American Madness (1934)

81% of users liked it
(425 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

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 19 min.
Directed By: Frank Capra
Written By: Robert Riskin
Genres: Drama, Classics

In Theaters: Aug 15, 1932 Limited
Studio: Columbia Pictures

Critic Reviews

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
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Though preachy, Capra's film zips along at breakneck speed and always pleases.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Early Capra has the extra bonus of documenting its time.

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Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]In "American Madness," the board of directors of the Union National Bank are trying to foist a merger on the bank president George Dickson(Walter Huston), fearing a lack of funds. Dickson flatly refuses, saying that money is badly needed to be in… More
[font=Century Gothic]In "American Madness," the board of directors of the Union National Bank are trying to foist a merger on the bank president George Dickson(Walter Huston), fearing a lack of funds. Dickson flatly refuses, saying that money is badly needed to be in circulation to keep businesses running which keep the economy healthy.(Sound familiar anyone?) For men like Dickson, it is a matter of faith which he has also shown in hiring men like Matt Brown(Pat O'Brien) who has a criminal record. At the same time, one of his other employees, Cluett(Gavin Gordon), has developed a serious gambling problem and gotten in desperate trouble with some gangsters. Dickson's dedication to his bank is admirable but it is constantly frustrating for his wife(Kay Johnson) who is afraid he may have forgotten their anniversary again.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]"American Madness" is a breezy and fast-talking movie that a like a lot of Frank Capra's other movies is couched in a very civic minded message that asks the public to be calm and to have faith in troubled times, because there are plenty of good men like George Dickson out there. Except this is one of Capra's better films with a climax that has to be seen to be believed.[/font]