I began this web site in 1998 as an effort to demonstrate some design and website making skills and to present some of the information I collected over the years about Capra and his movies. I am particularly indebted to the books on the books page for much of the factual information presented here. These sources do not always agree, but the general outline is essentially consistent.

I hope you enjoy these pages, and if you know how to improve them, please let me know!

Thank you to everyone who has given me their e-mail addresses over the years for my "update" list. If you would like to be included, just send me your email or use one of the sign-up boxes on the bottom of most of my pages here.

The first capra film that I saw was Meet John Doe. At one time, the local PBS station in Washington DC had a regular program of old movies from the Janus collection and other sources. It was an education in cinema with some forty years of American, British and French films that one could hardly find on a regular network broadcast station (this was before cable television and the advent of all-movie channels.)

I was bowled over by Doe - - I had not seen too many "classic" films, and the story and the actors (especially Stanwyck and Cooper) seemed to come from a Hollywood that no longer existed: fast, snappy (and biting) dialogue, and a romantic sense that was at odds with the often bitter luggage of modern films.

It was a shock, and it made me search a little at the public library for other films made by these same folks. From there I was able to eventually track down and see some of the Capra movies that are taken for granted now in television programming: Mr. Deeds, Mr. Smith and of course It's A Wonderful Life.

Particularly helpful in my search for other Capra films were the catalogues put out by the film rental company Kit Parker. Their reviews were funny and enthusiastic, and the affection for old movies by that company was palpable in many ways. I feel like I owe Kit Parker Films a lot for giving me an education on "good films" that otherwise would have required attending actual film classes or reading some rather densely-worded tomes on motion picture theory.

CAPRA FILM PAGES:
It's A Wonderful Life (1946)
Arsenic and Old Lace (1941)
Meet John Doe (1941)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
You Can't Take It With You (1938)
Lost Horizon (1937)
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
Broadway Bill (1934)
It Happened One Night (1934)
The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933)
Lady for A Day (1933)
American Madness (1932)
Forbidden (1931)
The Miracle Woman (1931)
Platinum Blonde (1931)
Ladies of Leisure (1930)
COMPLETE LIST