The Oscar Project #11: You Can't Take It With You

by Chris Marshall:

Frank Capra did it again with this one. He also directed 1934’s winner, It Happened One Night, which was a masterpiece. You Can’t Take It with You doesn’t quite reach the same level of quality, but it is once again a fun, endearing watch.

With Capra, you always know what you’re going to get: sentimental, heartwarming fare for the entire family. But he shouldn’t be remembered exclusively for schmaltz; he was a master of economical storytelling.

Here’s the set-up. Rich banker (Jimmy Stewart) is canoodling with middle-class secretary (Jean Arthur). The banker’s snooty mother walks in and turns her nose up in disapproval. Secretary goes home to her eccentric, fun-loving, carefree household. Rich banker proposes, but she won’t accept until she knows his parents approve. Boom! In three easy steps, your plot is laid out for you.

This isn’t to say there weren’t more complicated developments. Even though it was so easy to see it coming, I LOLed at the plotline in which the secretary’s father, a fireworks maker, decides to send out samples of his work along with a red promotional card reading “The revolution is coming!” The confusion (and arrest) that follows sets up the third act, and while you see it playing out so far advance, it’s still very satisfying when everything comes to a head.

The Oscar Project #5: Grand Hotel (1932)

by Chris Marshall:

Grand Hotel is the gold standard for Rich People Problems movies. The entire story takes place within Berlin’s fanciest hotel, and two of the main male characters are a Baron and an Industry Magnate. But at least there’s a twist: the Baron’s Rich Person Problem is that he has no money. How he affords to spend so much time in Berlin’s fanciest hotel is never directly addressed, but I suppose it’s best not to ask too many questions.

If nothing else, Grand Hotel was the first star-studded Best Picture winner, featuring five recognizable names: Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, Wallace Beery, and John and Lionel Barrymore. Crawford, Beery, and Lionel Barrymore all won Oscars for lead acting in their careers (Garbo was nominated four times but never won), and they all delivered solid performances here. Beery was particularly effective at portraying the sleazy, villainous Industry Magnate, but based on everything I know about him, that hardly required acting.