Frank Capra
| Frank Capra | |
|---|---|
 Frank Capra cuts army film as a Signal Corps Reserve major during World War II. |
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| Born | Francesco Rosario Capra[citation needed] May 18, 1897 Bisacquino, Sicily, Italy |
| Died | September 3, 1991 (aged 94) La Quinta, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Director, producer, writer |
| Years active | 1922–1961 |
| Spouse | Helen Howell (1923-1927) Lou Capra (1932-1984); 4 children |
Frank Russell Capra (May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was a Sicilian-born American film director and a creative force behind a number of films of the 1930s and 1940s, including It Happened One Night (1934), Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), Lost Horizon (1937), You Can't Take It With You (1938), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Meet John Doe (1941), Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) and It's a Wonderful Life (1946).
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[edit] Early life
Born as Frank Rosario Capra (some sources indicate Francesco Rosario Capra)[citation needed] in Bisacquino, Sicily, he immigrated to the United States in 1903 with his parents, Salvatore Capra (nicknamed as "Turiddu") and Rosaria (later known as "Sarah"; née Nicolosi) and his siblings Giuseppa, Giuseppe, and Antonia.
In California the family met with Benedetto Capra (the oldest sibling, known as "Benjamin") and settled in Los Angeles. Frank Capra attended Manual Arts High School there. In 1918, he graduated from Throop Institute (now the California Institute of Technology) with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering.[1]
[edit] World War I
During World War I, Capra enlisted in the United States Army on October 18, 1918. He taught ballistics and mathematics to artillerymen at Fort Winfield Scott in the Presidio of San Francisco. While there, he caught Spanish flu and was medically discharged with the rank of second lieutenant on December 13, 1918. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1920 as Frank Russell Capra.
[edit] Film career
Capra began as a prop man in silent films.[2] However, Capra's first exposure to films occurred in 1915 while he was attending Manual Arts High School. At Manual Arts, Capra's teacher, Rob Wagner, directed Our Wonderful Schools, a documentary on the Los Angeles Unified School District. Capra worked on the film as an editor. The film was produced by Reliance Film Company and released by Mutual Film. The film won a medal at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition fair in San Francisco. Later, Capra wrote and directed silent film comedies starring Harry Langdon and the Our Gang kids. Capra went to work for Mack Sennett in 1924 and then moved to Columbia Pictures, where he became the top director at the small studio, and eventually one of the most honored directors in Hollywood. During his years there he also formed a close association with screenwriter Robert Riskin (husband of Fay Wray) and cameraman Joseph Walker.
For the 1934 film It Happened One Night, Robert Montgomery and Myrna Loy were originally offered the roles, but each felt that the script was poor, and Loy described it as one of the worst she had ever read, later noting that the final version bore little resemblance to the script she and Montgomery were offered.[3] After Loy, Miriam Hopkins and Margaret Sullavan also each rejected the part.[4] Constance Bennett wanted to, but only if she could produce it herself. Then Bette Davis wanted the role,[5] but she was under contract with Warner Brothers and Jack Warner refused to loan her to Columbia Studios.[6] Capra was unable to get any of the actresses he wanted for the part of Ellie Andrews, partly because no self-respecting star would make a film with only two costumes.[7] Harry Cohn suggested Claudette Colbert to play the lead role. Both Capra and Clark Gable enjoyed making the movie; Colbert did not. After the 1934 film It Happened One Night, Capra directed a steady stream of films for Columbia Pictures, intended to be inspirational and humanitarian.[citation needed]
The best known of Capra's films are Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, the original Lost Horizon, You Can't Take It with You, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and It's a Wonderful Life. His ten-year break from screwball comedy ended with the comedy Arsenic and Old Lace. Among the actors who owed much of their early success to Capra were Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, James Stewart, Barbara Stanwyck, Cary Grant and Donna Reed. Capra called Jean Arthur "[his] favorite actress".
