Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
Longfellow Deeds lives in a small town, leading a small town kind of life. When a relative dies and leaves Deeds a fortune, Longfellow moves to the big city where he becomes an instant target for everyone. Deeds outwits them all until Babe Bennett comes along. When small-town boy meets big-city girl anything can, and does, happen.
Frank Capra's crowd-pleasing populist comedy-drama is elevated most by Gary Cooper's genuinely charming and naturalistic performance as the folksy, principled Longfellow Deeds, with Jean Arthur equally strong as the scheming-reporter-turned-love-interest. The plot is warm and entertaining but follows a fairly predictable fish-out-of-water arc with a courtroom climax that feels somewhat mechanical. Cinematography is competent and clean but unremarkable for the era. Novelty is moderate — while the film helped crystallize the 'Capra-corn' populist template, it isn't wildly distinctive even within Capra's own filmography. The ending resolves tidily but without real surprise.