American Madness

There's some love story which only serves to impede the plot, but most of the characters are interesting, even if they do approach cliché. There's a bank, there's a robbery, and there's a run on said bank, which must be defused to halt a merger. Everything that doesn't directly deal with the bank, such as the aforementioned love story, is substantially weaker than the rest.

Frank Capra #3

A fun breezy little movie that's pretty fun if preposterous. The acting is all over the place but the fast pace kept me from caring too much about it.

An interesting period-piece about a bank president who tries to do his best during the panic that initiated the Great Depression. There's a stupid love story that slows things down, but Walter Huston is fine.

An early Capra that contains a lot of the elements that would define his career. Faith in the little guy, the greedy hands of fat cats, the danger of mobs and rumor-mongering, the reliability of friends, and a practice run for the bank panic scene from IAWL. The film moves economically with some lively bits of humor and surprisingly dynamic photography. Some of the performances are a bit weak, but Huston is quite likeable in the lead. Certain parts are a bit ludicrous, but an enjoyable flick.

Loucura americana estreava há 90 anos em New York. Há uns 30 anos eu me emocionaram profundamente com esse filme, mas como o castelo do idealista sempre acaba ruindo para erguer outro na base do cinismo o que me resta é apreciá-lo pela desconstrução das instituições e não pelo final feliz e otimista. BlurayRip RARBG.

Who knew banking could be this exiting? Great characters with a fantastic Walter Huston in the lead. Even if certain parts of it are quite unlikely or ludicrous it all weaves together pretty well. There's not a single scene which isn't necessary to the plot, which works in its favor. Kay Johnson's over-the-top and ridiculously dated acting is the weakest point of the film.

This amazing little action packed early Capra flick is pretty fascinating since it uses a lot of little plot elements that would resurface in "It's a Wonderful Life". It packs an incredible amount of plot in a compact hour and a quarter, staging the police questioning O'Brien and Huston desperately calling business associates in search of cash in the middle of customers rioting.

Colombia Pictures borrow Walter Huston from MGM and it pays off! Huston is great in this as a bank owner who thinks differently to other bankers. But panic happens after a bank robbery goes down..... and the madness is on. Considering it's about a bank this moves fairly fast with exhausting bank action. Not to mention full of life. Excellent work by Frank Capra for making it work.