Director, writer, and producer Frank Capra, who made over fifty movies in a career spanning almost four decades, is best remembered for showcasing the virtues of ordinary people in sentimental human comedies, films such as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, where the average guy does battle against the forces of corporate or state evil--and wins. Capra became one of the best-known directors in the history of motion pictures; his name has become an adjective instantly recognizable to any film buff: "capra-esque." Another coinage encapsulates the negative criticism of his work: "capra-corn." Often accused of saccharine treatments and a naive take on life, Capra created a universe on celluloid that did not exactly tally with the realities of the world.

Born in 1897, Capra began his career with silent movies in the 1920s and went on to direct 1930s hits such as It Happened One Night, You Can't Take It...