After all the material I have read about so many better known Frank Capra movies, I am amazed that this one has not been more widely acclaimed. "American Madness" tells a great big, intricate tale involving a host of characters tangled up in a fairly complex sequence of events, and all in less than an hour and a half. As the pace of the action grows ever quicker, and the screen imagery becomes more and more spectacular, the film skillfully holds the viewer's undivided attention without any slack moments. True to the Capra style, there a moments of preachy grand-standing, which one should expect in such movies of this era. The conclusion of the show, also typical of Capra films, is a bit too neat and tidy for today's more jaded and skeptical tastes; however, if you like this director's best work, this one should not be missed. Such a skillful, riveting, and economic dramatization of a rousing, ambitious spellbinder of a tale is very rare in any era.
Review of American Madness
