Frank Capra began his career in
Hollywood as a gag-writer for Hal Roach silent comedies in the
1920's. He made his way up the ranks of the Hollywood studio system,
and by 1933 he was offered a $1000 per week contract with Columbia
Pictures, that included free reign on all of his projects.Capra's
contribution to the Academy Awards started on a rocky note during the 1933
ceremony. His film, Lady for a Day, was nominated for four Oscars,
including Best Picture, Best Actress for May Robson, Best Writing for
Robert Riskin, and Best Director for Capra, himself. Despite heavy
competition from classics such as 42nd Street, State Fair and The Private
Lives of Henry VII, Lady for a Day was the favorite to win.
After a string of modest hits,
Lady for a Day, about poor Apple Annie, who uses her street savvy friends
to stage a fake society life for her, when her estranged daughter comes to
visit, captured the hearts of audiences everywhere, and became his first
bona fide classic.
At the ceremony, the first ever
public humiliation was suffered, when the evenings host, Will Rogers,
opened the envelope for Best Director. He said "Come and get
it, Frank," causing applause and cheers from the audience.
Capra stood up to accept what he thought was his award. He, and the
audience were horrified to discover that Rogers was actually talking about
the other Frank who was nominated, Cavalcade's Frank Lloyd.
Capra survived the embarrassment,
and the next year released the picture that would change his life
forever. At the 1934 Oscar ceremony, Capra assembled all of the same
guests from the previous year, in an effort to 'exorcise some ghosts'. It
worked, as his film, It
Happened One Night, won all of the major awards, including Best
Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Director for Capra.
That same year, Capra was
nominated as President of the Academy, at a time when many of the members
were threatening to boycott Academy functions, including the Oscar's, in
light of what they felt was unfair practices and treatment, on the part of
the Academy and studio bosses.
When many actors threatened to
boycott the ceremony in 1936, Capra took hold of the situation by making
the event a tribute to director D.W. Griffith. "We had to do
something," he said. "The Academy was dying."
Despite the fact that many of the actors and writers didn't show up, D.W.
Griffiths did appear, and he achieved what was recorded as the first
standing ovation. The show was a rousing success.
By the following year, Capra had
worked tirelessly to meet the demands of critics over voting integrity,
and settle some of the ill-will that many members had. Among his
additions, included two new categories, Best Supporting Actor and Actress.
He also changed the voting structure, deeming that nominations would be
determined by fifty members of the five branches of the Academy, and that
the Best Picture would be voted on by all members.
Capra worked as the Academy's
president for over five years, during which time he was also President of
the Director's Guild.
In the meantime, Capra's work as a
director was getting better and better. He continued with a string
of hits in the 1930's that included Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Lost Horizon,
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and You Can't Take It With
You, which went
on to win the Best Picture of 1937, as well as a second Oscar for Capra's
directing. He became the first director to have his name above the
credits, along side his star's.
Capra left Columbia in 1940 and
signed up with Warner's where he produced Meet John Doe and Arsenic and
Old Lace. He responded to the call of duty when World War II hit,
producing war documentaries and propaganda films.
After the war, his star seemed to
fade with State of the Union and It's a Wonderful Life, which were both
box office failures. His career fizzled in the 1950's, as after
doing a couple of Bing Crosby films, he found himself working on
television productions.
Capra attempted a comeback with A
Pocketful of Miracles in 1961, but the film was not a great
success.
Capra was discovered once again in
the 1970's, as his films made their way onto critics lists, and one of his
films, It's A Wonderful Life, turned up as a perennial Christmas classic
on television.
Here is a
selection of Frank Capra movies on DVD
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and VHS
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