she sells a secret cosmetics formula to a rival company.More...
Eyes in the Night1942-10-16Blind detective Duncan Maclain gets mixed up with enemy agents and murder when he tries to help an old friend with a rebellious stepdaughter.More...
Of Human Bondage1964-09-23Medical student Philip falls in love with Mildred, a waitress. Although she is a flirt, they have a love affair. But when Philip is told about her constant infidelity, they break up. Mildred quits her job and becomes a prostitute. But Philip is still in love with her.More...
The Legend of Lylah Clare1968-08-21A dictatorial film director hires an unknown actress to play the lead role in a planned movie biography of a late, great Hollywood star.More...
La Bolduc2018-04-06The life story of Mary Travers, a musician and singer of French Canadian music.More...
Why We Fight: The Battle of Russia1943-11-13The fifth film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight propaganda film series, revealing the nature and process of the fight between the Soviet Union and Germany in the Second World War.More...
Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 20001976-12-01A look at the lives of several men and women in their 30s as they confront the slim gains of the "revolutionary" sixties. Max, a dissatisfied copy editor; Myriam, a redhead into tantric sex; and Marie, a supermarket checker who gives unauthorized discounts to the elderly, search for renewed meaning on a communal farm. The title character, a six-year-old child, is the carrier of their hopes for the future.More...
Frank Capra Jr. Remembers... You Can't Take It With You2008-12-09The director's son gives interesting anecdotes about Frank Capra's making of the 1938 hit comedy, "You Can't Take It With You."More...
Camille1936-12-26Life in 1847 Paris is as spirited as champagne and as unforgiving as the gray morning after. In gambling dens and lavish soirees, men of means exert their wills and women turned courtesans exult in pleasure. One such woman is Marguerite Gautier, who begins a sumptuous romance with Armand Duval.More...
Pygmalion1938-10-06When linguistics professor Henry Higgins boasts that he can pass off Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle as a princess with only six months' training, Colonel George Pickering takes him up on the bet. Eliza moves into Higgins's home and begins her rigorous training after the professor comes to a financial agreement with her dustman father, Alfred. But the plucky young woman is not the only one undergoing a transformation.More...
The Life of Emile Zola1937-09-09A fictionalized account of famous French writer Emile Zola and his involvement in the Dreyfus Affair. After struggling to establish himself, Zola wins success writing about the unsavory side of Paris and settles into a comfortable upper-class life. However, Zola's complacency is shaken when Jewish officer Alfred Dreyfus is imprisoned for being a spy. Realizing that Dreyfus is an innocent victim of anti-Semitism, Zola boldly pens a newspaper article exposing the truth, is charged with libel and must defend himself in a dramatic courtroom testimony.More...
Days of Wine and Roses1963-02-04An alcoholic falls in love with and gets married to a young woman, whom he systematically addicts to booze so they can share his "passion" together.More...
An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn2018-05-25Lulu Danger's unsatisfying marriage takes a turn for the worse when a mysterious man from her past comes to town to perform an event called "An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn: For One Magical Night Only."More...
A Day at the Races1937-06-11Doctor Hugo Hackenbush, Tony, and Stuffy try and save Judy's sanitarium by winning a big race with a finicky horse owned by Judy's boyfriend Gil. There are a few problems. Hackenbush, who was recently put in charge of the sanitarium, isn't really a doctor, he's a veterinarian.More...
Only Angels Have Wings1939-05-15A traveling performer arrives at a remote South American port town where the head of an air freight service must risk his pilots' lives to earn a major contract.More...
The Big Red One1980-05-28A veteran sergeant of World War I leads a squad in World War II, always in the company of the survivor Pvt. Griff, the writer Pvt. Zab, the Sicilian Pvt. Vinci and Pvt. Johnson, in Vichy French Africa, Sicily, D-Day at Omaha Beach, Belgium and France, and ending in a concentration camp in Czechoslovakia where they face the true horror of war.More...
Father Goose1964-12-10During World War II, South Sea beachcomber Walter Eckland is persuaded to spy on planes passing over his island. He gets more than he bargained for as schoolteacher Catherine Frenau arrives on the run from the Japanese with her pupils in tow!More...
Similar Movies
Forrest Gump
1994-06-23A man with a low IQ has accomplished great things in his life and been present during significant historic events—in each case, far exceeding what anyone imagined he could do. But despite all he has achieved, his one true love eludes him.Violet Evergarden: Re...
