newspaperman?
yes, i know. my first concern is to locate the lucky man. when i do, it's your job to keep the newspapers away from him.
good!
i'll do no such thing. i'm going there myself. you're going with me too, anderson - and you too, cobb.
make three reservations on the first train out to mandrake falls, vermont.
mandrake falls.
are you sure this is the town he lives in?
well, i dropped everything at the office - i hope it's not a wild goose chase.
i say, my friend, do you know a fellow by the name of longfellow deeds?
yes.
yes, i
we'd like to get in touch with him. it's very important.
deeds! who do you think i'm talking about?
i guess we'd better try somebody else.
is mr. deeds in?
no, thanks.
that's very kind of you. are you related to him?
well, we'd like to find out something about him. what does he do for a living?
how do you do.
mr. cornelius cobb and mr. anderson.
mr. deeds, are you the son of dr. joseph and mary deeds?
are your parents living?
mr. deeds, does the name of martin w. semple mean anything to you?
well, he passed on. he was killed in a motor accident in italy.
i have good news for you, sir. mr. semple left a large fortune when he died. he left it all to you, mr. deeds. deducting the taxes, it amounts to something in the neighborhood of $20,000,000.
mr. cobb here is an ex-newspaperman associated with your uncle for many years - as a sort of buffer.
yes. you see, rich people need someone to keep the crowds away. the world's full of pests. then there's the newspapers to handle. one must know when to seek publicity - and when to avoid it.
are you a married man, mr. deeds?
you're going to new york with us.
you can't?
he wasn't very anxious to come in the first place.
what?
will you have a cigar?
no?
good morning. where are they?
we've got nothing to worry about. he's as naive as a child.
close that door.
he said he guessed he'd give it away.
well, it hasn't happened yet - has it?
it's merely a suggestion. i don't wish to press the point, mr. deeds, but if you'll give me your power of attorney we'll take care of everything. it'll save you a lot of petty annoyances. every shark in town will be trying to sell you something.
well, you see, your uncle didn't bother with that sort of thing. he left everything to us. he traveled most of the time, and enjoyed himself. you should do the same thing, mr. deeds.
yes. that is to say
well, your uncle was chairman of the board of directors. they probably expect you to carry on.
i think you ought to give this matter some thought, mr. deeds.
i mean, about the power of attorney.
well, don't let him in.
a lawyer representing some woman with a claim against the estate.
he's capable of causing you a lot of trouble, mr. deeds.
i thought i told you to take up this matter with me, hallor.
we'll let the courts decide what her legal position is.
don't make any rash promises
if there's any talk of settlement, hallor, take it up with me at the office.
yes, of course, if you wish. but you must be prepared. this sort of thing will be daily routine.
yes?
nuisance value?
we have very little time. he's ordered me to turn everything over to him immediately. we have to work fast before he disposes of every penny.
there are millions involved. after all, you have your legal rights. you're his only living relatives.
you see, my end is going to be rather expensive. i have a lot of important people to take care of. i have the legal machinery all set and ready to go. i've been working on nothing else for the last week. you say the word, and we'll stop this yokel dead in his tracks.
okay, then. go to it.
find out who wrote those newspaper articles and subpoena them right away.
she tells how, in the midst of a normal conversation, he would suddenly begin playing his tuba. she tells of his attacks upon several of our eminent writers - for no apparent reason. in fact, there are many instances not recorded in these articles in which mr. deeds satisfied an unnatural desire to smash people up without provocation.
i, myself, unable to keep pace with his mental quirks, and constantly fearful of assault, turned down an opportunity to represent him as his attorney. this newspaper woman, whom we have subpoenaed to testify, tells how he tied up traffic for an hour feeding doughnuts to a poor horse. and by his own statement, waiting for that horse to ask for a cup of coffee.
we have photographs to substantiate this little episode, and other photographs showing mr. deeds jumping upon a fire engine. this scarcely sounds like the action of a man in whom the disposition of twenty million dollars may safely be entrusted. this writer of these articles - a woman whose intelligence and integrity in the newspaper world is unquestioned - held him in such contempt that she quite aptly named him "the cinderella man."
we have others who will tell of his unusual behavior when he invited the great leaders of the musical world to his home, and then proceeded to forcibly eject them. only recently when he was in the county hospital for observation, he not only refused to be examined by these gentlemen, the state psychiatrists, but he actually made a violent attack upon them.
in these times, with the country incapacitated by economic ailments, and endangered with an undercurrent of social unrest, the promulgation of such a weird, fantastic and impractical plan as contemplated by the defendant, is capable of fomenting a disturbance from which the country may not soon recover. it is our duty to stop it! our government is fully aware of its difficulties and can pull itself out of its economic rut without the assistance of mr. deeds, or any other crackpot.
miss bennett, are you employed by the morning mail?
i must ask you to direct your attention to me.
this is outrageous!
your honor!
thank you, your honor. are you employed by the morning mail?
were you given an assignment to follow the activities of longfellow deeds?
did you subsequently write a series of articles about him?
were you present when all these things took place?
are they true!
but they did take place?
and you saw them happen?
the falkner sisters are rather timid, your honor, and wish to be together. if the court pleases, i will only have one of them testify.
what is your name, please?
i'll direct my questions to you, miss jane. you can answer for both. do you know the defendant, mr. longfellow deeds?
thank you, that's fine. do you see him very often?
suppose you just answer, miss jane. now, will you tell the court what everybody at home thinks of longfellow deeds?
is that correct?
anything else?
and why?
thank you, ladies. that's all.
your honor, i wish to call your attention to these exhibits. mr. davis, do you recognize these reproductions?
did you make the originals of them?
and now, your honor, if the court pleases, i shall call upon dr. emil von holler, if he will be good enough to give us his opinion. dr. von holler, as you know, is the eminent austrian psychiatrist - probably the greatest authority on the subject in the world. at present he is in this country on a lecture tour, and has graciously volunteered his services. dr. von holler?
now dr. von holler, will you kindly tell the court what your opinion is on this case?
dr. von holler, how would you say that applied to mr. deeds's case?
thank you, dr. von holler.
your honor, we rest.
but your honor - this is preposterous!
your honor, this is absurd. the woman's obviously in love with him.
your honor, her testimony is of no value. why shouldn't she defend him? it's a tribute to american womanhood - the instinct to protect the weak. i'm not saying that nobody likes the boy. i cherish a fond affection for him myself. but that doesn't mean to say
your honor, this is becoming farcical. i demand that mr. deeds dispense with side remarks and confine himself to facts! let him explain his wanderings around the streets in underclothes, his feeding doughnuts to horses!
your honor, i object.
it's a lie!
mr. deeds is drawing on his warped imagination!
it's an insult to our intelligence to sit here and listen to his childish ravings.
but your honor