And you thought your family was loopy...

Though this film does not take place around any holiday, the sentiments in it echo the spirit of what the holidays are all about. The 1938 film You Can't Take It With You, by Frank Capra, shows an early taste of what was to come later in his most famous film, Its A Wonderful Life. In fact, multiple cast members from Its A Wonderful Life show up in this film. The movie is based on a Pulitzer winning play of the same name by two acclaimed writers, George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. Capra made his film while the award-winning play was still running on Broadway.

The film centers around the eccentric, dysfunctional Sycamore family, headed by patriarch Grandpa Martin Vanderhoff (Lionel Barrymore), who enjoys whatever life throws his way, walks in the park, brings home strangers, and attends graduations, weddings, and other celebrations just for the fun of it. This is a stark contrast to the character of Potter he plays later. Grandpa's daughter Penny is a playwright and painter, her husband Paul makes fireworks in the basement, and grandaughters Essie (Ann Miller) is a ballerina while Alice (Jean Arthur) works as a secretary downtown. The family also live with Russian Boris Kohlekhov (Mischa Auer) who teaches Essie ballet, housekeeper Rheba, her boyfriend Poppins, and a strange, wonderful cast of characters. Capra's feathered friend Jimmy the Raven also makes cameo appearances. As it turns out, Alice has fallen for Tony Kirby (James Stewart) and the two plan to get married. The hitch is Tony's powerful father, businessman Anthony P. Kirby (Edward Arnold), who cares only about money thinks Alice isn't good enough for his son, and is also in the process of running the Sycamores and all their neighbors off their properties. It is up to the Sycamores to teach Anthony Kirby what is most important in life.

This is the first film James Stewart and Frank Capra made together, starting one of the

greatest actor/director pairings in history. The film won two Oscars, one for Best Director and another for Best Picture, out of the seven nominations it received. The play version is still widely performed and the film is popular, though perhaps not as well known its counterpart, perhaps the most widely known Christmas film ever.

As films are, not everyone likes them or sees them from the same perspective. There are a few sites that have reviewed this film that can offer you second, third, and so-on opinions about the film. The first is from Deeper Into Movies, which can be found here. The site, Daily Film Dose, has done another review, which you can read here. Website Piddleville.com has a review of the film and so does the Oscar Guy on his site. I encourage you to read these other opinions and respond with your own.