AMERICAN MADNESS (1932) Have we learned nothing about the economy in 77 years?

The first of director Frank Capra's dramas dealing with tough social issues, AMERICAN MADNESS takes us inside a mid-size bank during the Depression years. Wonderful Walter Huston (the grizzled prospector in THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE 16 years later) is the amiable, deeply caring bank president with a lot on his plate including a hostile Board trying to stop his making loans to customers whom they consider to be bad risks, a dishonest employee who steals and an honest one with a record for stealing (Pat O’Brien), a robbery, a bored wife who appears to be having an affair, and a massive run on his bank that threatens to wipe out his 25 years of faithful service to his bank and community. You'll see echoes of IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, which Capra made more than a decade later. Dated as it may look, it raises banking and economic issues eerily similar to current ones.  (Trivia note: Capra was a well-known stickler for detail. Example: in several scenes, his camera treats us to an inside look at the mechanics of locking and unlocking a giant valut, and how cash was hand-delivered and allocated among the tellers. I found this stuff quite interesting.)