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• Question about Frank Capra

  • Bev Meier
  • 2015-11-15

  Does anyone know where/how I might find a copy of Capra's short story from which"Westward the Women" was made?

• The Art of Frank Capra

  • Ron
  • 2014-01-16

  If you look at Capra's later work in the 40's, which involved the idealized American ethic, and compare it to his earlier work in the 30's, you can see a difference. Yes both the 30's and 40's had human elements and emotion, but no director ever tackled subjects like Capra did in the 30's. What seems strange is that his own personal political views seemed at odds with what he was portraying on the screen in his later work. If one was to watch "You Can't Take It With You," you would think that he was a liberal progressive, yet he was not. His later bibliographical comments about the change in the attitude of the motion picture industry as well as a jaded public, I think are partially correct. However, he viewed America in an idealized fashion, and saw strength of character during the Great Depression that was later lost after WWII. When we all look back at the generation of the 30's and 40's we do see a sense of identity that is missing today. Of course we all know that America was far from perfect, and even the early TV shows of the 50's like "Father Knows Best" were idealized versions of Americana during Jim Crow. Still, it's hard not to watch a Frank Capra film, and walk away from it unmoved. To this day, whenever I watch "The Bitter Tea Of General Yen," or any Frank Capra film, it's as if I am getting a lesson on human nature, and how we can better understand each other.

• The Art of Frank Capra

  • Ron
  • 2014-01-16

  If you look at Capra's later work in the 40's, which involved the idealized American ethic, and compare it to his earlier work in the 30's, you can see a difference. Yes both the 30's and 40's had human elements and emotion, but no director ever tackled subjects like Capra did in the 30's. What seems strange is that his own personal political views seemed at odds with what he was portraying on the screen. If one was to watch "You Can't Take It With You," you would think that he was a liberal progressive, yet he was not. His later bibliographical comments about the change in the attitude of the motion picture industry as well as a jaded public, I think are partially correct. However, he viewed America in an idealized fashion, and saw strength of character during the Great Depression that was later lost after WWII. When we all look back at the generation of the 30's and 40's we do see a sense of identity that is missing today. Of course we all know that it was far from perfect, and even the early TV shows of the 50'd like "Father Knows Best" were idealized versions of Americana. Still, it's hard not to watch a Frank Capra film, and not walk away from it moved. To this day, whenever I watch "The Bitter Tea Of General Yen," or any Frank Capra film, it's as if I am getting a lesson on human nature, and how we can better understand each other.

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