You Can’t Take It With You (1938)
Kirby’s Fully Loaded
Happy early Thanksgiving ILTBTA readers! This year, like those before and after, we’re thankful for movies, as they often allow us to escape the stresses and responsibilities of everyday life. Or preparing for a wedding, which we currently know a thing or two about. Let’s see what this post’s movie, You Can’t Take It With You, is about … a recently engaged couple stressing out about their families meeting? Well shoot. Grab your Monopoly money, ballet shoes, and fireworks, and read on!
Previews
What, if anything, did we know about this coming attraction before we watched it?
Ellen: I had a long, hard debate with myself about if this was a good choice given that it’s about the stress on an engaged couple. Once I learned how madcap the whole situation allegedly would be, I determined it should be safe for my Wedding Anxiety… I hope!
Tyler: Given the overall tone of Frank Capra's other movies, it should be a safe bet to not add to your Wedding Anxiety. I’ve heard of this movie tangentially before, but know absolutely nothing about it. Like, I recognize that it is a movie, but it could be about anything. I was pleasantly surprised to stumble upon it in my research for your Pick Three, given that it’s apparently about the shenanigans of two families of an engaged couple meeting. Especially relevant right before a wedding!
Plots & Feelings
This one’s pretty self-explanatory.
Short Version (courtesy of IMDb): The son of a snobbish Wall Street banker becomes engaged to a woman from a good-natured but decidedly eccentric family, not realizing that his father is trying to force her family from their home for a real estate development.
Long Version (modified from Wikipedia and formatted to fit your screen):
A bouncy, dare I say eccentric score welcomes us through the opening credits as a swanky car deposits one Mr. Anthony P. Kirby (aka AP) on Wall Street. More specifically, he enters Kirby & Company. The triumphant robber baron has returned home from glad-handing in Washington, D.C. He informs his assorted sycophants that there won’t be any interference from the government as they buy up the manufacturing of every type of war material. The last domino to fall in his game of monopoly1 is his competitor Ramsey, but Kirby has a plan for that: buy up a 12-block radius around his factory to put him out of business. Old Mr. Martin Vanderhof is the only holdout, and Kirby instructs his real estate broker Blakely to get the sale done at any cost. Kirby’s son Tony, Vice President of something or other, is the only one not fully onboard, feeling it’s morally questionable, and also boring2.
Ellen: Tony’s very casually holier-than-thou like “oh yeah me and my cockeyed morals, I just don’t get it!” but he lifts not a finger to stop it. Feels like a rich kid who passively hates everything their parents do just because.
At the real estate office, an overworked banker named Poppins is pouring over various figures and punching them into an old-timey… banker machine… thing3. A cheery old man on crutches hobbles in, and they get to talking about what Poppins would actually like to do in life4, and that’s make proto-animatronic toys! The old gentleman munches on popcorn and invites Poppins to come to his house. Speaking of which, Blakely bursts out from the offices like “LET’S DO A BUSINESS!” Turns out, the old man is Vanderhof! He politely declines $100k5 for his $25k house, and exits with Poppins rushing after him. They enter the Vanderhof home, where everyone is just doing them. A young woman named Essie dances and works on candies she invented called Love Dreams, Vanderhof’s daughter Penny6 writes plays, and her husband and another man play with firecrackers in the cellar. Poppins is deeply confused but delighted to be whisked down to the workshop, where a subsequent explosion knocks down a “Home Sweet Home” sign for the first of many times.
Tyler: From my mid-movie notes: “This weird family is exhausting, move this show along already.”
Meanwhile at Kirby & Company, the younger Kirby has found some company!7 He and the stenographer, Alice Sycamore, have really hit it off over the past few months. Unbeknownst to Tony, Alice is one of Vanderhof’s granddaughters! Nevermind that right now though, because Tony’s socialite uptight blue-blooded mother has just caught them kissing! She leaves absolutely askance and immediately marches up to AP’s office to complain about it. He’s more concerned with his evil corporate takeover and indigestion or whatever. Alice is completely horrified, but Tony convinces her not to resign in disgrace, and in fact lets her know he wants to propose. Back on the Vanderhof block, we see that Martin is pretty much grandfather to everyone. He assures them that he’ll never sell, and the whole scheme only works if the bigwigs can buy every piece of land. In the workshop, Poppins is happy as a clam working with the other men, and they plan a big Russian revolution display to show off all of their fireworks.
Ellen: We’ll see if they muck it up, but after the nonsense whirlwind romances some of these nominees have put me through, I’m so far on board with this pairing that can be measured in months rather than days.
