Name: Frank Capra
Date of Birth: 18 May 1897 Studied electrical engineering at CalTech, and only began working in films as a temporary summer job. Interred at Coachella Valley Cemetery, Coachella, California, USA. Awarded American Film Institute Life Achievement Award. [1982] Capra was once a gag man for the Keystone Film Company (best known for its Keystone Kops shorts). Father of Frank Capra Jr. (born March 20th 1934 - died December 19th 2007)), Tom Capra (born February 12th 1941), Lulu Capra (born September 16th 1937) and John Capra (born April 12th 1935 - died August 23rd 1938). Family lived in Fallbrook, California, USA. ... President of the Screen Directors Guild. [1939-1941] President of the Directors Guild of America (DGA). [1960-1961] He got his first film assignment by answering an ad in a Los Angeles newspaper. Critics dubbed his movies as "Capra-corn" for their simple and sappy storylines. Was voted the 9th Greatest Director of all time by Entertainment Weekly. Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume One, 1890-1945." Pages 96-103. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1987. When he was nominated for his first Best Director Oscar in 1933 (for Lady for a Day (1933)), presenter Will Rogers merely opened the envelope and said "Come and get it, Frank!" Already halfway to the stage, Capra realized that Rogers wasn't referring to him, but to Frank Lloyd, who was getting the Oscar for Cavalcade (1933). Directed 10 different actors in Oscar-nominated performances: May Robson, Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Gary Cooper, H.B. Warner, Spring Byington, James Stewart, Claude Rains, Harry Carey and Peter Falk. Gable and Colbert won Academy Awards for their roles in It Happened One Night (1934). His father, Turiddu, died in a horrible factory accident in 1915. When the aging man was working some gears, he got caught in the gears and was nearly ripped in half. Hosted the Academy Awards in 1936 and 1939. Emigrated to America with his parents in 1903. They settled in Los Angeles, where his older brother was already living. President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1935 to 1939 Head of jury at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1958. Had a son, Johnny, who died in 1938, at about age 3, of complications arising from a tonsillectomy. Great-grandfather of actor Francis Capra. Claimed that both Barbara Stanwyck and Frank Sinatra "left their best scenes in rehearsal," saying that all subsequent takes got stale quickly. Capra would often shoot scenes with them without any rehearsing at all. This used to drive the other actors nuts. Edward G. Robinson once stormed off the set of A Hole in the Head (1959) and asked to be let out of his contract because he was used to rehearsing all his roles. Said Jean Arthur would get real tense and often become violently sick before shooting began. However, he said she always managed to compose herself when the cameras started to roll and acted as though nothing was wrong. Claimed that Frank Sinatra had the potential to be the best actor there ever was. He once told Frank to quit his musical career and concentrate solely on acting and that if he did he would go down as the greatest actor who ever lived. Inspired the adjective "Capraesque". He was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts in 1986 by the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington, DC. Is the second most-represented filmmaker (behind Steven Spielberg) on the American Film Institute's 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time, with four of his films on the list. They are: Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) at #83, Meet John Doe (1941) at #49, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) at #5, and the most uplifting movie of all time, It's a Wonderful Life (1946). Capra heavily influenced friend, Producer/Director Thomas R. Bond II, where Bond gained most of his knowledge in directing and producing. Was originally supposed to write and direct Circus World (1964) but quit the project when star John Wayne rejected Capra's script and instead insisted it be written by his old friend, James Edward Grant. Although most of his films were written by individuals on the political left who tended to exude the spirit of the New Deal, Capra himself was a lifelong conservative Republican who never voted for President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, admired Francisco Franco and Benito Mussolini and later, during the McCarthy "Red Scare era. served as a secret FBI informer for his friend J. Edgar Hoover. Interviewed in "Talking to the Piano Player: Silent Film Stars, Writers and Directors Remember" by Stuart Oderman (BearManor Media). Profiled in "Conversations with Directors: An Anthology of Interviews from Literature/Film Quarterly", E.M. Walker, D.T. Johnson, eds. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2008. Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume 3, 1991-1993, pages 96-98. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2001. He was a staunch opponent of abortion and donated funds to support the Human Life Amendment. Read more Frank Capra movies (director)
Pocketful of Miracles [No links available]
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Die unteren Zehntausend
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