Frank Capra

Italian-born American film director (1897–1991)

Fame62.7
Momentum0.9
Directors rank#208

Source-basedFalling

Fame62.7
Momentum0.9
Directors rank#208
Wikipedia31.8K

Lived 1897–1991, aged 94Italy

Italy DirectorsMovie Director

Wikipedia
73 languages
Cross-language footprint
Era
1897–1991
Aged 94
Known for
It's a Wonderful Life
1946

Summary

Updated 2026-06-10

He spent the 1930s winning Oscars and turning screwball comedies into civic religion — then made a movie about a suicidal small-town banker that flopped so hard it nearly ended his career, only to become the most replayed fable in American Christmas culture decades after he stopped directing.

Biography

About

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…

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