Content provided in partnership with
Frank Capra
St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture by James Friedman
Following Mr. Smith, Capra demonstrated his patriotic duty by enlisting in the United States Signal Corps during World War II. Although he had served in the military before, and was old enough to sit this one out, Capra had an intense desire to prove his patriotism to his adopted land.
- Most Popular Articles in Arts
- Art since 1900: Modernism, Antimodernism, Postmodernism
- Free-standing cardboard sculpture
- What makes a successful business person? Business people who are tops in ...
- Take advantage of local advertising: TV, newspaper or magazines? If your ...
- Tino Sehgal at the ICA
- More »
While a member of the Armed Forces, Capra oversaw the production of 11 documentaries under the series title Why We Fight. The series was originally intended to indoctrinate American troops and explain why it was necessary for them to fight the Second World War. When the first documentaries were completed Army and government officials found them so powerful that they felt the films should also be released to theaters so that everyone in America could see them. Considered by many to be some of the best propaganda films ever made, the Why We Fight series is still broadcast and used as a teaching tool today.
Following the war, Capra found success with It's A Wonderful Life and State of the Union, but he increasingly came to feel out of step with a changing film industry. While his themes had struck a chord with the Depression era society, his films seemed saccharin and out of touch in prospering post-war America. Moving to Paramount in 1950, Capra claimed that he became so disillusioned with the studio that he quit making films by 1952. In his autobiography he blames his retirement on the rising power of film stars (compromising the ability to realize his artistic vision), and the increasing budgetary and scheduling demands that studios placed upon him. Joseph McBride, in The Catastrophe of Success, however, points out that Capra's disillusionment coincided with the questions and difficulties surrounding the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) communist witch-hunt, which ended many Hollywood careers.
During a regrettable period of postwar hysteria Capra, despite his military service and decorations, was a prime-target for Senator Joseph McCarthy's Red-baiting committee. Although Capra was never called to testify, his past associations with blacklisted screenwriters such as Sydney Buchman, Albert Hackett, Ian McLelan Hunter, Calrton Moss, and Dalton Trumbo (to name a few) led to his being "greylisted" (but employable). Determined to demonstrate his loyalty he attempted to rejoin the military for the Korean War, but was refused. When invited as a civilian to participate in the Defense Department's Think Tank project, VISTA, he jumped at the opportunity, but was later denied necessary clearance. These two rejections were devastating to the man who had made a career of demonstrating American ideals in film. Capra later learned that his application to the VISTA was denied because he was part of a picket-line in the 1930s, sponsored Russian War Relief, was active in the National Federation for Constitutional Liberties (which defended communists), contributed to the Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee in the 1940s, and had a number of associates who were linked to the Communist Party.
St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, 2002 Gale Group.
