American Madness (1932)

dir. Frank Capra (Allan Dwan and Roy William Neill - uncredited)
writ. Robert Riskin (story & dialogue)
feat. Walter Huston, Pat O'Brien, Kay Johnson, Constance Cummings, Gavin Gordon

There is such a thing as the perfect time to see a film, and right now (early 2009) is just that time for American Madness. Walter Huston plays Thomas Dickson, noble bank president, champion of the people. Sure, it's the depression and many banks (and Dickson's Board of Directors) want to hoard money for the sake of security, but not Dickson. He insists on investing in people, the backbone of America. The story makes for terrific early Capra fare, the everyman fighting the establishment for the good of all.

And it's wonderfully pre-code, allowing for a playful near seduction of a married woman and the grim, subtle suggestion of suicide as the only escape from failure in both work and marriage. Though it's not as risque as some of the pre-code treats of the early 30s, it manages a casual crack or two, including the following by Mrs. Dickson as she expresses her jealousy of the bank for its monopoly of her husband's time, "If it were some other woman, I could handle her, but after all, you can't scratch a bank's eyes out now, can you?"

The film stumbles at times, muddling it's way through a bank robbery, but then recovers famously, as the word gets out about the theft, sparking a mad run on the bank. An unsettling mob scene ensues, throngs of angry patrons storming the bank, desperate to pull their money out. This sustained charge in an age before special effects could multiply the crowd or fake the woman sucked down out of sight stands as a painfully claustrophobic scene, one that Capra permits to play to full effect. Naturally, not to leave us wanting, Dickson's more loyal and monied friends come to his aid, the air clears and there is hope for all Americans yet, not just for money but also for love.