Frank Capra (1897–1991)

Director | Writer | Producer

One of seven children, Frank Capra was born on May 18, 1897, in Bisacquino, Sicily. On May 10, 1903...

Born: May 18, 1897
Died: September 3, 1991 (age 94)

Photos

Filmography

Known For

It's a Wonderful Life Director (1946)
It Happened One Night Director (1934)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington Director (1939)
Known For

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town Director (1936)
Director

Rendezvous in Space (1964)
Pocketful of Miracles (1961)
A Hole in the Head (1959)
The Strange Case of the Cosmic Rays (1957)
Hemo the Magnificent (1957)
Our Mr. Sun (1956)
Here Comes the Groom (1951)
Riding High (1950)
State of the Union (1948)
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Your Job in Germany (1945)
Here Is Germany (1945)
Know Your Enemy - Japan (1945)
War Comes to America (1945)
Two Down and One to Go (1945)
The Battle of China (1944)
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
Tunisian Victory (1944)
The Nazis Strike (1943)
The Battle of Britain (1943)
Divide and Conquer (1943)
The Battle of Russia (1943)
Prelude to War (1942)
Meet John Doe (1941)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
You Can't Take It with You (1938)
Lost Horizon (1937)
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
Broadway Bill (1934)
It Happened One Night (1934)
Lady for a Day (1933)
The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1932)
American Madness (1932)
Forbidden (1932)
Platinum Blonde (1931)
The Miracle Woman (1931)
Dirigible (1931)
Rain or Shine (1930)
Ladies of Leisure (1930)
Flight (1929)
The Donovan Affair (1929)
The Younger Generation (1929)
The Burglar (1928)
The Power of the Press (1928)
Submarine (1928)
Say It with Sables (1928)
The Way of the Strong (1928)
The Matinee Idol (1928)
So This Is Love (1928)
That Certain Thing (1928)
For the Love of Mike (1927)
Long Pants (1927)
The Strong Man (1926)
The Barefoot Boy (1922)
The Looking Glass (1922)
The Village Blacksmith (1922)
The Ballad of Fisher's Boarding House (1922)
Director

La visita dell'incrociatore italiano Libia a San Francisco, Calif., 6-29 novembre 1921 (1921)
Writer

Clarence (1990)
Rendezvous in Space (1964)
The Unchained Goddess (1958)
The Strange Case of the Cosmic Rays (1957)
Hemo the Magnificent (1957)
Our Mr. Sun (1956)
Westward the Women (1951)
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Here Is Germany (1945)
Know Your Enemy - Japan (1945)
Forbidden (1932)
Flight (1929)
Uncle Tom (1929)
The Burglar (1928)
Say It with Sables (1928)
The Swim Princess (1928)
That Certain Thing (1928)
Fiddlesticks (1927)
His First Flame (1927)
Soldier Man (1926)
Tramp, Tramp, Tramp (1926)
Saturday Afternoon (1926)
Love and Kisses (1925)
Cold Turkey (1925)
Lucky Stars (1925)
The Iron Nag (1925)
Cupid's Boots (1925)
Sneezing Beezers (1925)
Super-Hooper-Dyne Lizzies (1925)
Good Morning, Nurse (1925)
The Marriage Circus (1925)
Breaking the Ice (1925)
Plain Clothes (1925)
Boobs in the Wood (1925)
The Wild Goose Chaser (1925)
All Night Long (1924)
The Reel Virginian (1924)
Riders of the Purple Cows (1924)
Every Man for Himself (1924)
Little Robinson Corkscrew (1924)
High Society (1924)
Jubilo, Jr. (1924)
Three Days to Live (1924)
The Barefoot Boy (1922)
The Looking Glass (1922)
The Village Blacksmith (1922)
The Ballad of Fisher's Boarding House (1922)
Writer

La visita dell'incrociatore italiano Libia a San Francisco, Calif., 6-29 novembre 1921 (1921)
Producer

Rendezvous in Space (1964)
Pocketful of Miracles (1961)
A Hole in the Head (1959)
The Unchained Goddess (1958)
The Strange Case of the Cosmic Rays (1957)
Hemo the Magnificent (1957)
Our Mr. Sun (1956)
Here Comes the Groom (1951)
Riding High (1950)
State of the Union (1948)
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Here Is Germany (1945)
Know Your Enemy - Japan (1945)
War Comes to America (1945)
Two Down and One to Go (1945)
San Pietro (1945)
G.I. Journal (1944)
Know Your Ally: Britain (1944)
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
Attack! Battle of New Britain (1944)
The Negro Soldier (1944)
The Nazis Strike (1943)
The Battle of Britain (1943)
Divide and Conquer (1943)
The Battle of Russia (1943)
Strictly G.I. (1943)
Prelude to War (1942)
Meet John Doe (1941)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
You Can't Take It with You (1938)
Lost Horizon (1937)
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
Broadway Bill (1934)
It Happened One Night (1934)
The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1932)
American Madness (1932)
Forbidden (1932)
Platinum Blonde (1931)
The Miracle Woman (1931)
Dirigible (1931)
Rain or Shine (1930)
Ladies of Leisure (1930)
Flight (1929)
The Matinee Idol (1928)
Producer

That Certain Thing (1928)
Actor

Screen Snapshots Series 17, No. 12 Frank Capra (1938)
Actor

The Outcasts of Poker Flat (1919)
Soundtrack

Pocketful of Miracles (1961)
Archive footage

Five Came Back (2017)
And the Oscar Goes To... (2014)
Una lunga vacanza (2012)
Hollywood on the Tiber (2009)
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year (2009)
Why We Fight (2005)
James Cagney and Jack Warner (2003)
Biography (2003)
Frank Capra and James Stewart (2001)
George Stevens: The Filmmakers Who Knew Him (2001)
The Lady with the Torch (1999)
Frank Capra's American Dream (1997)
A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (1995)
American Masters (1993)
The Making of 'It's a Wonderful Life' (1990)
AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Jack Lemmon (1988)
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life - Hosted by Johnny Carson (1987)
Archive footage

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage (1983)
Hollywood My Home Town (1965)
Miscellaneous Crew

Rendezvous in Space (1964)
Miscellaneous Crew

Taiwan: Island of Freedom (1963)
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards (1940)
Editor

Three Days to Live (1924)
Editor

Our Wonderful Schools (1915)
Animation Department

Coming!! Snafu (1943)

Awards

Did You Know

Directed ten different actors in Oscar-nominated performances: May Robson, Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Gary Cooper, H.B. Warner, Spring Byington, James Stewart, Claude Rains, Harry Carey and Peter Falk. Gable and Colbert won Academy Awards for ...

Quotes

[on "The Greatest Gift", the short story that inspired It's a Wonderful Life (1946)] My goodness, this thing hit me like a ton of bricks. It was the story I had been looking for all my life. The kind of an idea that when I get old and sick and ...