The Pursuit of Happiness is, perhaps, more than any other, the central theme in Capra's work. Happiness is to be found in peace, contentment, enjoyment of life, above all, freedom from the rat race, the individual asserting himself to escape from the oppressive hand of the forces of Organization. This idea was expressed in abstract terms in Lost Horizon …, a film dismissed by almost all influential film critics as pretentious and absurd…. In fact, it is one of the most dazzling pieces of film-making to come out of Hollywood in the '30s…. The last memorable image of the film is of Robert, a lone, tiny figure, against a vast expanse of snow, struggling onwards through a blinding storm, trying to find his way back to Shangri-la. This image crystallizes Capra's preoccupation with the Pursuit of Happiness. In Lost Horizon the plane's passengers have been carefully chosen to...