You Can’t Take It With You (1938)
92%RT Audience Score: 88%
Awards & Nominations: NA
It’s predictably uplifting fare from Frank Capra, perhaps the most consciously uplifting of all great American directors — but thanks to immensely appealing performances and a nimble script, You Can’t Take It With You is hard not to love.
You Can’t Take It With You is a hilarious and heartwarming film that will leave you in stitches. With a cast of talented actors and Frank Capra’s directorial genius, this screwball comedy is zanier than the Marx Brothers’ films. The impromptu fireworks display scene is furiously funny, but the entire movie is a tumultuous success. Lionel Barrymore shines in the leading role, and the supporting cast is equally excellent. It may not be the most thought-provoking film, but who cares when it’s this charming and entertaining? Don’t miss out on this merry couple of movie hours!
Production Company(ies)
Carolco Pictures, Pacific Western Lightstorm Entertainment,
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Columbia/Sunset Gower Studios – 1438 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Passed
Year of Release
1938
-
Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby
-
Aspect ratio:1.37 : 1
-
Runtime:2h 7m
-
Language(s):English, Russian
-
Country of origin:United States
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Aug 23, 1938 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 18, 2008
Genre(s)
Comedy
Keyword(s)
starring Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore, James Stewart, Edward Arnold, Mischa Auer, Ann Miller, directed by Frank Capra, written by George S Kaufman, Moss Hart, Robert Riskin, comedy, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Mildred Martin, Otis Ferguson, Edwin Schallert, Colvin McPherson, Mae Tinee, Matthew Norgate, Francisco J Ariza, Reg Whitley, James T Hamada, Lillian Blackstone, P.S Harrison, produced by Columbia Pictures, MPAA rating, eccentric family, banker’s son, snooty in-laws, dinner, marriage, philosophical grandfather, ballerina sister, fireworks enthusiast father, munitions monopoly, real estate broker, stenographer, courtroom scene, community, family, Romeo and Juliet, Cinderella, unique household, sweet story, predictable, Barrymore carries the film
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Lionel Barrymore – Grandpa Martin Vanderhof
James Stewart – Tony Kirby
Edward Arnold – Anthony P. Kirby
Mischa Auer – Kolenkhov
Ann Miller – Essie Carmichael
Director(s)
Frank Capra
Writer(s)
George S. Kaufman, Moss Hart, Robert Riskin
Producer(s)
NA
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Picture Winners, Oscar Winners
All Critics (74) | Top Critics (23) | Fresh (70) | Rotten (4)
For those who didn’t see the play, You Can’t Take It With You will provide a merry, not too thoughtless, couple of movie hours.
February 8, 2022
Mildred Martin
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
It may be disappointment that any Frank Capra comedy should be heavy and overdone which makes You Can’t Take It with You seem such a dud.
February 8, 2022
Otis Ferguson
The New Republic
TOP CRITIC
It’s one of the most amusing and satisfying pictures to be seen in months, and certain to be an enormous hit with audiences.
February 8, 2022
Edwin Schallert
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
You Can’t Take It With You is a tumultuous success — a whizzing, dazzling, noisy explosion of mirth that equals the accidental fireworks demonstration which is one of its main scenes.
February 8, 2022
Colvin McPherson
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
TOP CRITIC
What a cast. I shan’t stop to lay individual laurels on deserving brows because everybody in the cast turns out a magnificently rounded perform. mice. A brain picked parcel of players if I ever saw one!
February 7, 2022
Mae Tinee
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
I don’t believe a word of it, mind you. But who wants to believe a fairy tale when its charm and humour and pace and sentiment sweep you off your feet?
February 7, 2022
Matthew Norgate
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
Undoubtedly a success. [Full review in Spanish]
July 1, 2022
Francisco J. Ariza
Cine-Mundial
Lots of furiously funny scenes, but none as funny as that in which the principal characters all land in gaol as the result of an impromptu fireworks display.
February 17, 2022
Reg Whitley
Daily Mirror (UK)
With Capra’s directorial genius, it’s a smash hit. Being a screwball comedy, It’s lunatic stuff — zanier than the screwiest of the Brethren Marx’s comedies.
February 8, 2022
James T. Hamada
The Nippu Jiji (Honolulu)
One of the outstanding movie hits of the season.
February 8, 2022
Lillian Blackstone
Tampa Bay Times
Lionel Barrymore stands out in brilliant fashion in the leading role, but has noteworthy support from Miss Arthur, happily returned to the films after too long an absence.
February 8, 2022
Landon Laird
Kansas City Star
No one player can be singled out as giving the best performance, for every one in the cast is excellent.
February 8, 2022
P.S. Harrison
Harrison’s Reports…
Plot
The stenographer Alice Sycamore is in love with her boss Tony Kirby, who is the vice-president of the powerful company owned by his greedy father Anthony P. Kirby. Kirby Sr. is dealing a monopoly in the trade of weapons, and needs to buy one last house in a twelve block area owned by Alice’s grandparent Martin Vanderhof. However, Martin is the patriarch of an anarchic and eccentric family where the members do not care for money but for having fun and making friends. When Tony proposes Alice, she states that it would be mandatory to introduce her simple and lunatic family to the snobbish Kirbys, and Tony decides to visit Alice with his parents one day before the scheduled. There is an inevitable clash of classes and lifestyles, the Kirbys spurn the Sycamores and Alice breaks with Tony, changing the lives of the Kirby family.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Lionel Barrymore’s performance as Grandpa Vanderhof is “absolutely delightful” and steals the show amongst a great cast, according to an audience review.
Frank-Capra.jpg
