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Frank Capra
Director 1897 - 1991

Frank Capra

Bisacquino, Sicilia, Italia

Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario 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), You... Read full bio →

Directed Films

Every film this person directed

32 titles
Pocketful of Miracles

Pocketful of Miracles

Frank Capra 1961 2h 16m 5.5

How can a drunken beggar in just one night become a High-Society woman? This type of thing only happens in fairytales. Or maybe in Hollywood.

A Hole in the Head

A Hole in the Head

Frank Capra 1959 2h 6.0

An impractical widower tries to hang onto his Miami hotel and his 12-year-old son.

Here Comes the Groom

Here Comes the Groom

Frank Capra 1951 1h 53m

Foreign correspondent Pete Garvey has 5 days to win back his former fiancée, or he'll lose the orphans he adopted.

State of the Union

State of the Union

Frank Capra 1948 2h 4m 6.5

An industrialist is urged to run for President, but this requires uncomfortable compromises on both political and marital levels.

It's a Wonderful Life

It's a Wonderful Life

Frank Capra 1946 2h 11m 8.9

An angel helps a compassionate but despairingly frustrated businessman by showing what life would had been like if he never existed.

War Comes to America

War Comes to America

Frank Capra, Anatole Litvak 1945 1h 10m

The seventh and final film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight World War II propaganda film series. This entry attempts to describe the factors leading up to America's entry into the Second World War.

The Battle of China

The Battle of China

Frank Capra, Anatole Litvak 1944 1h 5m

The sixth film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight propaganda film series illustrates Japan's occupation of China, including Madame Chiang Kai-Shek's stirring address before congress, the rape of Nanking, the great 2,000 mile migration, and Claire Chennault's Flying Tigers.

Arsenic and Old Lace

Arsenic and Old Lace

Frank Capra 1944 1h 58m 8.6

The American screwball comedy from 1944 based off of the theatrical piece of the same name from Joseph Kesselring adapted from the author Julius J. Epstein. Cary Grant’s hands are full when his crazy family neglects his marriage.

The Nazis Strike

The Nazis Strike

Frank Capra, Anatole Litvak 1943 42m

The second film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight propaganda film series. It introduces Germany as a nation whose aggressive ambitions began in 1863 with Otto von Bismarck and the Nazis as its latest incarnation.

The Battle of Russia

The Battle of Russia

Frank Capra, Anatole Litvak 1943 1h 23m

The fifth film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight propaganda film series, revealing the nature and process of the fight between the Soviet Union and Germany in the Second World War.

The Battle of Britain

The Battle of Britain

Frank Capra, Anthony Veiller 1943 53m

The fourth of Frank Capra's Why We Fight series of seven propaganda films, which made the case for fighting and winning the Second World War. It was released in 1943 and concentrated on the German bombardment of the United Kingdom in anticipation of Operation Sea Lion, the planned German invasion.

Divide and Conquer

Divide and Conquer

Frank Capra, Anatole Litvak 1943 57m

The third film of Frank Capra's 'Why We Fight" propaganda film series, dealing with the Nazi conquest of Western Europe in 1940.

Prelude to War

Prelude to War

Frank Capra, Anatole Litvak 1942 53m

Prelude to War was the first film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight propaganda film series, commissioned by the Pentagon and George C. Marshall. It was made to convince American troops of the necessity of combating the Axis Powers during World War II. This film examines the differences between democratic and fascist states.

Meet John Doe

Meet John Doe

Frank Capra 1941 2h 3m 7.0

A penniless drifter is recruited by an ambitious columnist to impersonate a non-existent person who said he'd be committing suicide as a protest, and a social movement begins.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Frank Capra 1939 2h 10m 8.2

A naive man is appointed to fill a vacancy in the US Senate. His plans promptly collide with political corruption, but he doesn't back down.

You Can't Take It with You

You Can't Take It with You

Frank Capra 1938 2h 6m 7.6

Alice, the only relatively normal member of the eccentric Sycamore family, falls in love with Tony Kirby. His wealthy banker father, Anthony P. Kirby, and his snobbish mother, strongly disapprove of the match. When the Kirbys are invited to dinner to become better acquainted with their future in-laws, things do not turn out the way Alice had hoped.

Lost Horizon

Lost Horizon

Frank Capra 1937 2h 12m 7.8

The movie is based on the book of the same name by James Hinton The survivors of of an air crash in the Himalayas are rescued by the inhabitants of Shangri-La.

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

Frank Capra 1936 1h 55m 7.5

Longfellow Deeds lives in a small town, leading a small town kind of life. When a relative dies and leaves Deeds a fortune, Longfellow moves to the big city where he becomes an instant target for everyone. Deeds outwits them all until Babe Bennett comes along. When small-town boy meets big-city girl anything can, and does, happen.

It Happened One Night

It Happened One Night

Frank Capra 1934 1h 45m 8.0

Comic romance between a down-to-earth newspaper reporter and a spoiled runaway heiress.

Broadway Bill

Broadway Bill

Frank Capra 1934 1h 44m 6.0

A runaway heiress and her sister's husband join forces to race the latter's fast horse, Broadway Bill.

The Bitter Tea of General Yen

The Bitter Tea of General Yen

Frank Capra 1933 1h 27m 8.0

An American missionary is gradually seduced by a courtly warlord holding her in Shanghai.

Lady for a Day

Lady for a Day

Frank Capra 1933 1h 36m 7.0

A gangster helps an old apple-vendor pose as a society woman to fool her visiting daughter.

Forbidden

Forbidden

Frank Capra 1932 1h 25m 6.0

A librarian takes a cruise and falls for an unobtainable man, a district attorney married to an invalid.

American Madness

American Madness

Frank Capra 1932 1h 16m 7.0

American Madness is a film from director Frank Capra from 1932. Set during the depression the film depicts a bank trustee involved in a robbery scandal.

The Miracle Woman

The Miracle Woman

Frank Capra 1931 1h 30m

After an unappreciated minister dies, his daughter loses her faith in God, prompting her to open a phony temple with a con man. Can the love of a blind aviator restore her faith and happiness?

Platinum Blonde

Platinum Blonde

Frank Capra 1931 1h 29m 6.7

A young woman from a very rich family impulsively marries a reporter, but each assumes the other is the one whose lifestyle must change.

Dirigible

Dirigible

Frank Capra 1931 1h 40m

Jack Bradon is tasked to reach the South Pole with a dirigible.

Ladies of Leisure

Ladies of Leisure

Frank Capra 1930 1h 40m 7.0

An upper-crust artist hires a 'party girl' as a model; romance follows.

The Power of the Press

The Power of the Press

Frank Capra 1928 1h 2m

The naive newspaper cub Clem lands a scoop when he's sent out to cover a murder. In his enthusiasm he writes that the main suspect is Jane. When she confronts Clem, she convinces him to help her prove her innocence.

The Matinee Idol

The Matinee Idol

Frank Capra 1928 56m 6.0

A Broadway matinee idol famous for his black-face portrayals anonymously joins an amateur acting troupe and falls in love with the leading lady.

Long Pants

Long Pants

Frank Capra 1927 1h 8.0

Harry Shelby receives his first pair of long pants. He immediately falls in love with a cocaine-smuggling flapper named Bebe. When Bebe is imprisoned, he decides to rescue her; to do this, he must break off his forthcoming wedding to his childhood sweetheart Priscilla by any means necessary--including murder.

The Strong Man

The Strong Man

Frank Capra 1926 1h 15m 8.0

A meek Belgian soldier, fighting in World War I, receives a letter and a photo from "Mary Brown", an American girl he has never met. After the war, he travels to America searching for her.

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