Capra's films in the 1930s enjoyed success at the Academy Awards. It Happened One Night was the first film to win all five top Oscars (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay). In 1936, Capra won his second Best Director Oscar for Mr. Deeds Goes to Town; in 1938 he won his third Director Oscar in five years for You Can't Take It with You, which also won Best Picture. In addition to his three directing wins, Capra received directing nominations for three other films (Lady for a Day, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and It's a Wonderful Life). On May 5, 1936, Capra was also host of the 8th Academy Awards ceremony.
[edit] World War II
Frank Capra was commissioned as a major in the United States Army Signal Corps during World War II. He produced State of the Union and directed or co-directed ten documentary propaganda films between 1942 and 1948, including the seven-episode U.S. government-commissioned Why We Fight series—consisting of Prelude to War (1942), The Nazis Strike (1942), The Battle of Britain (1943), Divide and Conquer (1943), The Battle of Britain (1943), The Battle of Russia (1943), The Battle of China (1944)— plus Know Your Enemy: Japan (1945), Tunisian Victory (1945), and Two Down and One to Go (1945) that do not bear the Why We Fight banner;as well as produced the African-American targeted The Negro Soldier (1944). The Why We Fight series is widely considered a masterpiece of influential propaganda and won an Academy Award. Prelude to War won the 1942 Academy Award for Documentary Feature. Capra regarded these films as his most important works. As a colonel, he received the Distinguished Service Medal in 1945.
[edit] Post-war
It's a Wonderful Life (1946) was considered a box office disappointment but it was nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Director, Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Sound Recording and Best Editing. The American Film Institute named it one of the best films ever made, putting it at the top of the list of AFI's 100 Years... 100 Cheers, a list of what AFI considers to be the most inspirational American movies of all time. The film also appeared in another AFI Top 100 list: it placed at 11th on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies list of the top American films.
Capra directed two films at Paramount Pictures starring Bing Crosby, Riding High (1950) and Here Comes the Groom (1951). From 1952-1956, Capra produced four science-related television specials in color for the American Telephone and Telegraph Company: Our Mr. Sun (1956), Hemo the Magnificent (1957), The Strange Case of the Cosmic Rays (1957), and Meteora: The Unchained Goddess (1958). These educational science documentaries were popular favorites for showing in school science classrooms.[8] It was eight years before he directed another theatrical film, A Hole in the Head (1959) with Frank Sinatra, which was his first feature film in color.
Capra's final theatrical film was with Glenn Ford and Bette Davis, named Pocketful of Miracles (1961), a remake of his 1933 film Lady for a Day. In the mid-1960s he worked on pre-production for an adaptation of Martin Caidan's novel Marooned but budgetary constraints made him eventually shelve it.[9]
Capra's final film, Rendezvous in Space (1964), was an industrial film made for the Martin Marietta Company and shown at the 1964 New York World's Fair. It was exhibited at the New York Hall of Science after the Fair ended.
In 1982, the American Film Institute honored Frank Capra with the television film The American Film Institute Salute to Frank Capra, hosted by James Stewart. In 1986, Capra received the National Medal of Arts.
[edit] Autobiography
In 1971, Capra published his autobiography, The Name Above the Title.[10] Upon the book's publication, Capra became a popular guest speaker on the college lecture circuit. Capra was also the subject of a 1991 biography by Joseph McBride, Frank Capra: The Catastrophe of Success.
[edit] Political views
Capra was a Republican who was active in the anti-Communist cause and also donated funds to the Human Life Amendment PAC.[11]
[edit] Family
His son Frank Capra, Jr. — one of the four children born to Capra's second wife, Lucille Capra — was the president of EUE Screen Gems Studios, in Wilmington, North Carolina, until his death on December 19, 2007. His grandson, Frank Capra III, is a Hollywood director and worked as an assistant director in the 1995 film The American President, which referred to Frank Capra in the film's dialogue.
[edit] Death and legacy
Frank Capra died in La Quinta, California, of a heart attack in his sleep in 1991 at the age of 94. He was interred in the Coachella Valley Public Cemetery in Coachella, California.
He left part of his 1,100-acre (4 km2) ranch in Fallbrook, California, to Caltech.[12] Capra's personal papers and some of his film related materials are contained in the Wesleyan University Cinema Archives; which allows scholars and media experts from around the world to have full access.[13]
[edit] Style
Capra films usually carry a definite message about the basic goodness of human nature and show the value of unselfishness and hard work. His wholesome, feel-good themes have led some to term his style Capra-corn, but those who hold his vision in high regard prefer the term Capraesque.
