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(e)Book – Love and friendship

  (e) Book –  Love and friendship Full title :  Love and friendship and other early works Author : Jane Austen Score : /10 Year : 1790 (original) ; 2012 (this edition) Publisher : Duke Classics   ISBN  978-1-62012-155-9  // 9781620121559  (ebook)  Pages :  Language: English Jane Austen is best known for her 6 novels, which all have been adapted into tv movies - but after having read Virginia Woolf's short fiction in chronological order, I decided to apply the same for Austen's publications, to better appreciate her growth and evolution in narrative style. So, before reading her novels which were released from 1811 to 1817, in the following order :  Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma,  Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, I decided to go back to her teenage years, reading Love and Friendships, and other early works.
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Movie - Mr. Deeds Goes to Town



(I preferred the black & white image from the French DVD than the color poster for this movie ; it carries the french title)

Score :6 /10  
Year : 1936
Director:  Frank Capra
Cinematography : Joseph Walker
Country: USA
Language: English
Duration: 1h55 (IMDB) ; 1h51 (French DVD)

Writers: Robert Riskin (screeplay)  ; Clarence Budington Kelland (short story) ; 
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town is an overall cute Capra romantic comedy, from 1936 and based on Opera hat, a short story from the previous year. 

 Mr Deeds is a tuba player and small time poet, who inherits 20 million $, which is a huge sum in any given day - especially during the great depression. He moves from (fictional) hamlet Mandrake Falls, Vermont, to New York city, where everyone wants to scam him and get a piece of this unexpected mana. 

The dialogues are ok - though the delivery is sometimes awful (especially Cornellius Cobb = Lionel Stander's voice is annoying to say the least). 

 I find that Mr Deeds (Gary Cooper)'s character is written a bit unevenly, but certainly has a lot of funny moments with his exuberant personality ; Capra's narrative gifts manage to get this movie to unforeseen results, with social commentaries which he'll bring back later - including on his most famous It's a wonderful life : namely, the opposition between friendship and sharing the wealth on one hand, VS greedy and unscrupulous individuals on the other. 

 Capra's direction seems to always make you sit and see where he's going to lead you, and make you want to know and care about the heroes - even rejecting his religious aspects, I can still appreciate the humane and social aspects of his movies, and that's rather positive. 

 Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur carry Mr. Deeds right from their first appearance, as their acting is touching and curious all in the same time. 

 I cannot say that I really cared for the music, but it's rare to find a movie from the 30's that stands out on that level ; the cinematography seems to lack a bit, except for indoor settings - especially Mr Deed's house with its lavish statues. 

 Though not as engaging as his biggest success, this Capra's movie fully entertains - the dvd I borrowed from our library has a poor image and sound quality, making it difficult to fully appreciate and like it in its entirety - and I don't understand the high 8.0/10 score on IMDb. 

My own stands at 6/10 : there are enough aspects of it that can be largely improved (again, if I find a better quality, this might be revised) 

Starring : 
Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, Lionel Stander, George Bancroft, H.B. Warner, (et al). 


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