Tyler: The Bachelor comparison: Error 404 not found.
Upon Alice’s return to the house, she rings their personal town crier bell and announces that a young man will be calling for her! Privately, she gives Grandpa Vanderhof the hottest of tea: the impending proposal! He’s delighted, and he reveals it took him two years to propose to his wife, if you can believe it! He never got over how much he loved her, even unto the end, and he still feels her presence in the house, and that’s why he’ll never leave. Downstairs, a ring at the door! The family is elated to meet Alice’s caller, but OOP, it’s the IRS! He’s here about the twenty-two years of back taxes that Vanderhof owes. Tony arrives for real, and he’s greeted with a chaotic scene of Mr. IRS, firecracker testing, and Essie practicing with her Russian dance teacher Kolenkhov while her husband plays the glockenspiel. Tony is concerned Vanderhof is going to get in trouble for not paying, but Martin insists he was just messing with the guy and that he doesn’t owe the government a cent. With that, Tony and Alice are off to the Monte Carlo Ballet.
Tyler: The hullabaloo with the IRS agent confused me. Are we to believe that he was sent by Kirby’s real estate goon? Did he owe back taxes or not? Given everything we’ve seen from this family, I would genuinely believe that these screwballs have never met a W-2 in their lives. Regardless, even though Grandpa was allegedly messing with the guy, the stupidity of anti-tax ramblings like that always irk me.
In the cab, Alice explains that Grandpa used to be Mr. Business, but after about 30 years, he took the elevator up to his office, realized he wasn’t having any fun, and went right back down again. Now he collects stamps and gets paid to appraise others’ collections, and the whole household just does whatever they like. Tony audibles and leads Alice to a park bench instead of the ballet, and he explains that he admires her family and their courage to follow their dreams. He explains that back in college, he and a friend became obsessed with what basically amounts to cracking the code on solar power, but they never had the nerve to commit to it. They eventually make their way to a fancy restaurant, where of course Tony’s parents are schmoozing the night away. They’re polite but cutting to Alice, and once she and Tony are alone, she insists their families must meet. He’s pretty against it, saying he doesn’t want to put her family on exhibition for his snobby parents, but Alice insists.
Ellen: Alice wears a cape for this night out, therefore she’s my hero.
Tyler: I’m sure the bit with Alice having that sign on her back from the hoard of entrepreneurial dancing children in the park was an absolute RIOT in the 30s, but I didn’t find it funny at all, no matter how many times they kept referencing it.
The next day, Alice is all aflutter at the house, determining what knicknacks to hide and how to put themselves on their best foot for the Kirbys' arrival tomorrow. Across town, the Kirbys put on their finest for dinner… tonight?! They’re not thrilled, but they’re expecting some boring middle class family. When they ring the bell, the housekeeper Rheba answers, and it’s hard to tell who’s more shocked! Over Rheba’s shoulders, we see Essie dancing, her husband on the glock, Penny painting a man wearing a toga, and Grandpa playing giant darts. Not a person knows how to act at this point, but they all attempt to pull themselves together. Penny calls for Alice to come downstairs, but doesn’t tell her why, so the young lady enters via the banister! Rheba and her fiance Donald scramble to get more food for everybody, and some horrifically stilted conversation between guests and host ensue. We manage to learn that Grandpa and AP both play the harmonica, though the latter says his hobby is business. In the kitchen, Tony reveals that he got the night wrong on purpose so his parents could see Alice’s family as they are. I’m paraphrasing here, but Alice responds “you rich piece of sh*t, don’t you understand you have all the power here, and I need their approval so they don’t look at me like a thief for the rest of our lives??” Out in the living room, Kolenkhov is trying to show AP a real hobby and body slams him. The Kirbys take their leave, and AP even manages to say it was a pleasure.
Ellen: Now’s a good time to mention that we only have two Black speaking characters in this movie, Rheba and Donald, and they’re both just capital S Stereotypes. Rheba’s entire personality is cooking for everyone, and Donald is the lazy guy who’s getting unemployment payments, so why would he work? Even this “unconventional” family doesn’t have them sit at the table8. It’s racist and not cute, and I know it’s a different time blah blah blah, but I don’t have to like it or pretend it is good.
