American Madness 1932  N/R, 75 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Frank Capra
Cast: Walter Huston, Pat O'Brien, Kay Johnson, Constance Cummings, Gavin Gordon, Arthur Hoyt, Robert Emmett O'Connor, Sterling Holloway, Walter Walker, Robert Ellis
During the 1890s depression, bank president Thomas Dickson (Walter Huston) is at odds with his board members who want to merge with Union Bank. One day the bank is robbed, and chief teller Matt Brown (Pat O'Brien) is accused of the theft. Brown has an alibi, but his loyalty to Dickson stands in his way of using it.
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 Arsenic and Old Lace 1944  N/R, 118 min.
Genre: Comedy / Thriller
Director: Frank Capra
Cast: Cary Grant, Josephine Hull, Jean Adair, Raymond Massey, Priscilla Lane, Jack Carson, Edward Everett Horton, Peter Lorre, James Gleason, John Alexander, John Ridgely, Edward McNamara, Grant Mitchell
This classic comedic tale is about the predicament of Mortimer Brewster (Cary Grant) who discovers that his old maid aunts have been poisoning lonely old men and burying them in the basement. Adding to the quirky household is Uncle Teddy (John Alexander) who believes he is Teddy Roosevelt. Cary Grant excels in his role of the nephew who must bring sense to the chaos. Cary Grant: "Insanity runs in my family. It practically gallops."
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Broadway Bill 1934 N/R, 100 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Frank Capra
Cast: Warner Baxter, Myrna Loy, Walter Connolly, Helen Vinson, Margaret Hamilton, Douglass Dumbrille, Raymond Walburn, Lynne Overman, Clara Blandick, Ward Bond
This is a Damon Runyon story about an inveterate gambler who bets everything on his own racehorse.
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Here Comes the Groom 1951 N/R, 113 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Frank Capra
Cast: Bing Crosby, Jane Wyman, Alexis Smith, Franchot Tone, James Barton, Robert Keith, Alan Reed, Walter Catlett, Ian Wolfe, Louis Armstrong
Reporter (Bing Crosby) wants to adopt two European war orphans but must be married before the agency will release the children. So, he sets out to woo his ex-fiancee (Jane Wyman) who has become romantically involved with another man (Franchot Tone). The film won the Oscar for Best Song "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening."
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A Hole in the Head 1959  N/R, 120 min.
Genre: Comedy / Musical
Director: Frank Capra
Cast: Frank Sinatra, Edward G. Robinson, Eleanor Parker, Carolyn Jones, Thelma Ritter, Keenan Wynn, Eddie Hodges, Joi Lansing, Dub Taylor, James Komack, Benny Rubin, Ruby Dandridge, Connie Sawyer, B.S. Pully, Joyce Nizzari
Ally (Eddie Hodges) is the 10-year-old son of Miami hotel operator Tony Manetta (Frank Sinatra) who struggles to keep his son and cope with financial problems. "High Hopes" won the Oscar for Best Song, which was sung by Frank Sinatra. The song and Eddie Hodges are the highlights of this film.
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 It Happened One Night 1934 N/R, 105 min.
Genre: Comedy / Romance
Director: Frank Capra
Cast: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Alan Hale, Roscoe Karns, Henry Wadsworth, Claire McDowell, Walter Connolly, Arthur Hoyt, Ward Bond, Milton Kibbee, Jameson Thomas, Blanche Friderici, Charles C. Wilson, Irving Bacon, Bess Flowers
This movie took a clean sweep of the Academy Awards with Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and Writer. It relates the romance of a news reporter (Clark Gable) who is out for a story about a spoiled rich girl (Claudette Colbert) who is on the run from her father and fiance. Of course, they fall in love. Clark Gable, "Remember me? I'm the fellow you slept on last night."
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 It's a Wonderful Life 1946 N/R, 130 min.
