TMI (Today’s Movie Info)
February: Director’s Month
FRANK CAPRA (1897-1991) As a child, he and his family came to the U.S. from Sicily. He was hired as a gag writer by Hal Roach for the “Our Gang” series in 1924, and later spent time as a writer for Mack Sennett. In the 1930’s he became a full time director and was responsible for such classics as It Happened One Night (1934), Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), You Can’t Take it With You (1938), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Meet John Doe (1941). Of course, his 1946 film It’s a Wonderful Life, has recovered from its initial box office failure to become one of the all-time favorite holiday classics. His final theatrical film was Pocketful of Miracles (1961), which features the screen debut of Ann-Margret. He was nominated six times for a Best Director Oscar, winning three. Capra once said of James Stewart: his “appeal lay in being so unusually usual”
Movie Reviews from the Dark 