Mjeteconer Just perfect...

Manthast Absolutely amazing

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Raymond Sierra The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

mmallon4 The first 10 minutes of It's a Wonderful World is just rather dull set up for an incomprehensible murder mystery, but when Stewart becomes a fugitive on the run trying to prove his innocence and Claudette Colbert enters the picture it's all smooth sailing even with the largely impossible to understand plot.James Stewart is Guy Johnson, a hardboiled detective who often has a cigarette hanging at the end of his mouth like he's Phillip Marlow. The role is a very different change of pace for Stewart but he pulls it off showing he could have easily slipped into a noir/detective thriller. Stewart even channels Clark Gable at times; with even the way he talks to a dog shouting at it to go away is very Gable-like. On top of that, at one point he admits to Colbert's character that he thinks "all dames are dumb and all men ain't" and how she has changed his philosophy on women; don't tell the feminists. I also have to ask does this movie contain Stewart's only ever black face moment in a film? So yes, the on screen personification of a boy scout is now literally poking fun at boy scouts and even tying them up. Claudette Colbert on the other hand plays an overly trusting eccentric poet who states throughout the film, "I swear by my eyes". What does that even mean?It's a Wonderful World offers a genre mix of screwball comedy, murder mystery and even some elements of Hitchcock with the plot of a fugitive on the run to prove his innocence. Likewise many of the solutions' the character's use throughout the film feel like they could be used in a Hitchcock movie such as Colbert lighting the newspaper on fire to escape from the car. No surprise that the film's co-writer Ben Hecht would be a future Hitchcock writer.

JLRMovieReviews I know I ought not to go crazy over this simple comedy, but pairing Claudette Colbert as a poetess who "swears by her eyes" with James Stewart - who goes all out to prove that the man, who's sentenced to die for a crime he didn't commit, is innocent - is totally an outrageous hoot. Claudette is kidnapped by James, when their paths cross, after his escape from a prison truck transferring him. She of course is missed and an APB is put out for her. But she fights with and of course falls for him. In all the excursions together, they tackle and tie up a Boy Scout when he's on to them, she says he's her fiancé when he's decked out in clothes too big for him and with glasses that make him look cross-eyed, and they wind up in a little theater group, when a clue for the real killer leads them there. Guy Kibbee is great in a supporting role, as a friend on the police force, who tries to help him out, but is only successful in being knocked or conked out three times in the movie. And, Guy's convinced if you throw a fit, you can plead insanity. "Oh no, that's them. I'm serious. Now throw a fit." Loopholes? Imperfections? Probably. Laugh-out-loud belly laughs? Silly antics? Incredible situations? A good time for all? Definitely. This is a prime example of a screwball comedy. It may not be in the same class as "Bringing Up Baby," but if you haven't seen "It's a Wonderful World." then you have missed one of the craziest and most delightful screwball comedies ever.

schappe1 This was Jimmy Stewart's last film before "Mr. Smith goes to Washington" and it's easy to see why this one has been forgotten.Stewart plays an obnoxious, (yes, Jimmy Stewart is obnoxious), detective who is arrested for hiding his client while he tries to prove he's been framed. He escapes and kidnaps poetess, (yes, poetess), Claudette Colbert to aid his escape, (she has a car). Inexplicably, she falls for him and aids his escape. But first he has to disguise himself with absurdly thick glasses and do a fake Alabama accent, etc. etc. None of it is funny. There are some impressive talents associated with this film. Their reputations are based on other films. Stewart is totally unappealing and Colbert fatuous.

blanche-2 James Stewart tries his hand at screwball comedy in "It's a Wonderful World," a 1939 film also starring Claudette Colbert, directed by W.S. Van Dyke with a screenplay by Ben Hecht. Supporting players include Guy Kibbee, Nat Pendleton, Sidney Blackmer, and Ernest Truex.Stewart plays a detective, Guy Johnson, whose client (Truex) is charged with a murder he didn't commit. Guy is sentenced to prison, too, as an accessory. On the way to prison via train, he spots a clue in the newspaper and escapes. On the run, he encounters a poetess, Edwina Corday (Colbert), an attractive if clumsy woman, and he has to take her along. The two get into all sorts of trouble on the road to trying to prove Guy's client didn't murder anyone.This film has all the elements of a great screwball comedy, and a lot of potential, but for some reason, it doesn't quite hang together. The script is a little confusing and lets the actors down. It's reminiscent of "It Happened One Night," especially when they're hanging out by the fence, and Colbert's presence indicates to me that the powers that be had that connection in mind.The performances are all excellent, with Stewart and Colbert very funny. It seems that both these actors could do just about anything. With a little bit tighter script, this might have been a real classic. As it is, it's enjoyable and has some good moments.