Rating: 
Summary: Classic Capra Comedy!
Review: The rich young son of an esteemed banker (Jimmy Stewart) falls in love with his secretary (Jean Arthur). His family disapproves, but graciously agree to meet with his girlfriend's family. Jean Arthur wishes to plan the meeting at an elegant dinner with her family's eccentricities somewhat constrained. When her boyfriend and his parents show up on the wrong day, all hell breaks loose. Jean Arthur's wise grandfather and patriarch of the family (Lionel Barrymore) helps sets things aright with his harmonica and a little sound advice. This hilarious classic pits an eccentric middle class family against their snobbish upper-crust potential in-laws. You'll roll on the floor laughing at Stewart's "scream" scene, the Russian ballet teacher, the jail-cell and courtroom sequence and more. One of Frank Capra's best!
Rating: 
Summary: terrible disaster from Frank Capra Jr.
Review: The villain here is Frank Capra Jr. who continues to allow his father's wonderful films to be released on DVD in absolutely horrible transfers. As with his father's Lady For A Day the print is almost unwatchable. Even the soundtrack stinks. Unless Jr. is in desperate need of money he should not allow his father's great films to be degraded in this way. His wonderful father must be very upset with a release like this.
Rating: 
Summary: I thought Columbia cared about classics. I thought wrong.
Review: This film itself: 5 stars. It's a wonderful, warm, witty, and simply enjoyable movie. I love it. The DVD: 1 star I bought this DVD without reading any reviews (I also bought "Talk of The Town", a day-and-date Columbia release), because Columbia has, in the past, done astounding work restoring and remastering their old films ("It Happened One Night" from their Classics collection is nothing short of an amazing transfer). Apparently, their agenda has changed: they are now content to simply release anything as long as they can tout it as a "high-definition remaster", thus tricking their customers into thinking that some money and time was actually spent on striking a new print. Both this and "Talk Of The Town" look and sound absolutely horrible. The VHS version of this film has less grain and fewer sound defects (hissing, popping abound). In fact, this transfer is akin in quality to the one I often see on network television -- it's an absolute disaster on all levels. Virtually unwatchable. Avoid at all costs until Columbia treats its customers (and this film) right with a proper DVD release. Even Paramount is doing it with their catalogue releases, Columbia! Get with the program.
Rating:
Summary: A Hoot!
Review: This film was one Hell of a lot of fun. It is the antidote for anyone who decided they didn't like Lionel Barimore as an actor, because of his portrayal of Henry Potter in "Wonderful Life." It made me laugh as few old movies do. I would recommend it to anyone who want's a taste of what their video dollar could be providing their family. I wish I could give it 6 stars!
Rating: 
Summary: very good movie
Review: This is a gem of a movie. It's all madness & mayhem on the surface, and warm & cozy underneath. Like most of Frank Capra's movies, this is a morality play. The filmaker continues his favorite theme, downplaying the materalistic and embracing the things that really matter, love, both romantic & platonic, friends & family. This type of material might be a preachy bore in the hands of a person less skilled than Frank Capra, but he makes it work. Not only does it work, but the movie is hilarious. The cast is excellent, starring Lionel Barrymore, I would say at his best, but I never saw anything he was in where he wasn't great. Jimmy Stewart plays one of his nice guys here to the max & is terrific also. The rest of the cast is excellent as well. I especially loved the "mad Russian" played by Mischa Auer. Eddie Anderson steals every scene he's in whether he's speaking or not.
All in all, it's a fine ensemble cast, everyone is very good. Do yourself a favor, if you have an opportunity to see this, please do!
Rating:
Summary: Warm & Wonderful
Review: This is a gem of a movie. It's all madness & mayhem on the surface, and warm & cozy underneath. Like most of Frank Capra's movies, this is a morality play. The filmaker continues his favorite theme, downplaying the materalistic and embracing the things that really matter, love, both romantic & platonic, friends & family. This type of material might be a preachy bore in the hands of a person less skilled than Frank Capra, but he makes it work. Not only does it work, but the movie is hilarious. The cast is excellent, starring Lionel Barrymore, I would say at his best, but I never saw anything he was in where he wasn't great. Jimmy Stewart plays one of his nice guys here to the max & is terrific also. The rest of the cast is excellent as well. I especially loved the "mad Russian" played by Mischa Auer. Eddie Anderson steals every scene he's in whether he's speaking or not.
