You Can't Take It With You (film)

You Can't Take It With You
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Frank Capra
Produced by	Frank Capra
Screenplay by	Robert Riskin
Story by	George Kaufman Moss Hart
Starring	Jean Arthur Lionel Barrymore James Stewart Edward Arnold
Music by	Dimitri Tiomkin Mischa Bakaleinikoff (uncredited) Ben Oakland (uncredited)
Cinematography	Joseph Walker
Editing by	Gene Havlick
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	August 23, 1938 (1938-08-23)
Running time	126 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	US$1,644,736 (est.)
Box office	Rentals: $2,137,575 (US) $5,295,526 (world)

James Stewart and Jean Arthur

You Can't Take It With You (1938) Adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. The cast includes James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore and Edward Arnold.

The movie won two Academy Awards from seven nominations: Best Picture and Best Director for Frank Capra. This was Capra's third Oscar for Best Director in just five years, following It Happened One Night in 1934 and Mr. Deeds Goes to Town in 1936. It was also the highest-grossing picture of the year.

Plot

Alice (Jean Arthur), the only relatively normal member of the eccentric Sycamore family, falls in love with Tony Kirby (James Stewart). His wealthy banker father, Anthony P. Kirby (Edward Arnold), and his snobbish mother (Mary Forbes), strongly disapprove of the match. When the Kirbys are invited to dinner to become better acquainted with their future in-laws, things do not turn out the way Alice had hoped.

Cast

• Jean Arthur as Alice Sycamore
• Lionel Barrymore as Grandpa Martin Vanderhof
• James Stewart as Tony Kirby
• Edward Arnold as Anthony P. Kirby
• Mischa Auer as Boris Kolenkhov
• Ann Miller as Essie Carmichael
• Spring Byington as Penny Sycamore
• Samuel S. Hinds as Paul Sycamore
• Donald Meek as Poppins
• H. B. Warner as Ramsey
• Halliwell Hobbes as DePinna
• Dub Taylor as Ed Carmichael
• Mary Forbes as Mrs. Anthony P. Kirby
• Lillian Yarbo as Rheba
• Eddie Anderson as Donald
• Charles Lane as Wilbur G. Henderson, IRS agent
• Harry Davenport as the Night Court Judge
• Ian Wolfe as A.P. Kirby's secretary (unbilled)
• Ward Bond as detective (unbilled)
• Arthur Murray had an uncredited bit part

Notes

• Barrymore's infirmity was incorporated into the plot of the film. He was on crutches the entire movie, which was said to be due to an accident from sliding down the banister. In reality, it was due to his increasing arthritis – earlier in the year he had been forced to withdraw from the movie A Christmas Carol.
• Ann Miller, who plays Essie Carmichael (Ed Carmichael's wife), was only fifteen years old when this movie was filmed.

Awards

You Can't Take It with You won two Academy Awards from seven nominations: Best Picture and Best Director for Frank Capra.

Its nominations included Best Supporting Actress for Spring Byington, Best Writing, Screenplay for Robert Riskin's script, Best Cinematography for Joseph Walker, Best Film Editing for Gene Havlick, and Best Sound, Recording for John P. Livadary.

Adaptations to other media

You Can't Take it With You was adapted as a radio play on the October 2, 1939 broadcast of Lux Radio Theater with Edward Arnold, Robert Cummings and Fay Wray.

References

Bibliography

• Hart, Moss; Kaufman, George S. (1936). You Can't Take It with You (Archival manuscript ed.). New York: Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman. OCLC 44091928. 

External links

• You Can't Take It with You at AllRovi
• You Can't Take It with You at the Internet Movie Database
• You Can't Take It with You at the Internet Broadway Database
• You Can't Take It with You at the TCM Movie Database
• You Can't Take It with You at Rotten Tomatoes