Frank Capra

American Catholic History

Noelle & Tom Crowe

History, Christianity, Religion & Spirituality, Education

5 • 724 Ratings

🗓️ 6 December 2024

⏱️ 21 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Frank Capra has a strong case for being the GOAT among directors, and it’s not just because of his name. He won three Oscars for best director out of seven nominations, while making films that were deeply Catholic in their message. His film making message was clear: good wins out, no matter what the cruel, cynical world might prefer. His incredible success petered out in the 1950s, when critics and audiences turned away from "capra-corn," but his masterpiece, the 1946 classic "It's A Wonderfu Life," has enjoyed a renaissance since the 1970s, becoming a Christmas classic.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to American Catholic History brought to you by the support of listeners like you.
0:11.9	If you value this podcast, please become a supporter at Americancatholichistory.org
0:17.3	slash support. Also, please help others find us by sharing this episode and giving us a five-star rating.
0:24.8	Those really help.
0:26.3	I'm Noelle Heister Crowe.
0:27.4	And I'm Tom Crowe.
0:28.5	Today we're talking about Frank Capra, the Christmas Catholic Hollywood Man, who wrote, produced, and directed some of the most important and deeply Catholic films of
0:39.2	Hollywood's golden error. I bet most people don't realize how many great films he made in his day.
0:46.6	Most people just think of his 1946 masterpiece. It's a Wonderful Life when they hear Frank Capra's
0:52.8	name. Yeah, and that's not really a bad
0:54.6	thing. It is a wonderful film, and he actually considered it his most important work. But
0:59.8	few know how many other great films he was responsible for, films that actually received more
1:05.5	critical acclaim in their day than It's a Wonderful Life. Yes, he'd actually been nominated for six Oscars before directing
1:13.4	It's a Wonderful Life. He'd won Best Director for It Happened One Night, Mr. Deeds goes to town,
1:20.0	and you can't take it with you. He also was nominated for Lady for a Day, Lost Horizon,
1:26.2	and Mr. Smith goes to Washington. And then he was nominated
1:31.5	for Best Director for It's a Wonderful Life, but didn't win. Yeah, and with a resume like that,
1:37.9	Capra has a case for being considered the goat of directors. Well, Hitchcock might have something to say about that, but also I see what you did there.
1:48.8	Yeah.
1:50.8	Dear listeners, Capra is the Italian word for goat.
1:55.0	So Tom is punning across languages.
1:57.9	Yes, and it's hilarious.
	...

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