Sunday, September 17, 2006
GOOD DEEDS
Today's NYTimes Best 1176 Film was Frank Capra's
with Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur.
This film was made three years before the one about Smith who goes to Washington with Jimmy Stewart and Arthur. The stories follow the same arc; innocence goes walking with the sharks. We went to Washington first.
I liked Deeds better mostly because of Cooper. It seems, somehow, more believable although it isn't. It takes you in more smoothly.
These are 'madcap' films with a serious center. It is like biting on a chocolate expecting a cream and getting a nut. The common man has a very rough time and the unfairness mounts to an excruciating degree until we get the final payoff (OK, OK. I will say it—catharsis).
Cooper is so fine to look at that when the going gets tough we get to watch him. Much more of a smoothy than James Stewart. Arthur is more of a bitch here and hard to like. I believed the happy ending though.
I gave Smith a 3 but this one will get a 4 out of Netflix5.
I don't like showing this colorized picture. The film is b/w. It is a great shot of Cooper, colored or not, that they have on Google. Very sexy.
