The first of director Frank Capra's dramas dealing with tough social issues, AMERICAN MADNESS takes us inside a mid-size bank during the Depression years. Wonderful Walter Huston (the grizzled prospector in THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE 16 years later) is the amiable, deeply caring bank president with a lot on his plate including a hostile Board trying to stop his making loans to customers whom they consider to be bad risks, a dishonest employee who steals and an honest one with a record for stealing (Pat O’Brien), a robbery, a bored wife who appears to be having an affair, and a massive run on his bank that threatens to wipe out his 25 years of faithful service to his bank and community. You'll see echoes of IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, which Capra made more than a decade later. Dated as it may look, it raises banking and economic issues eerily similar to current ones. Click here for an excellent overview/review. (Trivia note: Capra was a well-known stickler for detail. Example: in several scenes, his camera treats us to an inside look at the mechanics of locking and unlocking a giant valut, and how cash was hand-delivered and allocated among the tellers. I found this stuff quite interesting.)
AMERICAN MADNESS (1932)
Haven't we learned anything about the economy in 77 years?
The first of director Frank Capra's dramas dealing with tough social issues, AMERICAN MADNESS takes us inside a mid-size bank during the Depression years. Wonderful Walter Huston (the grizzled prospector in THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE 16 years later) is the amiable, deeply caring bank president with a lot on his plate including a hostile Board trying to stop his making loans to customers whom they consider to be bad risks, a dishonest employee who steals and an honest one with a record for stealing (Pat O’Brien), a robbery, a bored wife who appears to be having an affair, and a massive run on his bank that threatens to wipe out his 25 years of faithful service to his bank and community. You'll see echoes of IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, which Capra made more than a decade later. Dated as it may look, it raises banking and economic issues eerily similar to current ones. Click here for an excellent overview/review. (Trivia note: Capra was a well-known stickler for detail. Example: in several scenes, his camera treats us to an inside look at the mechanics of locking and unlocking a giant valut, and how cash was hand-delivered and allocated among the tellers. I found this stuff quite interesting.)
