In "American Madness," the board of directors of the Union National Bank are trying to foist a merger on the bank president George Dickson(Walter Huston), fearing a lack of funds. Dickson flatly refuses, saying that money is badly needed to be in circulation to keep businesses running which keep the economy
healthy.(Sound familiar anyone?) For men like Dickson, it is a matter of faith which he has also shown in hiring men like Matt Brown(Pat O'Brien) who has a criminal record. At the same time, one of his other employees, Cluett(Gavin Gordon), has developed a serious gambling problem and gotten in desperate trouble with some gangsters. Dickson's dedication to his bank is admirable but it is constantly frustrating for his wife(Kay Johnson) who is afraid he may have forgotten their anniversary again. "American Madness" is a breezy and fast-talking movie that a like a lot of Frank Capra's other movies is couched in a very civic minded message that asks the public to be calm and to have faith in troubled times, because there are plenty of good men like George Dickson out there. Except this is one of Capra's better films with a climax that has to be seen to be believed.
February 8, 2009
