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Frank Capra : the catastrophe of success

by McBride, Joseph.

Format: Print Book 1992
Availability: Available at 1 Library 1 of 1 copy

Available (1)
Location Collection Call #
Pleasant Hills Public Library Nonfiction 92 CAPRA Frank
Location  Pleasant Hills Public Library
 
Collection  Nonfiction
 
Call Number  92 CAPRA Frank
 
 

Summary
Frank Capra was the American success story, the immigrant from Sicily who not only realized the American dream but depicted it. Capra's films, particularly "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", "Meet John Doe", and "It's a Wonderful Life" are national icons -- cherished monuments to the "common man". Yet as Joseph McBride reveals in this revised edition of his widely acclaimed biography, Capra was far more complex than anyone knew. Using recently declassified material about Capra's controversial dealings with Congress and the HUAC (House Unamerican Activities Committee) in the 1940s and 1950s, McBride adds a final chapter to his unforgettable portrait of Hollywood's most beloved director.
Published Reviews
Booklist Review: "Frank Capra, director of such paeans to idealism as It's a Wonderful Life, is perhaps America's most beloved filmmaker, but this massive biography will force devotees to adopt a revisionist view of the man and his work. Rather than the defender of liberal values and common decency his fans thought him, Capra, McBride reveals, was a racist, anti-Sem~ite, and political conservative who fought efforts to unionize the film industry and who named names during the blacklist. Tracing Capra's career from his immigrant boyhood to his precipitous fall when his filmmaking skills seemed suddenly to desert him after World War II, McBride (who interviewed co-workers and family as well as Capra himself for this thoroughly researched effort) also debunks Capra's 1971 autobiography, revealing it to be largely an effort at self-aggrandizement that downplays the contributions of others, notably the screenwriters who provided most of the traits that came to be called "Capraesque." Although Capra's critical reputation has dropped in recent years, his popularity with audiences remains strong, so this definitive biography belongs in even the smallest film study collections. ~--Gordon Flagg"
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Publisher's Weekly Review: "In this captivating biography, Capra--Hollywood's champion of the ``common man''--emerges as a deeply contradictory figure, enamoured of right wing politics and anxious about his sexuality. Photos. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved"
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Additional Information
Subjects Capra, Frank, -- 1897-1991.
Motion picture producers and directors -- United States -- Biography.
Publisher New York :Simon & Schuster,1992
Language English
Description 768 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm
Bibliography Notes Filmography: pages [717]-731.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0671734946 :
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