Frank Capra

Frank Capra , born the May 18th 1897 with Bisacquino (Sicily, Italy), dead the September 3rd 1991 with Quinta (California, the United States), is a Réalisateur, scenario writer and producer of American Cinéma, of sicilian origin .

Biography

Born in Sicily, Capra emigrated in America with part of its family which settled in 1903 with Los Angeles. It made studies of chemical engineer in Throp Institute (which became later California Institute off Technology). Frank Capra begins its cinematographic career into 1921 at the sides from Walter Montague where it puts in scene poems. It enters then like gagman for the famous serial " Our Gang". In 1930, Capra left to work with the Columbia where it bound with the scenario writer Robert Riskin and the cameraman Joseph MacDonald with whom it worked a long time. In 1940, Sidney Buchman replaced Riskin as a scenario writer.

After having gained in 1934 the Oscar of the best realizer with the romantic comedy New York-Miami , Capra reached the celebrity and connected successes, managing to impose in a Hollywood then rather refractory the vision of the realizer as a project superintendent. Capra directed a great preaching number of films of the humane, social values and morals, in which a character without true scale at the beginning but in the middle pure manages to be opposed to the business men, to the bankers or to the cynical politicians. Extravagant Mr. Deeds , You will not carry it with you (which is worth two to him new Oscars for its realization) and Mr. Smith with the Senate belongs to most known of these fables morals which were the signature of Capra.

Between 1942 and 1948 Capra carried out or Co-carried out eight documentary for the ministry for the war within the framework of the documentary series Why we fight , which gained a Oscar. The series aimed at explaining so much at the national level than international it why fight against Japan and the Nazi Germany.

Shortly after the war, eager to be freed from the large machines which are the Hollywood studios, Capra founded with George Stevens and William Wyler an independent company, the Liberty Films. Capra realized in 1946 the life is beautiful with James Stewart. The film was ignored at the time of its exit, but since the expiry of sound Copyright, it is repeated each year with Christmas on the American TV screens. the life is beautiful is often regarded as a bluette with the glory of traditional America, but however conceals sour criticisms, in particular that of the provincial life and its narrowness. The character played by James Stewart is also the portrait of depressive with the suicidal tendencies, often not ignored by the public. The force of Capra lies in this faculty to create a history with two reading levels. On a side a terrible and problematic situation, other its resolution in a fireworks of joy. The commercial failure of the life is beautiful was followed those, relative, of the stake and If dad were married, who did not find their public and rang the knell of Liberty Films in 1948.

Capra signed in 1950 with the Paramount for which it made two films with Bing Crosby. After several years far from the cameras, it returned to the cinema with a hole in the head in 1959 and made its last film, Milliardaire for one day in 1961 with Glenn Ford and Bette Davis, new version of great lady one day old. It had a project of science fiction film which it never put at execution, but it produced a series of television programs on science for the Bell telco.

In 1971, Capra published its autobiography Hollywood Story ( The Name Above the Title: Year Autobiography ) in which he told his experiment of the American studios.

His/her son, Frank Capra, Jr. is president of Screen Gems Studios, with Wilmington in North Carolina.

Catalog of films

Realizer

Nominations and rewards

Capra was nominated for the Oscar of the best realizer in 1933 for great lady one day old, gained the statuette in 1934 for New York-Miami , in 1936 for Extravagant Mr. Deeds and in 1938 for You will not carry it with you . It was again nominated in 1939 for Mr. Smith with the Senate and in 1946 for the life is beautiful . New York-Miami and You will not carry it with you gained also the Oscar of the best film.

External bonds

  • “Le Monde according to Frank Capra” on www.artelio.org.

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