2021-10-29An emotionally scarred former child soldier becomes a letter writer in this condensed recap of the moving, gorgeously animated award-winning series.Peacock
2025-02-20Matthias is a master of pretense, from cultured boyfriend to perfect son or marital coach. He makes a career of being someone else. The real challenge begins when he has to be himself.Dananeir
1940-09-29A concubine to a ruling family is challenged when the family is overthrown.9 Songs
2004-07-16Matt, a young glaciologist, soars across the vast, silent, icebound immensities of the South Pole as he recalls his love affair with Lisa. They meet at a mobbed rock concert in a vast music hall - London's Brixton Academy. They are in bed at night's end. Together, over a period of several months, they pursue a mutual sexual passion whose inevitable stages unfold in counterpoint to nine live-concert songs.Eternal Sunshine of t...
2004-03-19Joel Barish, heartbroken that his girlfriend underwent a procedure to erase him from her memory, decides to do the same. However, as he watches his memories of her fade away, he realises that he still loves her, and may be too late to correct his mistake.All About My Mother
1999-04-16Following the tragic death of her teenage son, Manuela travels from Madrid to Barcelona in an attempt to contact the long-estranged father the boy never knew. She reunites with an old friend, an outspoken transgender sex worker, and befriends a troubled actress and a pregnant, HIV-positive nun.Back to the Future
1985-07-03Eighties teenager Marty McFly is accidentally sent back in time to 1955, inadvertently disrupting his parents' first meeting and attracting his mother's romantic interest. Marty must repair the damage to history by rekindling his parents' romance and - with the help of his eccentric inventor friend Doc Brown - return to 1985.Three Colors: White
1994-01-26Polish immigrant Karol Karol finds himself out of a marriage, a job and a country when his French wife, Dominique, divorces him after six months due to his impotence. Forced to leave France after losing the business they jointly owned, Karol enlists fellow Polish expatriate Mikołaj to smuggle him back to their homeland.Match Point
2005-10-26Chris, a former tennis pro, takes a job as an instructor and befriends his wealthy young student, Tom. After being introduced to his family, Chris is soon engaged to Tom's sister, Chloe. Despite the professional and financial advantages that this relationship affords him, Chris becomes obsessed with Tom's fiancee, American actress Nola.O Brother, Where Art ...
2000-08-30In the deep south during the 1930s, three escaped convicts search for hidden treasure while a relentless lawman pursues them.Dracula
1931-02-12A British estate agent travels to Transylvania to meet the mysterious Count Dracula, who is interested in leasing a London castle. After Dracula enslaves the agent and drives him to insanity, the pair return to London together, where Dracula, a secret bloodsucker, begins preying on socialites.Wings of Desire
1987-09-23Two angels, Damiel and Cassiel, glide through the streets of Berlin, observing the bustling population, providing invisible rays of hope to the distressed but never interacting with them. When Damiel falls in love with lonely trapeze artist Marion, the angel longs to experience life in the physical world, and finds — with some words of wisdom from actor Peter Falk — that it might be possible for him to take human form.The Star Wagon
1966-10-20The Star Wagon is a play in black and white starring Dustin Hoffman.The Tenderness
2023-09-29Queen Esmeralda hates men because they have always limited her freedom, so she does not want her two daughters to suffer the same fate. Therefore, when the ship in which they are traveling passes near an apparently deserted island, she invokes a portentous storm.The Edukators
2004-10-25Three activists cobble together a kidnapping plot after they encounter a businessman in his home.The Apartment
1960-06-21Bud Baxter is a minor clerk in a huge New York insurance company, until he discovers a quick way to climb the corporate ladder. He lends out his apartment to the executives as a place to take their mistresses. Although he often has to deal with the aftermath of their visits, one night he's left with a major problem to solve.Casablanca
1943-01-15In Casablanca, Morocco in December 1941, a cynical American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications.Dave Chappelle's Bloc...
2005-09-12The American comedian/actor delivers a story about the alternative Hip Hop scene. A small town Ohio mans moves to Brooklyn, New York, to throw an unprecedented block party.Meet Joe Black
1998-11-12Bill Parrish has it all - success, wealth and power. Days before his 65th birthday, he receives a visit from a mysterious stranger, Joe Black, who soon reveals himself as Death. In exchange for extra time, Bill agrees to serve as Joe's earthly guide. But will he regret his choice when Joe unexpectedly falls in love with Bill's beautiful daughter Susan?