Capra's basic themes of championing the common man, as well as his use of spontaneous, fast-paced dialogue and goofy, memorable lead and supporting characters, made him one of the most popular and respected filmmakers of the 20th century. His influence can be traced in the works of many directors, including Robert Altman[14], Ron Howard[14], Masaki Kobayashi[15], Akira Kurosawa[16], John Lasseter[17], David Lynch,[18] John Milius [14], Martin Scorsese[14], Steven Spielberg[19], Oliver Stone[14] and François Truffaut [20]
[edit] Awards and honors
[edit] Academy Awards
Capra won a total of six Academy Awards. He was nominated six times for Best Director and six times for Outstanding Production/Best Picture. Out of six nominations for Best Director, Capra received the award three times. He briefly held the record for winning the most Best Director Oscars when he won for the third time in 1938, until this record was matched by John Ford in 1941, and then later surpassed by Ford in 1952. William Wyler also matched this record upon winning his third Oscar in 1959.
[edit] American Film Institute
- Life Achievement Award (1982)
[edit] Directors Guild of America
- Best Director Nomination for A Hole in the Head (1959)
- Life Achievement Award (1959)
- Best Director Nomination for Pocketful of Miracles (1961)
[edit] Golden Globe Award
- Best Director Award for It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
[edit] Venice Film Festival
- Mussolini Cups for best foreign film Nomination for It Happened One Night (1934)
- Mussolini Cups for best foreign film Nomination for Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
- Golden Lion (1982)
[edit] American Film Institute recognition
- AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)
- It's a Wonderful Life...# 20
- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington...# 26
- It Happened One Night...# 46
- AFI's 100 Years... 100 Cheers
- It's a Wonderful Life...# 1
- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington...# 5
- Meet John Doe...# 49
- Mr. Deeds Goes to Town...# 83
- AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs
- It Happened One Night...# 8
- Arsenic and Old Lace...# 30
- Mr. Deeds Goes to Town...# 70
- AFI's 100 Years... 100 Passions
- It's a Wonderful Life...# 8
- It Happened One Night...# 38
- AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains
- 50 greatest movie heroes
- It's a Wonderful Life...George Bailey ...# 9
- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington...Jefferson Smith ...# 11
- 50 greatest movie villains
- It's a Wonderful Life...Mister Potter ...# 6
- AFI's 10 Top 10
- Fantasy
- It's a Wonderful Life...# 3
- Romantic Comedies
- It Happened One Night...# 3
- Fantasy
[edit] United States National Film Registry
- The Strong Man (1926)
- It Happened One Night (1934)
- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
- Why We Fight Series of seven films (1942)
- It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
[edit] Filmography
[edit] His Films with Academy Awards
| Year | Film | Oscar Nominations |
Oscar Wins |
Performances Nominations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 | Lady for a Day | 4 | 0 | Best Actress for May Robson (nom) |
| 1934 | It Happened One Night | 5 | 5 | Best Actor for Clark Gable Best Actress for Claudette Colbert |
| 1936 | Mr. Deeds Goes to Town | 5 | 1 | Best Actor for Gary Cooper (nom) |
| 1937 | Lost Horizon | 7 | 2 | Best Supporting Actor for H. B. Warner (nom) |
| 1938 | You Can't Take It With You | 7 | 2 | Best Supporting Actress for Spring Byington (nom) |
| 1939 | Mr. Smith Goes to Washington | 11 | 1 | Best Actor for James Stewart (nom) Best Supporting Actor for Harry Carey (nom) Best Supporting Actor for Claude Rains (nom) |
| 1941 | Meet John Doe | 1 | 0 | |
| 1942 | Prelude to War | 1 | 1 | |
| 1943 | The Battle of Russia | 1 | 0 | |
| 1946 | It's a Wonderful Life | 5 | 0 | Best Actor for James Stewart (nom) |
| 1951 | Here Comes the Groom | 2 | 1 | |
| 1959 | A Hole in the Head | 1 | 1 | |
| 1961 | Pocketful of Miracles | 3 | 0 | Best Supporting Actor for Peter Falk |
[edit] See also
- James Stewart
- The Bell Laboratory Science Series
- Frank Capra at the First International Film Festival of India, 1952
[edit] References
- Notes
- ^ "Distinguished Alumni Award: 1966 Recipients." Caltech Alumni Association. Retrieved; December 18, 2010.
