1936 – Gary Cooper
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
Here, Cooper plays the simple but honest small-town man with the heart of gold. He is innocent and pure, never having been corrupted by the fast-paced life style of the big city. He has a forthright set of morals that lead his code of conduct, a clean and generous heart, and a mind unclouded by greed. In fact, he seems to be a saint whose simplistic and down-to-earth attitudes embody all that is innocent, and righteous, and wholesome. Golly-gee-whiz, he was swell! And despite the ridiculousness of the character, Cooper pulled it off.
Except for his propensity for physical violence. He had a habit of beating the crap out of people in public. It was unrealistic behavior that would have gotten him arrested in today’s society, but for which he was applauded in 1936. Seriously, at the end of the movie, after successfully defending his sanity in court, he gives his unscrupulous, money-grubbing accuser a swift right hook, right there in the court-room, in front of the judge. Oh, that’s ok. That crook had it coming! WRONG! I don’t think that would have been realistically acceptable, even in 1936! Having the moral high-ground doesn’t give you the right to punch your opponent in the face.
But the part seemed to be written for Cooper. He really did a great job bringing out the naïveté of the character, the innocence that Mr. Deeds needed. Cooper made you feel bad for him when he tells off a table of rich jerks for making fun of his quaint simplistic mannerisms. But did he have the right to sock two of them in the kissers in the middle of the restaurant? Of course. This was Gary frickin’ Cooper! He was the perfect All-American poster child. And yes, he did a fine job in the role, despite the unrealistic flaws in the character he was playing.
But the movie was more than a story about Mr. Deeds and his inherited millions. It was a romance as well, and Cooper had a fairly good on-screen chemistry with Jean Arthur who played opposite him. Cooper’s portrayal of innocent puppy-love was good, if not compelling, and his crushing sense of dejection when he learns that she has toyed with his affections is clearly brought across. But was Cooper nominated because the Academy liked his acting, or his character? I wonder.