American Madness (1934)
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80% of users liked it
(436 ratings)
Bank president Thomas Dickson (Walter Huston) has instituted a lending policy that shows great faith in ordinary people but which also irritates his board of directors, as does his claim that an increased money supply will help end the Depression. Elsewhere in the bank, criminal Dude Finlay (Robert… More Bank president Thomas Dickson (Walter Huston) has instituted a lending policy that shows great faith in ordinary people but which also irritates his board of directors, as does his claim that an increased money supply will help end the Depression. Elsewhere in the bank, criminal Dude Finlay (Robert Ellis) has coerced head cashier Cluett (Gavin Gordon) into cooperating with a robbery by threatening to reveal Cluett as a habitual gambler. Dickson's neglected wife Phyllis (Kay Johnson), upset that Thomas has forgotten their anniversary, agrees to go out with Cluett, but they're spotted by head teller Matt Brown (Pat O'Brien). Matt goes to Cluett's apartment and convinces Phyllis to leave with him just as the robbery takes place back at the bank. Because he was responsible for locking the vault, Matt is assumed to be in league with the robbers, and he's arrested. News of the robbery leads to frantic depositors demanding their money back from the bank; Dickson cannot talk them out of it, and the bank is running out of money. This gives the board of directors the leverage over Dickson that they've been seeking, and they try to force his resignation. ~ Bill Warren, Rovi
- Directed By
- Frank Capra
- Written By
- Robert Riskin
- Genres
- Drama, Classics
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Aug 15, 1932 Limited
- Studio
- Columbia Pictures
Critic Reviews
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James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk
the first of his films that can be rightly described as "Capraesque" in the sense that it lionizes the power of the individual and the necessity of faith and trust
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Though preachy, Capra's film zips along at breakneck speed and always pleases.
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Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Early Capra has the extra bonus of documenting its time.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
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Cast
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Walter Huston
as Thomas Dickson
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Pat O'Brien
as Matt Brown
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Kay Johnson
as Mrs. Dickson
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Constance Cummings
as Helen
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Gavin Gordon
as Cyril Cluett
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Robert Ellis
as Dude Finlay
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Jeanne Sorel
as Cluett's secretary
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Walter Walker
as Schultz
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Berton Churchill
as O'Brien
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Arthur Hoyt
as Ives
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Edward Martindel
as Ames
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Edwin Maxwell
as Clark
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Robert E. O'Connor
as The Inspector
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Anderson Lawler
as Charlie
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Sterling Holloway
as Oscar
- Harry Holman
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Ralph Lewis
as Judge
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Pat O'Malley
as Doctor Strong
