The Depression Era and-----

You Can't Take It With You (1938) Jean Arthur, James Stewart, Lionel Barrymore, Spring Byington, Ann Miller, Edward Arnold.   
Capra Corn, but for this old gal, I love the memories it jogs - of dinner tables with lots of relatives; men out of work doing crazy hobbies in the basement; and the mean, greedy people who never go away. When I was a very small child, my Dad had been ill and was put on disabled status at the post office (no pay check). Before he was reinstated in 1939, we had lived with his sister in a big ole 3 story house, because Uncle Frank was one of the only members of the clan - inlaws or ourlaws - who had a paying job in 1935. I was 3 and remember those grownups who didn't go to work or kids to school, in the morning, cleaned up the breakfast things and had a bridge game going that people sat in on when they were home. I guess it went on for weeks. I also remember the grownups turning on the radio and dancing; or listening to FDR. It was a group of people who were putting their faith in FDR, and never lost it even during war. This film with the speech by Lionel about not paying taxes because the government wasn't worth anything, would not have been liked by most of our family back in those days. I can remember my Dad's youngest sister finally got a good job as a teacher at a business school, and how proud she was of the SS # and deduction on her first check. That is the story told anyway! So, for anyone wanting a fun view of a house, that I'm sure was modeled on those the filmmakers and writers knew first hand, this is a good one and is only somewhat exaggerated. 7/10   http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030993/


In that big ole Victorian house that I finally re-found about 15 years ago, all those people were doing the best they could - there WERE NO JOBS! We had 2 classes - the very, very rich (ala Stewart's family in the film) and the very poor - the ones called 'socialists' by some - the Vanderhofs.  Dare I say we are heading in the direction of the poor and the disgustingly rich again?

It is almost too late to talk to people who lived through those years. And lots of us don't like to tell people we were scared and didn't know if we would make it through another winter. You see, we had to buy coal and lots of people, my family among them, would have to go to a loan-shark to get through the winter. And I do remember that very well. I was 7 and getting the load of coal was a highlight of our fall season. LOL  And the discussions and arguments over what should be done.  And always money was uppermost in most discussions.  Ah!  The good ole days.  Pardon me while I laugh until I cry.