IMDb > You Can't Take It with You (1938)
You Can't Take It with You
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You Can't Take It with You (1938) More at IMDbPro »

Overview

User Rating:
8.1/10   7,924 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
No change in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Frank Capra
Writers:
George S. Kaufman (play) and
Moss Hart (play) ...
(more)
Contact:
View company contact information for You Can't Take It with You on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
26 December 1938 (Denmark) more
Genre:
Comedy | Romance more
Tagline:
You'll love them all for giving you the swellest time you've ever had! more
Plot:
A good-natured but decidedly eccentric family meets a new friend. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Won 2 Oscars. Another 5 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(6 articles)
Birthday Suits: Giant Sized Edition
 (From FilmExperience. 17 November 2009, 11:05 AM, PST)
Geek Deal: Columbia Best Picture Collection for $60
 (From Slash Film. 17 September 2009, 11:30 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
A Familyof Free Spirits more (97 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

Jean Arthur ... Alice Sycamore

Lionel Barrymore ... Grandpa Martin Vanderhof

James Stewart ... Tony Kirby
Edward Arnold ... Anthony P. Kirby
Mischa Auer ... Boris Kolenkhov

Ann Miller ... Essie Carmichael
Spring Byington ... Penny Sycamore
Samuel S. Hinds ... Paul Sycamore
Donald Meek ... Poppins
H.B. Warner ... Ramsey
Halliwell Hobbes ... DePinna
Dub Taylor ... Ed Carmichael
Mary Forbes ... Mrs. Anthony P. Kirby
Lillian Yarbo ... Rheba
Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson ... Donald (as Eddie Anderson)
Clarence Wilson ... John Blakely
Josef Swickard ... Professor
Ann Doran ... Maggie O'Neill
Christian Rub ... Schmidt
Bodil Rosing ... Mrs. Schmidt

Charles Lane ... Wilbur G. Henderson, IRS Agent
Harry Davenport ... Judge
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jimmy Anderson ... Porter in Bank (uncredited)
Eugene Anderson Jr. ... Bobby (uncredited)
Stanley Andrews ... Attorney to Kirby at Arraignment (uncredited)
William Arnold ... Reporter (uncredited)
Johnny Arthur ... Kirby's Office Aide (uncredited)
Frank Austin ... Neighbor (uncredited)
Dorothy Babb ... Child Dancer (uncredited)
Irving Bacon ... Henry, the Head Waiter (uncredited)
Harry A. Bailey ... Neighbor (uncredited)
Joseph E. Bernard ... Neighbor (uncredited)
Gladys Blake ... Mary (uncredited)
Beatrice Blinn ... Neighbor (uncredited)
Ward Bond ... Mike, the Detective (uncredited)
Joe Bordeaux ... Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Charles Brinley ... Neighbor (uncredited)
Gloria Browne ... Child Dancer (uncredited)
James Burke ... Chief Detective (uncredited)
Eddy Chandler ... Plainclothes Policeman (uncredited)
Wallis Clark ... Bill Hughes (uncredited)
Chester Clute ... Hammond (uncredited)
Nick Copeland ... Barber (uncredited)
Anne Cornwall ... Miss Jones, Blakely's Secretary (uncredited)
Nell Craig ... Blakely's Inquisitive Office Worker (uncredited)
Beatrice Curtis ... Neighbor (uncredited)
Dick Curtis ... Strongarm Man (uncredited)
Sidney D'Albrook ... Trustee (uncredited)
Howard Davies ... Neighbor (uncredited)
Lew Davis ... Reporter (uncredited)
Edgar Dearing ... Bill, Plainclothes Policeman (uncredited)
Vernon Dent ... Expressman (uncredited)
Kay Deslys ... Woman (uncredited)
Homer Dickenson ... Man (uncredited)
Bill Dill ... Reporter (uncredited)
Lester Dorr ... Reporter (uncredited)
Florence Dudley ... Woman (uncredited)
Roland Dupree ... Child Dancer (uncredited)
Edward Earle ... Bank Manager (uncredited)
Oliver Eckhardt ... Man (uncredited)
Jim Farley ... Police Sergeant (uncredited)
Betty Farrington ... Neighbor (uncredited)
Eddie Fetherston ... Worried Neighbor (uncredited)

