Frank Capra's rise to fame as one of early Hollywood's most acclaimed directors.Frank Capra's rise to fame as one of early Hollywood's most acclaimed directors.Frank Capra's rise to fame as one of early Hollywood's most acclaimed directors.
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Francesco Rosario Capra's Triumph of Innocence Over Corruption
Classic Film Director Frank Capra appears in one of his final interviews, produced in 1988, for Italian television, and broadcast on "Biography," on December 14, 1994, with Capra and other Interview Guests serving as narrators, to introduce still photographs and clips of films which Capra directs.
This episode contains little in the way of background information during Frank's formative years, other than photograph captions, as "Born in Bisacquino, Sicily (Italy), May 18, 1897."
Upon Frank Capra's arrival in the States, he studies Engineering at California Institute of Technology, before serving in the U.S. Armed Forces in Europe during World War I.
Upon his return, Frank discovers no career opportunities in Engineering, but an accidental meeting with a former instructor leads him to Hollywood, to work as a technician in Silent Films.
Working with Mack Sennett, before accepting a position at Columbia Pictures, Frank Capra decides to direct, but in order to hone his skills, he decides to study every aspect of film-making, by working at a film laboratory in San Francisco, to learn editing, splicing and other technical maneuvers, under the notion that the director is the artist, who is not part of a committee, but produces the complete work.
Frank Capra soon turns Columbia Pictures from "Poverty Row" into a competitive studio, by directing noteworthy Classics during the Talkie Period and throughout those Depression years.
In 1940, he forms his own production company, which folds because of over-taxation, and soon he returns to the Service to join the WWII War Effort, to produce a series of patriotic pictures to boost Allies' morale, in the "Why We Fight" series.
Throughout the remaining decades of his career, Frank Capra travels and speaks on the college lecture circuit to encourage would-be filmmakers with his experience in the industry.
Remarks Frank Capra, "Motion pictures are just shadows on the wall, with microphones that talk. But to audiences, they come alive, and become real. Audiences care about them as real people."
For this reason, he becomes a perfectionist, often heeding the reactions of preview audiences, and re-shooting scenes and endings to create maximum audience approval.
As he brings to life many a cinematic hero, many of those around him, as well as fans for decades to follow maintain agreement in considering Frank Capra a cinematic hero, as well.
Interview Guests for this episode consist of Frank Capra (Self), Jeanine Basinger (Wesleyan University Cinema Archives Director), Ann Doran (Actress), Coleen Gray (Actress), Shirley Jones (Actress), Jane Wyatt (Actress), Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. (Actor), Delbert Mann (Director), Melville Shavelson (Director), Victor Scherle (Author: "The Complete Films of Frank Capra"), and Charles Champlin (Film Critic), with Jack Perkins (Host).
Still Photographs include Frank Capra, Parents and Family, Harry Langdon, Barbara Stanwyck, Jean Harlow, Claudette Colbert, Clark Gable, U.S. General George C. Marshall, and U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
Archive film footage includes Ronald Colman, Jane Wyatt, Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, James Stewart, Walter Brennan, Regis Toomey, Edward Arnold, James Gleason, Cary Grant, Donna Reed, Gloria Grahame, Lionel Barrymore, Henry Travers and Bette Davis.
Film Clips include scenes from Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), Lost Horizon (1937), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Meet John Doe (1941), Why We Fight (series), Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), It's a Wonderful Life (1946), and Pocketful of Miracles (1961).
This episode contains little in the way of background information during Frank's formative years, other than photograph captions, as "Born in Bisacquino, Sicily (Italy), May 18, 1897."
Upon Frank Capra's arrival in the States, he studies Engineering at California Institute of Technology, before serving in the U.S. Armed Forces in Europe during World War I.
Upon his return, Frank discovers no career opportunities in Engineering, but an accidental meeting with a former instructor leads him to Hollywood, to work as a technician in Silent Films.
Working with Mack Sennett, before accepting a position at Columbia Pictures, Frank Capra decides to direct, but in order to hone his skills, he decides to study every aspect of film-making, by working at a film laboratory in San Francisco, to learn editing, splicing and other technical maneuvers, under the notion that the director is the artist, who is not part of a committee, but produces the complete work.
Frank Capra soon turns Columbia Pictures from "Poverty Row" into a competitive studio, by directing noteworthy Classics during the Talkie Period and throughout those Depression years.
In 1940, he forms his own production company, which folds because of over-taxation, and soon he returns to the Service to join the WWII War Effort, to produce a series of patriotic pictures to boost Allies' morale, in the "Why We Fight" series.
Throughout the remaining decades of his career, Frank Capra travels and speaks on the college lecture circuit to encourage would-be filmmakers with his experience in the industry.
Remarks Frank Capra, "Motion pictures are just shadows on the wall, with microphones that talk. But to audiences, they come alive, and become real. Audiences care about them as real people."
For this reason, he becomes a perfectionist, often heeding the reactions of preview audiences, and re-shooting scenes and endings to create maximum audience approval.
As he brings to life many a cinematic hero, many of those around him, as well as fans for decades to follow maintain agreement in considering Frank Capra a cinematic hero, as well.
Interview Guests for this episode consist of Frank Capra (Self), Jeanine Basinger (Wesleyan University Cinema Archives Director), Ann Doran (Actress), Coleen Gray (Actress), Shirley Jones (Actress), Jane Wyatt (Actress), Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. (Actor), Delbert Mann (Director), Melville Shavelson (Director), Victor Scherle (Author: "The Complete Films of Frank Capra"), and Charles Champlin (Film Critic), with Jack Perkins (Host).
Still Photographs include Frank Capra, Parents and Family, Harry Langdon, Barbara Stanwyck, Jean Harlow, Claudette Colbert, Clark Gable, U.S. General George C. Marshall, and U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
Archive film footage includes Ronald Colman, Jane Wyatt, Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, James Stewart, Walter Brennan, Regis Toomey, Edward Arnold, James Gleason, Cary Grant, Donna Reed, Gloria Grahame, Lionel Barrymore, Henry Travers and Bette Davis.
Film Clips include scenes from Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), Lost Horizon (1937), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Meet John Doe (1941), Why We Fight (series), Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), It's a Wonderful Life (1946), and Pocketful of Miracles (1961).
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- Jul 18, 2010
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