All in all, it's a fine ensemble cast, everyone is very good. Do yourself a favor, if you have an opportunity to see this, please do!
Rating:
Summary: Warm & Wonderful
Review: This is a gem of a movie. It's all madness & mayhem on the surface, and warm & cozy underneath. Like most of Frank Capra's movies, this is a morality play. The filmaker continues his favorite theme, downplaying the materalistic and embracing the things that really matter, love, both romantic & platonic, friends & family. This type of material might be a preachy bore in the hands of a person less skilled than Frank Capra, but he makes it work. Not only does it work, but the movie is hilarious. The cast is excellent, starring Lionel Barrymore, I would say at his best, but I never saw anything he was in where he wasn't great. Jimmy Stewart plays one of his nice guys here to the max & is terrific also. The rest of the cast is excellent as well. I especially loved the "mad Russian" played by Mischa Auer. Eddie Anderson steals every scene he's in whether he's speaking or not.
All in all, it's a fine ensemble cast, everyone is very good. Do yourself a favor, if you have an opportunity to see this, please do!
Rating:
Summary: Where is this DVD?
Review: This is a movie with the classic plot of the rich boy with society parents who wants to marry the girl from the other side of town. Jean Arthur and Jimmy Stewart play the young lovers and they are charming. Lionel Barrymore is wonderful as the grumpy, but loving head of the strangest household you've ever encountered. The uncles make fireworks in the basement, the maiden aunt takes ballet lessons in the living room from a morose russian instructor who stays every night until he is invited for dinner. This movie is one of the best of Capra's collection. I am anxious to add it to mine so I hope it will be released soon and that it will be a good copy.
Rating:
Summary: Sweet 'n sassy ode to life as it should be
Review: This is one of my very favorite Capra movies, somewhere along with "It's a Wonderful Life" and "It Happened One Night", in fact it's a blending of those two films. This film is a real pleasure to watch from top to bottom. It portrays one of the best and most unmanufactured eccentric families ever to exist on screen. Lionel Barrymore steals the show as a grandfather abounding with grace, wisdom, and humor; the patriarch to a crazy clan who've discovered the secret to living a happy life: be yourself and be free, and material things don't matter so much as people do.
This film is full of that joy of life that Capra instills in his work. Like almost all his films it portrays a group of idealistic, independent, and good people in an intensely cynical and embittered world. And like almost all his films the idealists gets battered and bruised along the way, but eventually come out on top. Everything about this film is earnest and sincere, from the hopeful life affirming themes to the sweet romance between graceful and strong Alice (Jean Arthur) and free thinking, rebellious brahmin banker's son Tony (a very young and charming Jimmy Stewart).
The spirit and conflict of the film comes from the clash between Tony's stuck up and snobby aristocratic family and Alice's completly oblivious but adoring freewheeling lower class bohemian one. Tony's folks hate Alice, but Alice's folks love Tony. And Tony and Alice are crazy for each other, although Alice wants approval from his people, and he would love to run off and live in the woods with her tribe. This provides fertile soil for Capra's great ability to render comedy, a soaring social commentary, and also have time for some of those heartwarming, glowing dramatic moments. What you get on the other end is a natural, flowing, glowing, quirky ensemble romance flick with a higher message free of pretense, arrogance, and "fakeness", superbly crafted only the way a true master can.
Rating:
Summary: Arthur & Stewart are screen MAGIC
Review: This is one of the Capra films I always had on my list, but never seemed to get around to seeing. My family took me to see it one year on my birthday and since then I have made every close friend, roommate, and lover see it. Watching Jean Arthur in this film is a joy unrivaled in my opinion. The scene with her and Jimmy Stewart, in the posh restaurant is side-splittingly funny! This film also permits the viewer to see Stewart in a softer, subtler role than he usually inhabits in Capra's films. I fell head-over-heels in love with both Arthur and Stewart after seeing this film. If you don't see this, you're really missing out.
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