Genre: Family / Drama / Fantasy / Romance
Director: Frank Capra
Cast: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Henry Travers, Thomas Mitchell, Ward Bond, Gloria Grahame, Beulah Bondi, Frank Faylen, Frank Albertson, H. B. Warner, Todd Karns, Samuel S. Hinds, Mary Treen, Virginia Patton
When a businessman (James Stewart) is despondent and decides to end his life, he is saved by his "angel" (Henry Travers) who shows him that he has helped his family and neighbors over the years by giving them opportunities that changed their lives. Henry Travers: "Strange isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives–and when he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?"
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Lady for a Day 1933 N/R, 95 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Frank Capra
Cast: Warren William, May Robson, Guy Kibbee, Glenda Farrell, Ned Sparks, Walter Connolly, Jean Parker, Nat Pendleton, Barry Norton, Halliwell Hobbes
Apple Annie (May Robson) is a 75-year-old seller of apples in Times Square in this Damon Runyon tale, and she knows how to extract money from the other peddlers. She sends money to her daughter (Jean Parker) in Spain, implying she is wealthy in her letters to the daughter. Now the daughter is visiting, and Apple Annie needs help, so she goes to gambler Dave the Dude (Warren William) to set her up for the visit. Now the fun begins. Good flick. Sequel: "Lady By Choice." Capra remade the story in 1961 as "Pocketful of Miracles."
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 Lost Horizon 1937 N/R, 138 min.
Genre: Fantasy / Adventure / Drama / Mystery
Director: Frank Capra
Cast: Ronald Colman, Jane Wyatt, Edward Everett Horton, Sam Jaffe, John Howard, Thomas Mitchell, Margo, Isabel Jewell, H.B. Warner, George Chan, David Torrence, Carl Stockdale, Hugh Buckler, Wyrley Birch, Darby Clark
British diplomat Robert Conway (Ronald Colman) and his brother George (John Howard) help British citizens–Henry Bernard (Thomas Mitchell), Gloria (Isabel Jewell), and "Lovey" Lovett (Edward Everett Horton)–evacuate from China during a revolution. Their plane crashes in Tibet, and a rescue team, led by Chang (H.B. Warner), leads them to Shangri-La where they discover a tranquility that they have never before experienced. This wonderful city is ruled by an aging 200 year-old High Lama (Sam Jaffe) who is impressed with Robert and wants him to succeed him after his death. Now, Robert is torn between leaving for England or remaining in Shangri-La with his new-found love Sondra (Jane Wyatt). A winner of two Academy Awards (Best Art Direction and Film Editing), it also received five nominations, including Best Picture and Supporting Actor (Warner).
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 Meet John Doe 1941   N/R, 123 min.
Genre: Drama / Comedy / Romance
Director: Frank Capra
Cast: Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Walter Brennan, Edward Arnold, James Gleason, Spring Byington, Gene Lockhart, Irving Bacon, Regis Toomey, Warren Hymer, J. Farrell MacDonald, Rod La Rocque, Harry Holman, Pierre Watkin, Andrew Tombes
Journalist Ann Mitchell (Barbara Stanwyck) has been fired from her newspaper job, and she thinks she has found the perfect way to get that job back by printing a fake letter from "John Doe" announcing that he is going to jump off City Hall on New Year's Eve. The stunt works, the newspaper's readership rises, John Doe gains incredible support, and Ann is rehired. Now, Ann must find someone to play "John Doe"–and she does in the form of a soft-spoken hobo, Long John Willoughby (Gary Cooper). His popularity rises, newspaper publisher D.B. Norton (Edward Arnold) puts John Doe on the radio to deliver inspirational speeches, and soon he is deeply involved in politics. But, the politics support those of fascist Norton who has a secret plan to become a dictator of the United States. Will Willoughby catch on in time to save the day? 1 User Review
| User Review |
| | The darkest of the Frank Capra Films | 1fatts 07/22/2007 | It is the depression, and a failed baseball pitcher with a bum arm trying to get by in tough times, finds himself being trained by reporter Barbara Stanwyck to pretend to be John Doe, a symbol of the down-and-out who has promised to jump from the tallest building in town on New Year's Eve. Cooper as "Long John Willoughby" does "the decency of the simple man" quite wonderfully here. It's not as funny as "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town", but more poignant for sure.