What timing for the only kooky thing she does all movie (Source)
Not so fast, the cops are at the door! Apparently the fliers these yahoos put out for their Russian revolution exhibition were taken as a threat. There’s a decent bit of yelling until ALL THE DANG GUNPOWDER IN THE BASEMENT GOES OFF! It’s like a full minute of small explosions. Cut to: the drunk tank! They’re being held until the night court judge can see them. In the women’s cell, Mrs. Kirby is pouting up a storm, and Essie quietly offers to punch her for Alice. On the men’s side, AP is huffing and puffing about all the money he spends on lawyers, while the common folk strike up a jig to “Polly Wolly Doodle” with Vanderhof on the harmonica. The real estate broker comes by and offers to bail AP out, in the process revealing both that he’s the one who tipped the police off to the firecrackers and that Vanderhof owns the house! Vanderhof and AP get to arguing, and he tells his origin story and reminds Kirby that “you can’t take it with you.” In the course of the argument, he ALSO says he bets no one will be sorry when Kirby dies, which is way harsh Tai.
Ellen: It is wholly unbelievable to me that now AP finds out Vanderhof owns the house he’s been trying to buy. Did he not recognize the area when they drove up? He’s supposed to be obsessed with this business deal. He’s bad at it!
Tyler: Great point, there’s a lot of suspension of belief going on in this plot.
This looks like a scene from a VERY different movie (Source)
When the judge finally takes their case, the courtroom is chockablock with Vanderhof family friends. The family is guilty by their own admission of disturbing the peace, and the judge waives the sentence. He cannot, however, ignore the fact that they were illegally making just so many fireworks, and fines them $100. The gallery all pitches in for the fine, and even the judge tosses a few coins in the hat. As for the Kirbys, since they won’t explain why they were there unless they were involved, the judge has to charge them too. They’re extremely embarrassed to be associated with these people, and Alice yells to the court the truth of the matter, and absolute bedlam ensues. We learn via newspaper headlines that Alice has fled town. Tony stops by the Vanderhof home to give them a status update on the P.I.s he has searching for her, and they’re like “give it up dude, she doesn’t want to be found, least of all by you.” The family receives a letter from Alice, saying she’s staying with a friend in Connecticut. She realizes she and Tony are impossible, and she’s pretty devastated about both that and being away from the family. Grandpa decides that’s that, and they’re going to sell the house and move to go be with her.
The American justice system at work? (Source) It’s merger time, baby! All of the businessmen are very excited about Business, and AP seems contemplative before snapping out of it. Last to arrive is Ramsey, who goes full Jacob Marley and impassionedly predicts woe upon all of them and says this will all come to nothing. The lackeys depart for the boardroom, but AP and Tony stay behind. AP intends to make his son president, but Tony says he’s quitting! He only kept the job for Alice, and now that she’s gone, he needs to get his mind right. After he departs, we’re informed over the intercom that Ramsey was found dead of a heart attack! With that knowledge in mind, AP takes the elevator up to the boardroom, pauses, and immediately goes back down again. Just like Vanderhof did that one time, get it??
Over at the Vanderhof home, it’s a moving bonanza! The rest of the block is pretty upset that he caved but are resigned to their fate. Tony comes by to try and find Alice one last time, and oh dang she bursts through the door! She also cannot believe that Grandpa sold the house. She and Tony go upstairs to talk, and AP walks in too! The two men have a bit of a heart-to-heart, concluding in a harmonica duet of “Polly Wolly Doodle”. The young couple goes downstairs to see what the ruckus is about, father and son reconcile, and a chaotic dance scene ensues! We cut to some time later, and it’s dinner time at the Vanderhof home. Mr. Kirby sold them back their house, and they all have a jolly dinner.
Intermission
Even though ILTBTA is free, please indulge us further and enjoy this quick “advertisement.”
This installment of ILTBTA is brought to you by … Kolenkhov's Dance Studio!
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You tell Kolenkhov you know ILTBTA, he give you free lesson. Easy as that. If Kolenkhov comes during dinner, maybe you give him plate for being so generous? The least you could do.
Come dance with Potap and he’ll make you toe-tap!
Wiki-Wiki-Whaaat?
Love a good Wikipedia rabbit hole in search of some fun facts? Us too.
You Can’t Take It With You’s Wikipedia page has some interesting facts and anecdotes that we recommend you read through, but here are a few of our favorites:
You Can’t Take It With You was based on a play of the same name that premiered just two years prior to the film’s release and subsequently won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1937. One of the play’s co-writers, George S. Kaufman, was also an avid bridge player, albeit one who was notoriously impatient with poor players. According to “legend,” after a poor-performing partner asked if he could use the bathroom, Kaufman replied “Gladly. For the first time today I'll know what you have in your hand.”
Ellen: A. sick burn, and B. I hope to be an old lady who plays bridge one day.
For his work directing YCTIWY, Frank Capra received his third Academy Award for Best Director in just five years. He also won for It Happened One Night and Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, the latter of which also stars YCTIWY leading lady Jean Arthur.
