BEST FRANK CAPRA MOVIES
“It Happened One Night” (1934) One of the greatest of all “road” movies, this Capra-directed saga of a reporter (Clark Gable) and a fugitive heiress (Claudette Colbert) swept its year’s Oscars for best picture, director, actor and actress.
“Mr. Deeds Goes to Town” (1936) A simple fellow (Gary Cooper) finds his life drastically changed when he inherits a fortune. This is one of several films Turner Classic Movies will show Wednesday, Jan. 19, to highlight the collaborations between Capra and female lead Jean Arthur.
“Lost Horizon” (1937) Airplane passengers are stranded in the mystical land of Shangri-La in Capra’s excellent adaptation of the James Hilton novel; Ronald Colman, Jane Wyatt and Sam Jaffe are among the stars.
“You Can’t Take It With You” (1938) The complications between two families about to be united by marriage fuel this screen adaptation of the stage comedy, with Jean Arthur and James Stewart heading the great cast.
“Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” (1939) To what famously was one of Hollywood’s best years for movies, Capra contributed the comedy-drama about a novice politician (James Stewart, working again with Jean Arthur here) determined to keep his peers in the United States Senate honest.
“Meet John Doe” (1941) Gary Cooper reteamed with Capra to play a man hired by a newspaper to embody a fictional person created in a bid to get attention for its social commentary of the era.
“Arsenic and Old Lace” (1943) The stage hit remains great fun on film as Cary Grant plays a newly engaged author who leads some rather drastic information about his beloved aunts (Josephine Hull, Jean Adair).
“It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946) Well, of course. Long a holiday-season perennial – particularly on Christmas Eve – Capra’s saga of ne’er-do-well George Bailey (James Stewart) and novice angel Clarence (Henry Travers), who saves him from taking very permanent action in the belief that others would have been better off without him – is as poignant and affecting as ever. With as beloved as the film has become, it’s amazing to think it didn’t make such of an impact on critics or audiences when it first was released.
“State of the Union” (1948) Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn are in top form together in Capra’s comedy that smartly mixes marriage with politics.
“A Hole in the Head” (1959) Frank Sinatra is hugely engaging as a Miami hotel operator trying to raise his young son (Eddie Hodges) while debating whether to change the pattern his social life. The movie introduced the song “High Hopes.”
“Pocketful of Miracles” (1961) The last fictional film Capra directed is a “My Fair Lady”-ish tale of a dowager (Bette Davis) who becomes the object of a makeover effort by a mobster and his girlfriend (Glenn Ford, Hope Lange).