Sam Wasson's "Frank Capra: A Life" Reassesses the Director Behind "It Happened One Night"
Published by Harper, Sam Wasson’s "Frank Capra: A Life" spans over 650 pages and offers a more approachable perspective compared to Joseph McBride’s biographies. The narrative kicks off with letters from San Quentin inmates in 1947, expressing admiration for "It's a Wonderful Life." Francesco Rosario Capra, born in Sicily in 1897, emigrated to California in 1903. He studied at Manual Arts High School and Throop Polytechnic Institute, directing "Fulta Fisher's Boarding House" in 1922. In 1923, he wed actress Helen Howell and collaborated with Hal Roach, directing "The Strong Man" (1926) and "Long Pants" (1927). His film "It Happened One Night" (1934) garnered several Academy Awards. Capra produced seven "Why We Fight" films during WWII and passed away in 1991.
Key facts
- Sam Wasson's "Frank Capra: A Life" is published by Harper and exceeds 650 pages
- Capra was born Francesco Rosario Capra in Bisacquino, Sicily, in 1897 and died in 1991
- "It Happened One Night" (1934) won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Screenplay
- Joseph McBride published "Frank Capra: The Catastrophe of Success" in 1992 and "Frankly: Unmasking Frank Capra" in 2019
- Capra directed seven "Why We Fight" propaganda films during the Second World War
- "Prelude to War" was shown at the White House in 1942
- Capra was denied security clearance in 1951 after a Caltech invitation to a Cold War think tank
- Cinematographer Joseph Walker was born in Denver in 1892
Entities
Artists
- Frank Capra
- Sam Wasson
- Joseph McBride
- Clark Gable
- Claudette Colbert
- Robert Riskin
- Harry Langdon
- Harry Cohn
- James Stewart
- Jean Harlow
- Robert Williams
- Gary Cooper
- Jean Arthur
- Barbara Stanwyck
- Cary Grant
- Howard Hawks
- Sidney Buchman
- Julius Epstein
- Edward Bernds
- William Hornbeck
- Art Black
- Jo Swerling
- Joseph Walker
- Mack Sennett
- Hal Roach
- Helen Howell
- Lucille Capra
- Salvatore Capra
- Rosaria Capra
- John Ford
- Frank Sinatra
- Carole Lombard
- Fay Wray
- James F. Byrnes
- John Cassavetes
- Gerald Ford
- Barry Goldwater
- Rudyard Kipling
- Aristotle
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Charlie Chaplin
- Buster Keaton
- Harold Lloyd
- Laurel and Hardy
- Donald Trump
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
Institutions
- Harper
- Columbia Pictures
- Montague Studios
- Caltech
- Throop Polytechnic Institute
- Manual Arts High School
- San Quentin
- M-G-M
- Paramount
- Academy Awards
- The New Yorker
Locations
- Bisacquino
- Sicily
- Italy
- Corleone
- Palermo
- Los Angeles
- California
- San Francisco
- Palm Springs
- La Quinta
- Fallbrook
- Denver
- Colorado
- New York City
- Buffalo
- Boston
- Gower Street
- Sunset Boulevard
- Washington, D.C.
- South Carolina
- United States