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1 **Frank Russell Capra** (born **Francesco Rosario Capra**; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-American film director, producer and [[writer>>url:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screenwriter||title="Screenwriter"]] who became the creative force behind [[some of the major award-winning films of the 1930s and 1940s>>url:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Capra_filmography#Films_that_won_Academy_Awards||title="Frank Capra filmography"]]. Born in Italy and raised in Los Angeles from the age of five, his [[rags-to-riches>>url:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rags-to-riches||class="mw-redirect" title="Rags-to-riches"]] story has led film historians such as [[Ian Freer>>url:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Freer||title="Ian Freer"]] to consider him the "[[American dream>>url:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_dream||class="mw-redirect" title="American dream"]] personified."(% class="reference" id="cite_ref-Freer_1-0" %)^^[[[1]>>url:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Capra#cite_note-Freer-1]]^^
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3 Capra became one of America's most influential directors during the 1930s, winning three [[Oscars>>url:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscars||class="mw-redirect" title="Oscars"]] as [[Best Director>>url:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Award_for_Best_Director||title="Academy Award for Best Director"]]. Among his leading films were //[[It Happened One Night>>url:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Happened_One_Night||title="It Happened One Night"]]// (1934), //[[You Can't Take It With You>>url:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Can%27t_Take_It_With_You_%28film%29||class="mw-redirect" title="You Can't Take It With You (film)"]]// (1938), and //[[Mr. Smith Goes to Washington>>url:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Smith_Goes_to_Washington||title="Mr. Smith Goes to Washington"]]// (1939); the former two of these won the [[Academy Award for Best Picture>>url:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Award_for_Best_Picture||title="Academy Award for Best Picture"]]. During World War II, Capra served in the [[U.S. Army Signal Corps>>url:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signal_Corps_%28United_States_Army%29||title="Signal Corps (United States Army)"]] and produced [[propaganda films>>url:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_film||title="Propaganda film"]], such as the //[[Why We Fight>>url:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_We_Fight||title="Why We Fight"]]// series.
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5 After World War II, Capra's career declined as his later films such as //[[It's a Wonderful Life>>url:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_a_Wonderful_Life||title="It's a Wonderful Life"]]// (1946), which flopped when it was first released, were critically derided as being "simplistic" or "overly idealistic".(% class="reference" id="cite_ref-2" %)^^[[[2]>>url:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Capra#cite_note-2]]^^(%%) In succeeding decades, however, these films have been favorably reassessed. Outside of directing, Capra was active in the [[film industry>>url:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_industry||title="Film industry"]], engaging in various political and social issues. He served as President of the [[Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences>>url:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_of_Motion_Pictures_Arts_and_Sciences||class="mw-redirect" title="Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences"]], worked alongside the [[Screenwriters Guild>>url:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writers_Guild_of_America,_West||title="Writers Guild of America, West"]], and was head of the [[Directors Guild of America>>url:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directors_Guild_of_America||title="Directors Guild of America"]]. (source [[Wikipedia>>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Capra]])

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