Pat Flaherty ... Police Guard at Courtroom Entrance (uncredited)
Kitty Flanagan ... Woman (uncredited)
James Flavin ... Jailer (uncredited)
Bess Flowers ... Martin's Neighbor in Courtroom (uncredited)
Sterrett Ford ... Man (uncredited)
Byron Foulger ... Kirby's Assistant (uncredited)
Almeda Fowler ... Woman (uncredited)
Dick French ... Bank Clerk (uncredited)
Jack Gardner ... Reporter (uncredited)
Joe Geil ... Child Dancer (uncredited)
Jack Grant ... Policeman (uncredited)
Jesse Graves ... Man (uncredited)
Robert Greig ... Lord Melville (uncredited)
Carlton Griffin ... Bank Clerk (uncredited)
Kit Guard ... Inmate Wearing Black Cap (uncredited)
Chuck Hamilton ... Guard (uncredited)
John Hamilton ... Kirby's Dining Guest (uncredited)
Sam Harris ... Diner (uncredited)
Edward Hearn ... Court Attendant (uncredited)
Oscar 'Dutch' Hendrian ... Ice Man (uncredited)
Russell Hicks ... Attorney to Kirby (uncredited)
Harry Hollingsworth ... Doorman (uncredited)
John Ince ... Neighbor (uncredited)
Paul Irving ... Office Manager (uncredited)
Boyd Irwin ... Attorney to Kirby at Arraignment (uncredited)
Eddie Kane ... Attorney to Kirby (uncredited)
Edward Keane ... Board Member (uncredited)
Alice Keating ... Woman (uncredited)
Pert Kelton ... Inmate (uncredited)
Louis King ... Man (uncredited)
Bob Kortman ... Man (uncredited)
William Lally ... Reporter (uncredited)
Stella LeSaint ... Neighbor (uncredited)
Margaret Mann ... Neighbor (uncredited)
Tina Marshall ... Neighbor (uncredited)

Edwin Maxwell ... Attorney to Kirby (uncredited)
Ralph McCullough ... Man (uncredited)
Eva McKenzie ... Neighbor (uncredited)
Charles McMurphy ... Guard (uncredited)
James Millican ... Policeman (uncredited)
Frank Mills ... Trustee (uncredited)
Bruce Mitchell ... Policeman in Park (uncredited)
Clive Morgan ... Man (uncredited)
Gene Morgan ... Reporter (uncredited)
Arthur Murray ... Elevator Boy (uncredited)
Wedgwood Nowell ... Diner (uncredited)
Dagmar Oakland ... Woman (uncredited)
Georgia O'Dell ... Woman (uncredited)
Fred Parker ... Neighbor (uncredited)
Blanche Payson ... Matron (uncredited)
George C. Pearce ... Neighbor (uncredited)
Edward Peil Sr. ... Neighbor Helping with Move (uncredited)
Lee Phelps ... Bailiff (uncredited)
Hilda Plowright ... Lady Melville (uncredited)
Ed Randolph ... Neighbor (uncredited)
Doris Rankin ... Mrs. Leach (uncredited)
Frances Raymond ... Neighbor (uncredited)
Hilda Rhodes ... Woman (uncredited)
Gale Ronn ... Neighbor (uncredited)
Marion C. Rotolo ... Accordion Player (uncredited)
Nell Roy ... Woman (uncredited)
Dick Rush ... Bank Guard (uncredited)
Cy Schindell ... Man (uncredited)
Harry Semels ... Man (uncredited)
Frank Shannon ... Mac (uncredited)
C.L. Sherwood ... Drunk (uncredited)
Ernest Shields ... Man (uncredited)
Bruce Sidney ... Bank Clerk (uncredited)
S.S. Simon ... Man at jail (uncredited)
Harry Stafford ... Bank Clerk (uncredited)
Edwin Stanley ... Executive (uncredited)
Bert Starkey ... Neighbor (uncredited)
Belle Stoddard ... Neighbor (uncredited)
Jane Talent ... Woman (uncredited)
Carlie Taylor ... Bank Clerk (uncredited)
Rosemary Theby ... Woman (uncredited)
Patty Thomas ... Child Dancer (uncredited)
Victor Travers ... Man (uncredited)
Laura Treadwell ... Kirby's Dining Guest (uncredited)
John Tyrrell ... Strongarm Man (uncredited)
Pearl Varvalle ... Woman (uncredited)
Dorothy Vernon ... Neighbor (uncredited)
Bess Wade ... Neighbor (uncredited)
Walter Walker ... Gov. Leach (uncredited)
Pierre Watkin ... Attorney to Kirby (uncredited)
Gertrude Weber ... Woman (uncredited)
Pat West ... Expressman (uncredited)
Larry Wheat ... Kirby's Secretary (uncredited)
Bud Wiser ... Policeman (uncredited)
Ian Wolfe ... Kirby's Secretary (uncredited)
Billy Wolfstone ... Child Dancer (uncredited)
Alex Woloshin ... Russian General in Jail (uncredited)
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Directed by
Frank Capra 
 
