It's a Wonderful World

1939
Approved
1h 26m

IMDb RATING

6.8/10

3.5K

YOUR RATING

James Stewart and Claudette Colbert in It's a Wonderful World (1939)

When a tycoon is accused of murder, the private eye tracking him finds himself roped in as an accessory and attempts to evade police, kidnapping a poetess along the way.

Play trailer2:19

2 Videos

54 Photos

Bumbling Detective Satire Screwball Comedy Comedy Crime Mystery Romance

When a tycoon (Ernest Truex) is accused of murder, the private eye (James Stewart) tracking him finds himself roped in as an accessory and attempts to evade police, kidnapping a poetess (Cla... Read allWhen a tycoon (Ernest Truex) is accused of murder, the private eye (James Stewart) tracking him finds himself roped in as an accessory and attempts to evade police, kidnapping a poetess (Claudette Colbert) along the way.When a tycoon (Ernest Truex) is accused of murder, the private eye (James Stewart) tracking him finds himself roped in as an accessory and attempts to evade police, kidnapping a poetess (Claudette Colbert) along the way.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.8/10

3.5K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
A large portion of the story takes place in Saugerties, New York, a town on the Hudson River, about 100 miles north of New York City.

Goofs
All of the newspapers shown in the film share many of the same articles, with the same headlines and typefaces, despite being in different newspapers and spread across several weeks.

Quotes
Guy Johnson: You sort of changed my whole philosophy about women. I don't know... I always figured they kind of ended at the neck. You sort of begin there.

Connections
Featured in AFI Life Achievement Award: AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to James Stewart (1980)

User reviews50

Review

Featured review

8/10

A Surprise, But Not Because It's Good

What makes this film a surprise is not that it's good. After all, a romantic screwball caper starring Claudette Colbert & Jimmy Stewart, directed by W.S. Van Dyke from a script by Ben Hecht -- how could it *not* be good? No, what surprised me about this film is that as good as it is, it's not currently available on VHS or DVD.

Like Van Dyke's The Thin Man and Hecht's His Girl Friday, It's a Wonderful World combines elements of crime films with the romantic screwball comedy, and the result is both gripping & laugh-out-loud funny.

In their only on-screen pairing, Colbert & Stewart play off each other beautifully; she's the comedic foil to his tough-talking detective, and their romance is handled realistically and with patience. The supporting cast in uniformly excellent, with standout performances from Nat Pendleton & Edgar Kennedy as the bumbling cops on Stewart's trail, and Guy Kibbee as Stewart's partner & friend.

Watching this film, it's hard to believe that it's one of *four* that Van Dyke made in 1939 (especially since one of the others is the even-better Stand Up and Fight). Van Dyke was famous for shooting films quickly, but his direction never seems hurried. A director-for-hire, he was gifted at serving both art and commerce, satisfying both audiences and his bosses at MGM.

Thanks to Turner Classic Movies for giving me the opportunity to see this film, which as I mentioned is otherwise unavailable. Here's hoping that Warner Bros., which owns the rights, releases it soon on home video.

Score: EIGHT out of TEN