The movie is solid Capra, with a Robert Riskin screenplay. But there is a darkness here which other Capra films just hint at. Yes, John Doe doesn't commit suicide. (Love conquers all. Sorry.) But the mildly upbeat ending is artificial. The bad guys win, in effect. The little guys, whom John Doe comes to represent, really are outmatched, outsmarted and defeated by the power of crooked money and crooked politics.
When Capra did Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, he invited all the members of the Senate to a preivew. Hearing that the Senate was presented in something less than pure halo and glory, they stayed away in droves. But it is John Doe that is the real critique, hidden in a comic script and a romantic ending.
Real hollywood film buffs need to be conversant with Capra. This is the one that needs to be the center of the discussion of "The Optimistic Vision of Frank Capra". |
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The Miracle Woman 1931  N/R, 87 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Frank Capra
Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, David Manners, Sam Hardy, Beryl Mercer, Russell Hopton, Charles Middleton, Dennis O'Keefe, Mary Doran, Eddie Boland, Thelma Hill
A young Barbara Stanwyck stars in this film that is loosely based on the life of evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson.
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Mr. Deeds Goes to Town 1936 N/R, 118 min.
Genre: Comedy / Romance
Director: Frank Capra
Cast: Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, George Bancroft, Lionel Stander, Douglass Dumbrille, Raymond Walburn, H.B. Warner, Warren Hymer, Ruth Donnelly, Spencer Charters, Walter Catlett, John Wray, Stanley Andrews, Irving Bacon, George "Gabby" Hayes
In this classic film, Longfellow Deeds (Gary Cooper) inherits $20 million. He leaves his small town and moves to New York City where his lack of sophistication is misinterpreted when he wants to use part of his fortune to help the needy. Newspaper reporter Babe Bennett (Jean Arthur) is sent to get the scoop on Deeds and, in the process, regrets her actions when she falls in love with him. Frank Capra won the Oscar for Best Director, and four other Oscar nominations were received, including Best Picture and Actor (Cooper).
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 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington 1939 N/R, 125 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Frank Capra
Cast: James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Claude Rains, Edward Arnold, Harry Carey, Thomas Mitchell, Guy Kibbee, Beulah Bondi, Eugene Pallette, H.B. Warner, Astrid Allwyn, Ruth Donnelly, Grant Mitchell, Pierre Watkin, Porter Hall
Filling in for his state's deceased senator, Jefferson Smith (James Stewart) takes his seat in the United States Senate. Despite crooked politics surrounding his appointment, as well as in Washington D.C., Smith behaves as we all wish our representatives would. An Academy Award was won for Best Original Story and 10 other nominations were received, including Best Picture, Actor, Supporting Actor (both Harry Carey and Claude Rains), and Director.
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Platinum Blonde 1931 N/R, 82 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Frank Capra
Cast: Loretta Young, Robert Williams, Jean Harlow, Louise Closser Hale, Donald Dilloway, Reginald Owen, Walter Catlett, Edmund Breese, Halliwell Hobbes, Claud Allister
When a newsman, Stew Smith (Robert Williams), marries the very wealthy Ann Schuyler (Jean Harlow), he finds that society life is not always to his liking and seeks solace from a female reporter, Gallagher (Loretta Young).
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Pocketful of Miracles 1961 N/R, 136 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Frank Capra
Cast: Glenn Ford, Bette Davis, Hope Lange, Arthur O'Connell, Peter Falk, Edward Everett Horton, Mickey Shaughnessy, Ann - Margret, John Litel, Thomas Mitchell
Dave the Dude (Glenn Ford) is a gambler who turns Apple Annie (Bette Davis) into a socialite–for one day–when her daughter, Louise (Ann-Margret), comes to visit. Peter Falk was nominated for an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor. This Damon Runyon story was previously filmed in 1933 as "Lady for a Day."
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Riding High 1950 N/R, 112 min.