Speaking of Arthur, following her retirement from acting, she chose to teach drama. While teaching at the North Carolina School of the Arts in 1973, she was arrested and jailed for trespassing on a neighbor’s property while trying to console a dog she felt was being mistreated. She was convicted, fined $75, and given three years’ probation.
Lionel Barrymore, who played “Grandpa” Martin Vanderhof, struggled with arthritis for much of his career and was often confined to a wheelchair. This was incorporated into his character, who’s seen in crutches for the entire movie, which was said to be the result of an accident sliding down the stair banister. There’s some confusion over the exact cause of the wheelchair confinement, with explanations ranging from just the arthritis, separate accidents that broke his hips and kneecap, and syphilis. The pain was at one point so intense that legendary producer and partial MGM namesake Louis B. Mayer bought Barrymore $400 worth of cocaine a day to help him sleep.
Tyler: Barrymore is possibly best known for playing the villain in Capra’s It’s A Wonderful Life, which may or may not be an ILTBTA post in the near future …
Barrymore also starred in Navy Blue and Gold the previous year with Jimmy Stewart. Stewart’s “sensitive, heart-grabbing role” in the film caught the eye of Capra and led to his casting in YCTIWY, hoping that Stewart fit his “concept of idealized America.”
Oscar NomNomNomz
Since we all know a movie is nothing without the food and drink it incorporates.
It’s now time to award the Oscar for Best Snacktor in a Supporting Role.9 And the nomnomnominees are:
Bicarbonate of soda for your stomach
ulcersindigestionPopcorn from Mr. Vanderhof
Essie's homemade candy, Love Dreams
And the Oscar goes to … Love Dreams! Unfortunately, they sold out immediately during the post-Halloween convenience store candy sales, so we will accept this award on their behalf.
Fill In The Blank
How did we really feel about The Academy nominating this?
Ellen: I’d like to snatch a Love Dream out of the Academy’s hand, feel bad about it, and ultimately split it with them. I have some conflicting thoughts about this one. Two things we’ve had a lot of from nominees are bummers and romances that make absolutely no sense, and ultimately this movie was fun and the main couple didn’t make me want to pull my hair out. Alice and Tony are cute and their fights and differences make sense to me, so I enjoyed rooting for them. On the other hand, when you deliberately make up a family to be eccentric, they’re probably going to be insufferable. Alice and Grandpa are the only ones who get any depth, and everyone else may as well be a cardboard cutout making a wacky face. I rolled my eyes a fair amount, but I also smiled, so that’s something!
Tyler: I’d like to lock the Academy in the drunk tank in hopes that it reevaluates its choices. YCTIWY is by no means a bad movie, but I genuinely have no idea how this won for Best Picture, let alone how the source material won a Pulitzer Prize. Nearly everything plot-wise was wholly predictable, from Chekhov’s gunpowder to the magical harmonica plot device, and both families were annoying enough in their own ways to not be particularly likable. And while it certainly did a decent job of cinematizing™ the original play (unlike other nominees like Fences and previous ILTBTA subject West Side Story), I still walked away feeling that #bigplayenergy, which loyal ILTBTA readers know is not my jam.
Let The Credits Roll
Thanks for reading! Some quick housekeeping as you exit the theatre:
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Post-Credits Scene
Get a sneak peek at the next ILTBTA installment.
Limber up those dancing muscles and warm up your singing voices, because our next post is one we’ve been waiting to cover for a while now: Gary Marshall’s 2002 musical Chicago. Starring Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Richard Gere, Chicago is the story of the corrupt world of 1920s Chicago and the sweetest little jazz killer you’ll ever meet … or is she? Chicago is available to stream on HBO Max or rent elsewhere.
Until then, please Kirb your enthusiasm.
Shhhh don’t worry about it.
Sounds like my ex-wife!
Tyler: I think that was an old-school adding machine, a calculator precursor. I desperately wanted to give Mr. Poppins an Excel spreadsheet to improve his life.
The speed with which Mr. Poppins says “No, my goodness no” when asked if he likes his adding job may have been the most relatable thing in the whole movie.
That’s over a whopping two million dollars in today’s money!
It’s a real Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again situation with these actors, who were only 8 years apart in age.
Tyler: I see what you did there, Ellen.
And if you’re going to be like “well they’re not part of the family, they’re hired” then that is true, but Mr. Russian Dance Teacher gets to eat at the table when he weasels his way to stay for dinner.
Results tabulated and certified by the accountants at Ernst & Yum™.