Mr. Deeds Goes to Town 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown December 8, 2024

Making its UltraHD debut in 4K is director Frank Capra's 1936 classic Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, which features a surprisingly robust morality tale along with a string of fantastic performances. The film was previously released on Blu-ray in 2016 with an excellent audio/video presentation, so this one isn't a major upgrade. However, Sony's new 2160p video presentation and two-channel lossless mono track represent the definitive version of the film. The disc also features a new audio commentary and several previously released extras from 2016.

When wealthy Martin W. Semple dies, he leaves $20 million to his nephew, Longfellow Deeds (a delightful and quaintly relatable Gary Cooper), a tuba-playing resident of smalltown America, in Mandrake Falls, Vermont. John Cedar (Douglas Dumbrille), the deceased's lawyer, and Cornelius Cobb (Lionel Stander), a press agent, tell Deeds about his fortune and take him to New York City. Deeds quickly becomes tangled in the problems of the rich, including being the chairman of the board of the local opera company and dismissing a false claimant to the estate. Meanwhile, Cedar tries to obtain power of attorney from Deeds to cover up the half-million dollars his firm embezzled from the estate. Cobb fights off the press, with the exception of Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Babe Bennett (Jean Arthur), who poses as impoverished Mary Dawson. She faints in front of the kindhearted Deeds, who takes her to a restaurant and falls for her almost immediately. As the weeks pass, Cedar becomes distraught that he has yet to obtain power of attorney from Deeds, while Mr. and Mrs. Semple, Deeds' cousins, come to the law firm to make a claim against him. Meanwhile, Babe, who's falling in love with Deeds, continues to secretly publish inflammatory articles about him.

Click here to read Jeffrey Kauffman's 2016 review of the film, which he says "plays more in a sweetly romantic environment than in the sort of screwball comedy Capra exploited in It Happened One Night and You Can't Take It with You." Adding, "The performances, as they uniformly are in Capra's films, are all wonderful, with Cooper bringing out the childlike side of Deeds winningly in such famous moments as the scene where Longfellow slides down the elegant banister of his new mansion."

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, quite simply, has never looked better than it does here. Even compared to its top tier-scoring 2016 Blu-ray, the video presentation is subtly crisper, richer and more pleasing to the eye. An almost velvety veneer of grain retains a faithful demeanor, allowing detail to really shine. Edges are clean and naturally fine-tuned, textures are revealing, and delineation is excellent. Color (as it were) and contrast are dialed into perfection as well. Handsomely rich black levels are deep, brighter whites pop, and the entire image boasts a notable depth and dimensionality. Gray midtones are lovely, without any sign of blocking or banding to muck up the works, and the encode is roomy and flawless. There also aren't any signs of print wear, nor anything that would signal artificiality from the removal of any specks, lines or blemishes, This is as much a product of the 21st century as it is the 1930s, and I find myself grasping for anything to nitpick. Fortunately, I failed to find anything that rises to the level of a gripe, much less a complaint!

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town arrives complete with a DTS-HD Master Audio mono mix that's as pleasant as Cooper's Longfellow Deeds. Dialogue is reproduced to perfection, with clean, intelligible clarity and pinpoint prioritization. It all retains its catalog tone without languishing in hissy, airy missteps. Sound effects and music are full and brimming with character, and there isn't anything beyond a slight tinny disposition to warrant criticism.

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The latest edition of Mr. Deeds Goes to Town features a new extra currently exclusive to the Frank Capra at Columbia Collection: a newly recorded Audio Commentary with film historian Steven C. Smith and author Victoria Riskin. The disc also offers several things previously available on other releases, including:

• Audio Commentary with Frank Capra Jr.
• Frank Capra Jr. Remembers... Mr. Deeds Goes to Town featurette
• Vintage Advertising Gallery
• Theatrical Re-Release Trailer

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town still works, and works wonderfully. Far more wholesome and sincere than the Adam Sandler remake that would follow some seventy years later, it remains a classic and one worthy of finding a new audience in the 21st century. Sony's 4K remaster is fantastic, sometimes breathtaking even, and offers a tip-top video presentation, a strong lossless mono audio offering, and quite a few extras, including a newly recorded audio commentary.