Genre: Musical
Director: Frank Capra
Cast: Bing Crosby, Coleen Gray, Charles Bickford, Margaret Hamilton, Frances Gifford, James Gleason, William Demarest, Ward Bond, Gene Lockhart, Raymond Walburn
This is a musical remake of Damon Runyan's "Broadway Bill," which Frank Capra also directed. It is the story of a gambler (Bing Crosby) who owns a horse that can't seem to win.
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 State of the Union 1948 N/R, 124 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Frank Capra
Cast: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Van Johnson, Angela Lansbury, Adolphe Menjou, Lewis Stone, Howard Smith, Raymond Walburn, Charles Dingle, Pierre Watkin
When Grant Matthews (Spencer Tracy) campaigns for the office of President of the United States, his wife Mary (Katharine Hepburn) agrees to keep the problems of their marriage secret.
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Submarine 1928  N/R, 95 min.
Genre: Adventure
Director: Frank Capra
Cast: Jack Holt, Dorothy Revier, Ralph Graves, Clarence Burton, Arthur Rankin
Jack (Jack Holt) is a deep sea diver and Bob (Ralph Graves) is his best friend. The Navy buddies have trouble when Bob goes out with Jack's new wife (Dorothy Revier)–though not knowing she is Jack's wife. But the big trouble comes when a submarine sinks, in 400 feet of water off San Diego, with the crew on board. Now it's up to Jack to save the day. One of the first "disaster" films.
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That Certain Thing 1928 N/R, 68 min.
Genre: Comedy / Drama / Romance
Director: Frank Capra
Cast: Viola Dana, Ralph Graves, Burr McIntosh, Aggie Herring, Carl Gerard, Syd Crossley, Rosalind Byrne
Molly Kelly (Viola Dana) meets and marries millionaire Andy B. Charles Jr. (Ralph Graves)–an act that leads to Andy's disinheritance by his father A.B. Charles Sr. (Burr McIntosh). With no fortune to rely on, Molly and Andy need money. They solve the problem by making box lunches and selling them from the back of their Model T Ford. The enterprise takes off and even drives his father's A.B.C. chain of restaurants out of business. By story's end, A.B. becomes Andy's junior partner, and all is forgiven.
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You Can't Take It with You 1938 N/R, 120 min.
Genre: Comedy / Romance
Director: Frank Capra
Cast: Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore, James Stewart, Edward Arnold, Mischa Auer, Ann Miller, Spring Byington, Samuel S. Hinds, Mary Forbes, Dub Taylor, Donald Meek, Halliwell Hobbes, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Lillian Yarbo, H.B. Warner
Alice (Jean Arthur) and Tony (James Stewart) meet and fall in love. Alice's family of activists–including patriarch Grandpa Vanderhof (Lionel Barrymore), his daughter Penny (Spring Byington), her husband Paul (Samuel S. Hinds) who is into explosives, their would-be ballet dancer daughter Essie (Ann Miller), and her husband Ed (Dub Taylor) who is addicted to his xylophone–"entertain" Tony's aristocratic parents (Edward Arnold and Mary Forbes) in their decaying home. Complications arise with future in-laws' acceptance of each others' families–especially when Tony's parents show up one day early. The film received the Oscar for Best Picture. An Academy Award was also won by Frank Capra as Best Director, and the film received five other nominations, including Spring Byington for Best Supporting Actress.
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| Oscars: Best Director for It Happened One Night (1934), Best Director for Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), Best Director for You Can't Take It With You (1938) |
1. American Madness (1932)
2. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
3. The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933)
4. Broadway Bill (1934)
5. Forbidden (1932)
6. Here Comes the Groom (1951)
7. A Hole in the Head (1959)
8. It Happened One Night (1934)
9. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
10. Ladies of Leisure (1930)
11. Lady for a Day (1933)
12. Lost Horizon (1937)
13. Meet John Doe (1941)
14. The Miracle Woman (1931)
15. Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
16. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
17. Platinum Blonde (1931)
18. Pocketful of Miracles (1961)
19. Riding High (1950)
20. State of the Union (1948)
21. Submarine (1928)
22. That Certain Thing (1928)
23. You Can't Take It with You (1938)
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