Frank Capra

Francesco Rosario Capra arrived from Italy at five and grew up in Los Angeles, the rags-to-riches arc that would later define his films. Through the 1930s he became one of Hollywood's most influential directors, pulling three Best Director Oscars from six nominations with It Happened One Night, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, You Can't Take It with You, and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. World War II pulled him into the U.S. Army Signal Corps, where he produced the Why We Fight propaganda series. When he returned, the tide turned: It's a Wonderful Life bombed on release in 1946, his output slowed throu…