Contents
Frank Capra
Directing It's a Wonderful Life and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, stories of ordinary people confronting powerful systems.
It Happened One Night · Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
- Born
- 18 May 1897
- Birthplace
- Bisacquino, Italy
- Died
- 3 September 1991
More people
Frank Capra
Frank Capra became a defining Hollywood director of the Depression era, combining comedy, idealism and unease about public power.
Early life
Immigrant childhood
Moved from Sicily to Los Angeles with his family as a young child.
Engineering graduate
Studied chemical engineering at the institution now called Caltech, graduating in 1918.
Career
- 1920s
Silent comedy
Entered filmmaking through small productions and comedy work.
- 1930s
Columbia success
Became a leading director at Columbia Pictures and won three directing Oscars.
- 1940s
Wartime films
Made the Why We Fight documentary series for the US Army.
- 1946
Independent production
Released It's a Wonderful Life through Liberty Films.
Selected work
It Happened One Night
A runaway heiress and a reporter share a cross-country journey.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
An idealistic senator confronts corruption.
It's a Wonderful Life
A despairing man discovers his impact on other lives.
Beyond work
Professional service
Led both the Academy and the Directors Guild.
Autobiography
Published The Name Above the Title in 1971.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗British Film Institute: film and context ↗Photo: Columbia Pictures. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
