Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

Roles

• Homeless Man - Adult (36-50), Senior (>50), Male

About this piece

A desperate homeless man threatens Mr. Deeds with a gun but then breaks down and cries

Summary

When Martin W. Semple, a wealthy civic leader, dies in a car accident, everybody awaits to know who will be named the heir to his fortune. The closest relative turns out to be Longfellow Deeds (Gary Cooper), a young man from a small town who likes to write poetry and play the tuba in his town's band. As he moves to the big city to get his inheritance, he becomes the target of a lot of people interested in his money. They also think he is simple minded and that they can make fun of him, but it turns out he is not easily outwitted or manipulated. He also meets Babe Bennet, a young reported who pretends to be a damsel in distress to get close to him and write stories about him. Various stories about him are published in the newspaper, including one that he fed doughnuts to a horse. In this scene a homeless man breaks into his mansion and scolds him for not caring about all the people that are starving and can't feed their families. He also takes out a gun out of his pocket and threatens to kill Deeds, only to break down later, apologize and cry.

Tone

Use cases