First up... Michelle Imbordino's take on FRANK CAPRA.
--Raymond
******
FRANK CAPRA
by Michelle Imbordino
Throughout the history of film,
there have been many wonderful directors whose work have, and will continue to
transcend time. One of these directors is Frank Capra. Frank Capra had an
exciting life and a directing career that was so magnificent and stylistically
his own that he can be called an auteur director.
Much like characters in Frank Capra movies,
Capra lived an interesting life that was full of ups and downs. Frank Capra was
born as Francesco Rosario Capra on May 18th, 1897 in Bisacquino, Sicily. He was
the youngest of seven, and his family was Roman Catholic. When Capra was five,
his family decided to chase the American Dream and come to the US. They settled
in an Italian ghetto in Los Angeles. Later on, Frank Capra graduated high
school, and then went to college and graduated in chemical engineering. After
graduating, and during World War I, Capra decided to enlist in the army (Wikipedia).
While in the army he taught math to artillerymen at Fort Scott, San Francisco. A
year later, his father died, and then Capra caught the Spanish flu and was
medically discharged. In 1920, he became a US citizen and took the name Frank
Russell Capra.
After
finally recovering, Frank Capra decided to travel around the western US for a
couple of years and worked odd jobs along the way. Then, one day Capra read a
newspaper article about a new movie studio opening, called them, and then was
able to land a job with them. Capra didn't really have any experience, but none
the less the studio founder was still impressed and offered him money to direct
a one-reel silent film (Wikipedia). Afterward, Capra began to look for more
similar jobs in the film industry. He took a position with a minor studio, and
then was offered, and received and job to work at Harry Cohn's new studio at
the time. Later on, Capra became a gag writer for Hal Roach's Our Gang series, and then wrote for slapstick
comedy director, Mack Sennett, where he wrote scripts for the comedian Harry
Langdon. Harry Langdon and Frank Capra formed a bond, and so when Langdon left,
and moved to First National Studios, he took Capra along too as his personal
writer and director. Between 1926 and 1927, they made 3 feature films together,
which were all successes with the critics and the public (Wikipedia). But then,
Capra and Langdon had a falling out and Capra was fired. In 1928, Capra went
back to Harry Cohn's studio, which was now named Columbia Pictures. During this
time, sound was making its way into film. Because of Capra's engineering
background, it wasn't difficult for him to adapt to the change.
In
1934, Frank Capra's movie It Happened One
Night was released. This was the movie that put not only Capra on the map,
but also Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, and Columbia Pictures. It was also the
first film to win all five top Oscars (Wikipedia).
His
next film was Broadway Bill. Broadway Bill was a turning point in his
career. It was with this movie that his style and themes came about. Capra
continued on to make more successful movies through the 30's. In 1936, he made Mr. Deeds Goes to Town and won his
second best director Oscar for it. In 1938, You
Can’t Take It with You was released, which Capra received his third
director Oscar for. Then, in 1939, Mr.
Smith Goes to Washington was released, and the following year Meet John Doe came out ("Biography").
In
December 1941, the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred, which led Frank Capra to
enlist as a major in the United States Army. During that time, he was asked to
direct and produce documentaries that explained to the public the reasons for
the US entry into World War II (Wikipedia). His series of documentaries was
called Why We Fight. They were a mix
of documentary footage, animation from Walt Disney, and staged sequences shot
in Hollywood (Dixon). After the war ended, Frank Capra got together with
William Wyle and George Steven and founded their own studio called Liberty
Films. Liberty Films one and only film was It's
a Wonderful Life. It's a Wonderful
Life was released in 1946, and failed at the box office. Regardless, it was
still nominated for five academy awards. In 1948, Capra chose to work with MGM
Pictures to make the movie State of the
Union. This was the only time he worked with MGM Pictures (Wikipedia).
As
the 40's started coming to a close, it was evident that Capra's themes and
ideas were out of synch with the rest of nation, which had been socially transformed
by the war. Not only that, but the film industry was also changing (Dixon). During
the Korean War, in 1950, Capra tried to re-enlist in the Army, but was turned
down. He was dejected. By 1952, Capra had mostly retired from Hollywood, and
went on to produce educational films on science topics for Caltech. Capra's
last film was Rendezvous in Space,
and it was released in 1964 (Wikipedia). By 1967, Capra was officially retired
from Hollywood.
