Frank Capra: The Catastrophe of Success - Paperback

by Joseph McBride (Author)

Moviegoers often assume Frank Capra's life resembled his beloved films (such as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and It's a Wonderful Life). A man of the people faces tremendous odds and, by doing the right thing, triumphs! But as Joseph McBride reveals in this meticulously researched, definitive biography, the reality was far more complex, a true American tragedy. Using newly declassified U.S. government documents about Capra's response to being considered a possible "subversive" during the post-World War II Red Scare, McBride adds a final chapter to his unforgettable portrait of the man who gave us It Happened One Night, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, and Meet John Doe.

Front Jacket

The story of a life tragically at odds with the idealism of Capra's Americana

Author Biography

Joseph McBride is a film historian and associate professor in the Department of Cinema Studies at San Francisco State University. His many books include Hawks on Hawks; What Ever Happened to Orson Welles? A Portrait of an Independent Career; Searching for John Ford; and Frank Capra: The Catastrophe of Success, the latter two published by University Press of Mississippi.