- ^ Capra 1971, pp. 17, 20.
- ^ Kotsabilas-Davis and Loy 1987, p. 94.
- ^ Wiley and Bona 1987, p. 54.
- ^ Weems, Erik. "It Happened One Night - Frank Capra." Updated June 22, 2006.
- ^ Chandler 2006, p. 102.
- ^ Boyes, Laura. "'It Happened One Night.'" moviediva.com. Retrieved: March 26, 2010.
- ^ Capra 1997, p. 443.
- ^ " 'Marooned'." tcm.com. Retrieved: September 26, 2010.
- ^ Gewen, Barry. "It Wasn't Such a Wonderful Life." The New York Times, May 3, 1992. Retrieved: May 2, 2007.
- ^ "Political Donations: Frank Capra." newsmeat.com. Retrieved: September 26, 2010.
- ^ The Caltech Y History
- ^ "Description of the Capra Collection." wesleyan.edu. Retrieved: 23 March 2010.
- ^ a b c d e "The Premiere Frank Capra Collection." DVD Talk Review of the DVD Video. Retrieved: September 26, 2010.
- ^ Christian, Diane and Bruce Jackson. "The Buffalo Film Seminars: Hara Kari (1962), directed by Masaki Kobayashi." csac.buffalo.edu, February 26, 2008. Retrieved: September 26, 2010.
- ^ "BAM/PFA Film Programs: Kurosawa." banpfa.berkeley.edu. Retrieved: September 26, 2010.
- ^ Day, Aubrey "Film features: Interview: John Lasseter." totalfilm.com, June 3, 2009. Retrieved: September 26, 2010.
- ^ Barney 2009, pp. 35, 119, 265.
- ^ "Frank Capra: Hollywood Star Walk." The Los Angeles Times, September 3, 1991. Retrieved: September 26, 2010.
- ^ Dixon 1993, p. 150.
- Bibliography
- Barney, Richard A. David Lynch: Interviews (Conversations with Filmmakers Series). Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2009 ISBN 978-1604732375.
- Capra, Frank. Frank Capra, The Name Above the Title: An Autobiography. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1971. ISBN 0-30680-771-8.
- Chandler, Charlotte. The Girl Who Walked Home Alone: Bette Davis, A Personal Biography. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2006. ISBN 0-78628-639-3.
- Dixon, Wheeler W. The Early Film Criticism of Francois Truffaut. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1993. ISBN 978-0253207715.
- Kotsabilas-Davis, James and Myrna Loy. Being and Becoming. New York: Primus, Donald I Fine Inc., 1987. ISBN 1-55611-101-0.
- McBride, Joseph. Frank Capra: The Catastrophe of Success. New York: Touchstone Books, 1992. ISBN 0-671-79788-3.
- Oderman, Stuart. Talking To the Piano Player: Silent Film Stars, Writers and Directors Remember. Albany, Georgia: BearManor Media, 2005. ISBN 1-59393-013-5.
- Wiley, Mason and Damien Bona. Inside Oscar: The Unofficial History of the Academy Awards. New York: Ballantine Books, 1987. ISBN 0-345-34453-7.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Frank Capra |
- Capra Smith and Doe: Filming the American Hero from American Studies at the University of Virginia
- Frank Capra at the Internet Movie Database Retrieved on May 19, 2009
- Frank Capra at the TCM Movie Database Retrieved on May 19, 2009
- Bibliography
- Capra before he became ‘Capraesque’ BFI Sight & Sound magazine November 2010 article on Capra's early career, by Joseph McBride
- "Sentimental Hogwash?: On Capra's It's A Wonderful Life", Humanitas, Vol. XVIII, No's 1&2, 2005
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