Writing credits
George S. Kaufman (play) and
Moss Hart (play)

Robert Riskin (screenplay)

Produced by
Frank Capra .... producer (uncredited)
 
Original Music by
Dimitri Tiomkin 
 
Cinematography by
Joseph Walker (photography)
 
Film Editing by
Gene Havlick 
 
Art Direction by
Stephen Goosson  (as Stephen Goossón)
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Arthur S. Black Jr. .... assistant director (uncredited)
 
Art Department
Lionel Banks .... associate art director
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Irving Lippman .... still photographer (uncredited)
 
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Irene .... gowns: Miss Arthur
Bernard Newman .... gowns: Miss Arthur
 
Music Department
Morris Stoloff .... musical director
George Parrish .... orchestrator (uncredited)
Max Reese .... orchestrator (uncredited)
 
Crew verified as complete


Production CompaniesDistributorsOther Companies
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
126 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Black and White
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Victor High Fidelity Sound System)
Certification:
Canada:PG (Ontario) | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | Germany:6 | UK:U | USA:Unrated | Australia:G
Company:
Columbia Pictures Corporation more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Columbia paid $200,000 for the film rights to the play. more
Goofs:
Continuity: During the jail scene, Mr. Vanderhof changes his position in relation to his crutches abruptly, first holding them, then leaning on them, and then holding them again. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Doorman: Good morning, Mr. Kirby.
Anthony P. Kirby: Good morning.
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in Five Easy Pieces (1970) more
Soundtrack:
Rockin' the Town more

FAQ

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
13 out of 16 people found the following comment useful.
A Familyof Free Spirits, 8 August 2006
7/10
Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York

You Can't Take It With You won for Best Picture of 1938 and got Frank Capra his third Oscar for Best Director. Looking at it now it is firmly anchored in the decade that spawned it and the Oscar is a tribute to authors Kaufman and Hart and their popularity in that time. You Can't Take It With You came off a Broadway run of 838 performances for the 1936-1938 Broadway seasons.

It's a tale of two men and their families. Edward Arnold plays Anthony Kirby millionaire banker and industrialist who is obsessed with both making money and his social position, though the latter is more in deference to his snooty wife Mary Forbes. Their son James Stewart is preparing uneasily to step into his father's world. What really is Stewart's main interest is the romance he's got going with the only normal member of that other family, Jean Arthur.

Her grandfather is the second man with a family. A very extended family that all lives under one roof because that's how Lionel Barrymore as Grandpa Vanderhof likes it. He's got a daughter who writes unpublished plays, a son-in-law who likes to experiment with fireworks, a granddaughter who aspires to be a ballerina, her husband who is a xylophone virtuoso and an iceman who was so taken with the house he just quit his job and stayed there. I can't really blame Halliwell Hobbes the iceman. If I was being supported by Jean Arthur's salary as a secretary and Lionel Barrymore's investments, I'd quit working myself.

In fact I can understand Barrymore's sentiments. I had an opportunity to retire early myself and took it and don't regret it. Of course I'm not supporting a whole extended family either. Let Sanuel S. Hinds, Spring Byington, Ann Miller, and Dub Taylor go out and earn a little and then become bohemians.

Both Arnold and Barrymore are extreme in their philosophy and the play and film are weighed heavily in Barrymore's balance. But looking at it objectively, Barrymore has a more realistic outlook for most people. There are a couple of dinner scenes at the Vanderhof house and it looks like quite a feed. Who's paying for it?

This was James Stewart's first and Jean Arthur's second film with Frank Capra. Next year they would do their second and last in the much acclaimed Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

In doing the screen adaptation, Capra and screenwriter Robert Riskin created a whole new character in Mr. Poppins played by Donald Meek. Poppins is an inoffensive little bureaucrat who would rather make little toys than add columns of figures all day. One meeting with Lionel Barrymore persuades Donald Meek to follow his dream. He blended so well into the Vanderhof household that Kaufman and Hart praised his creation.

Though You Can't Take It With You is dated it is still funny as all get out. And you haven't lived until you've heard Brahm's Hungarian Dance Number 5 done as a xylophone solo.

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