In
Capra's personal life, he had two wives. He was married to his first wife, Helen
Howell, between 1923 and 1928. Then, in 1928, he married his second wife
Lucille Warner. They ended up having 3 children together, and then their
children then went on to have children of their own (Wikipedia). Between 1939
and 1941, Frank Capra was the President of the Screen Directors Guild. He was
also the president of the Directors Guild of America (or DGA) between 1960 and
1961. In 1982, Frank Capra received a Life Achievement Award from the American
Film Institute ("1982...”). Three years later, and at the age of 88, Frank
Capra died. The following year he was awarded the Nation Medal of Arts (Wikipedia).
While Frank Capra may have died, he also lived, and boy, did he live greatly.
As one of the most beloved
directors, Frank Capra's impact on the history of film is undeniable. For
starters, Frank Capra put Columbia Studios, which was once one of the studios
on poverty row, on the map. He also helped the careers of Clark Gable,
Claudette Colbert, James Stewart, Cary Grant, Gary Cooper, and Jean Arthur (Wikipedia).
Another major impact Frank Capra had on the history of film, was being one of
the first creators of the film movement screwball comedy. Screwball comedies
are characterized as movies where there's farcical situations, a unpredictable
plot, battle of the sexes, escapist themes, plot lines involving courtship and
marriage, witty dialogue, and they typically follow a couple that doesn't like
each other at first but then grows to love each other by the end. Capra's first
screwball comedy was It Happened One
Night. Some of his other screwball comedies include Broadway Bill, You Can’t Take
It with You, and Mr. Deeds Goes to
Town ("Screwball..."). Screwball comedies blew up during the
Great Depression because they were escapist films; and if there was anything
Frank Capra was excellent at, it was creating escapist films. His next greatest
impact on film history was just that; providing movie goers throughout time,
and especially during the Great Depression, with the hope and joy they needed
to continue on, because with the absence of hope, there is no life.
Stylistically and thematically Frank
Capra's films were his own. Because of this, he is considered an auteur. One
major characteristic of Frank Capra films is that each one is able to strike
the perfect balance between light and dark. There is pain and loss, but never
any deep sense of tragedy. Also, in some Capra films, the story revolves around
a simple man who tries to fight corruption in a society, and then in the end he
triumphs. The best example of this is probably Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Mr.
Smith Goes to Washington tells the story of a naive, idealistic man who
goes to Washington to fill a vacancy in the US Senate. Things don't go as
planned, and he is faced with political corruption, which he stubbornly opposes
until he wins in the last minutes. Another characteristic in Frank Capra films
is his use of vertical swipe transitions. One example is the movie It's a Wonderful Life, where there's
many. Another aspect of many Frank Capra films is wise-cracking and sharp
dialogue. This can probably be best seen in his screwball comedies. For
example, the movie It Happened One Night.
In said movie, there is a lot of witty banter between the two main characters. Banter
that has mostly resulted because the characters had issues surrendering their
feelings to each other. Another characteristic of Capra movies is his choice of
actors and actress. In more than one film the following stars, star: Jean
Arthur, James Stewart, and Gary Cooper. Furthermore, I don't think anyone can
describe Frank Capra movies better than he did when he received the Life
Achievement Award from the American Film Institute in 1982. He said "The
art of Frank Capra is very, very simple: It's the love of people. Add two
simple ideals to this love of people: the freedom of each individual and the
equal importance of each individual, and you have the principle upon which I
based all my films" (Frank Capra Accepts).
Frank Capra was a remarkable, auteur
director, who's work will live on in infamy, or at least so long as movies
exist. He was a man who restored human spirits, with just a little bit of
magic. A man who's genuine, feel-good films that in a kaleidoscope whirlwind and
yin and yang fashion, mix the pain of life with the joy in perfect harmony,
will always be cherished.
Works
Cited
"1982
FRANK CAPRA TRIBUTE." American Film Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 09
Dec. 2014. <http://www.afi.com/laa/laa82.aspx>.
"Biography." IMDb.
IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2014. <http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001008/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm>.
Dixon,
Wheeler W., and Gwendolyn Audrey. Foster. A Short History of Film. Vol. 2. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers UP, 2013. Print.
Frank
Capra Accepts the 10th AFI Life Achievement Award in 1982. Perf. Frank Capra. YouTube. AFI, n.d. Web.
09 Dec. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t746ZVw09P4>.
"Frank
Capra". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia
Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 07 Dec.
2014 <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/94149/Frank-Capra>.
"Frank
Capra." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 12 May 2014. Web. 09 Dec.
2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Capra>.
"Screwball
Comedy Film." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Nov. 2014. Web. 09
Dec. 2014.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screwball_comedy_film>.
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