You Can't Take It with You

Frank Capra is my favorite director. His movies depict an America that never really existed, but should have. His films respect, and for the most part admire, the common man. It's a Wonderful Life, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and of course, You Can't Take It With you all display the common man as generally decent and good. I wish the world existed as Capra captured it in his movies. You Can't Take It With You follows the Sycamore family, a free-spirited bunch who prioritize personal freedom and expression over society's expectations. When Alice Sycamore (played by the amazing Jean Arthur) falls for a member of the high-and-mighty Kirby family, hijinks ensue, leading to a massive fireworks explosion and a night in the clink. The Kirby patriarch learns that succeeding in business will never compensate for failing as a father. It's Capra at his very best. Strong performances abound in this film. Capra's movies are almost like watching repertory theatre, with pretty much the same group of actors showing up in all his films. 15-year-old Ann Miller dances her way through the sets. Jimmy Stewart is as likable as ever, giving the kind of performance that made him one of Capra's favorite leading men. Jean Arthur doesn't have as much to do in this picture as she does in some of Capra's other movies, but she is, as always, a wonderful actress who gives a fine performance. The real star of this movie is Lionel Barrymore. His exchange with the IRS agent had me cheering. ("NOT with MY Money!) You Can't Take It With You is a great movie, well-deserving of the Best Picture Award it won. I recommend it to people of all ages.

This film is probably Capra's opus. It still holds up today with its themes of socioeconomics and humanist ideals. I never once felt the film was dated, and that is something I rarely find myself thinking when it comes to films of the 30s-50s. This one has so much charm, so much colorful dialogue and eccentric behavior, that you can't help but displace its themes from the 1930s setting into our modern world. It is also a comedy, and I would disagree with certain reviewers that think this doesn't hold up to some of Capra's other films. I think it towers over them in some respects. The bluray is fabulous and gives the viewer a sharp and keen look at a film from 90 years ago. But it's the characters that bring this film alive, and the material from pulitzer winner George S. Kaufman is one reason it inevitably has such strengths in its thematic discourse. Nothing seems dated here except possibly the Hollywood ending, but all in all I have little to complain about. There are very few films of the 30s that provoke such joy. This is an essential film for anybody. Comedy and drama all in one. What a special film.

OMG! I haven’t laughed so hard at a movie in a long time! This was a real joy to watch!. The casting was absolutely perfect! This is a Masterpiece! No Classic Movie Collection is complete without it! I still laugh when I think about it😂 Oh yes, the picture and sound quality are outstanding.’

A movie your whole family, including the kids, can enjoy! Rare find - a movie without cussing or violence, with a moral and regular wholesome but somewhat eccentric characters. What a find in today's world. Will leave you smiling and feeling good about human beings, for a change.

I first saw YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU on a late night movie program back in the Seventies, one of those where the tv guide just says, "movie". I fell in love with this charming Capra gem with its zany, free-spirited characters, wholesome crush material Jean Arthur, Jimmy Stewart, the picture is a tonic for what ails. I got up this morning, thinking too much about things that I can't do anything about, and realized that I needed to watch this again; it's on "pause" while I type this. We take so much so seriously these days (and we should), but sometimes, we just need to unplug, and watch the daughter dance, and listen to the guys in the cellar shoot off fireworks.

I enjoyed watching this movie over 55 years ago, when it was already vintage. However, I was too young to understand the social/political aspects of it, based in the Depression experience. This is a feel-good movie about a household of "eccentric" characters, Jean Arthur's family, which includes Lionel Barrymore of the great theatrical family, Spring Byington (remember "December Bride?"), and a very young Ann Miller(purely zany and none of her great tapping). They have several roomers and pooling resources seems to be the way they all support their belief that everyone should only do what they love to do. I don't know if that was true for the African-American characters (including Eddie "Rochester" Anderson who used Jack Benny as his straight man), but it was another era. Jimmy Stewart, the son of a wealthy and greedy banker (Edward Arnold), falls in love with Jean Arthur (his secretary) and his determination to marry her leads to an amusing and telling clash in social perspective and values. Frank Capra directed this with his light and amused touch and created a gem, an ironic comment on the income gap that speaks to us today.

first let me say the price of this movie was just about right for a Blu-ray the picture quality could have been better some remastering was done and it says it's been remastered in 4k I find it hard to believe that the film had degraded so thoroughly that what they transferred was what I saw maybe I'm being a little hard on it I gave it 5 stars because this is a movie worth seeing the stars in this movie or absolutely excellent and the Lessons Learned are completely applicable today's political and human situation this movie is timeless even though it's very dated there's a scene in New York Central Park of Jimmy Stewart and Jean Arthur having what amounts to an intimate chat Jimmy Stewart talks about something he's dreamed of doing all his life and what it boils down to is zero point Green energy Lionel Barrymore's Park is written in such a way that he is a Centrist and his political views it's very clear that he is you are going to love the part where he talks about isms americanism communism please don't worry all of you hard right types nothing in this is going to make you mad not even the harshest a weird Grandpa's nobody wants to talk to at Thanksgiving will take offense at this movie it is genuinely funny and heartwarming and there are lessons to be learned in this for for everyone and my considered opinion opinions can and do very and that's the way it should be this movie has my highest recommendation even though the picture quality isn't perfect it is clean enough to be enjoyed readily you will like this movie no doubt about it and the price is very good for a Blu-ray as long as it's in the $9 range grab it quick this is one of Capra's best words you'll notice a recurring theme in all of the Capra movies the Blackbird The Crow it's been said that the crows been in just about all of cappers movies I can tell you that in It's a Wonderful Life it's the same Crow you'll also along with several recurring cast members Capra had his crew that he liked and he stuck with them and it's to his credit because they did a very very good job on this movie If you like this order movie this one is definitely one you will never be sorry that you bought add it to your collection while it's still inexpensive and still can be had at some point people are going to lose sight of these things and you're not going to be out there anymore and the way blu-ray releases movies there's just no telling what will pop up and out of production there's nothing about this movie that will offend you the picture quality is well good enough to justify the price and Blu-ray offers a lot of advantages the sound quality is nearly perfect the transfer in general is close to perfect mechanically no splices,, no pops, no hiss the audio quality is excellent the picture quality of the film itself it's not perfect but very very usable from scene to scene is inconsistent but that's not the fault of the format just sloppy production something I've never noticed in seeing it on television in the Past Blu-ray has a tendency to magnify these problems I have noticed but that's because it's a very high-quality mode of presentation I want to thank you for taking the time to read my review I hope it helps you the movie deserves every Star that I've given it

Do you like black and white comedy? This is one of my favorite movies which surprises me because Cary a grant isn’t in it. Gene, Arthur, Lionel Barrymore, James Stewart, and Edward Arnold. Alice agrees to Mary Toni she has no choice but to invite his wealthy parents over for dinner. That means meeting her wacky, quirky, family. There are fireworks displays, wrestling matches, ballet, dancing, police, raids, and mass arrests. It’s just a fun frolic of a movie. If you want to escape for an hour and a half or however, long the movie is this is a way to do it. Enjoy! I do, every time I watch it.