Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
Starring: Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, George Bancroft
Director: Frank Capra
Writer: Robert Riskin
Producer: Frank Capra
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town is a 1936 American romantic comedy-drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra and starring Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur in her first featured role. Based on the 1935 short story "Opera Hat" by Clarence Budington Kelland, which appeared in serial form in The American Magazine, the screenplay was written by Robert Riskin in his fifth collaboration with Capra.
Trivia
- Won the Academy Award for Best Director.
- Won the National Board of Review Award for Best Film.
- Also nominated for: Academy Award for Best Picture; Academy Award for Best Actor; Academy Award for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay; Academy Award for Best Sound.
- Originally, Frank Capra intended to make Lost Horizon after Broadway Bill (1934), but lead actor Ronald Colman could not get out of his other filming commitments.
- Thus, Capra began adapting Mr. Deeds Goes to Town.
- As production began, the two lead actors were cast: Gary Cooper as Longfellow Deeds and Jean Arthur as Louise "Babe" Bennett/Mary Dawson.
Filming Locations
- Arthur was not the first choice for the role, but Carole Lombard, the original female lead, quit the film just three days before principal photography, in favor of a starring role in My Man Godfrey.
- The first scenes shot on the Fox Studios' New England street lot were in place before Capra found his replacement heroine in a rush screening.
Previous Showings
10 Runs • 5 Festivals
11,340 tickets sold
All runs on record (10):
- March 2 - 4, 1990 · 3,045 ticketsw/ Lady for a Day
- April 3, 1990 · 114 ticketsw/ Lady for a Day
- January 26 - 27, 1991 · 1,053 ticketsw/ You Can't Take It with You
- May 14 - 17, 1994 · 1,051 ticketsw/ The Devil and Miss Jones
- May 3 - 4, 1997 · 1,148 ticketsw/ Platinum Blonde
- September 28 - 29, 2002 · 958 ticketsFall Folliesw/ It Happened One Night
- November 17 - 20, 2007 · 981 ticketsFall 2007 The Films of Frank Capra, plus other favoritesw/ The Miracle Woman
- November 19 - 20, 2011 · 846 ticketsFall 2011w/ Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
- January 31 - February 2, 2014 · 884 ticketsFrank Capra Festivalw/ Forbidden
- February 1 - 2, 2025 · 1,260 ticketsThe Films of Frank Capraw/ Mr. Smith Goes to Washington