Rating of
2.5/4
Indyfreak - wrote on 02/16/18
Frank Capra's cherished classic lays it on pretty thick with the sentimentalism and schmaltz. But that's expected I guess. Still, the acting is great. Given the three leads, that should also not be surprising.
James Stewart was perhaps the only person in 1939 that could make a character this simultaneously noble and naive. Claude Rains' character is an interesting villain but the conclusion to his arc is pretty silly. Jean Arthur does well as the spunky love interest.
It's that rare political drama that's critical of the status quo in American politics, but is intelligent enough to propose sensible means of changing things.
