mdblist.com logo The Best Frank Capra Directed Movies


Ratings
Between
and
Between
and
Between
and
With at least
votes
Between
and
With at least
votes
Between
and
With at least
votes
Between
and
With at least
votes
Between
and
With at least
votes
Between
and
With at least
votes
Between
and
With at least
votes
Between
and
With at least
votes
Additional filters
m
Lists, Streaming Services, Cast and more
Create List (62 items)

Login to create Trakt list


poster
Amazon Prime Video
89
8.6
/541784/
84
/8965/
83
/4659/
4.4
/598520/
94
/97/
95
/14066/
89
/17/
cc age 9+

It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
A holiday favourite for generations... George Bailey has spent his entire life giving to the people of Bedford Falls. All that prevents rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town is George's modest building and loan company. But on Christmas Eve the business's $8,000 is lost and George's troubles begin.
poster
Criterion Channel
85
8.1
/118432/
77
/1876/
78
/1343/
4.2
/118050/
98
/113/
93
/1984/
87
/16/
cc age 10+

It Happened One Night (1934)
A runaway heiress makes a deal with the rogue reporter trailing her but the mismatched pair end up stuck with each other when their bus leaves them behind.
poster
83
8.1
/128148/
77
/1729/
78
/1136/
4.1
/67018/
97
/98/
94
/2708/
73
/9/
cc age 8+

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
After the death of a United States Senator, idealistic Jefferson Smith is appointed as his replacement in Washington. Soon, the naive and earnest new senator has to battle political corruption.
poster
81
7.9
/78038/
78
/1367/
76
/993/
4.0
/50946/
86
/35/
92
/2414/
cc age 11+

Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
Mortimer Brewster, a newspaper drama critic, playwright, and author known for his diatribes against marriage, suddenly falls in love and gets married; but when he makes a quick trip home to tell his two maiden aunts, he finds out his aunts' hobby - killing lonely old men and burying them in the cellar!
poster
81
7.8
/29883/
76
/525/
75
/427/
3.8
/23003/
94
/78/
88
/620/
cc age 8+

You Can't Take It with You (1938)
Alice, the only relatively normal member of the eccentric Sycamore family, falls in love with Tony Kirby, but his wealthy banker father and snobbish mother strongly disapprove of the match. When the Kirbys are invited to dinner to become better acquainted with their future in-laws, things don't turn out the way Alice had hoped.
poster
80
7.8
/24629/
75
/440/
75
/392/
3.9
/17236/
90
/21/
86
/416/
cc age 9+

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
Longfellow Deeds lives in a small town, leading a small town kind of life. When a relative dies and leaves Deeds a fortune, Longfellow moves to the big city where he becomes an instant target for everyone. Deeds outwits them all until Babe Bennett comes along. When small-town boy meets big-city girl anything can, and does, happen.
poster
MGM Plus
76
73
7.6
/16088/
74
/267/
72
/272/
3.7
/12157/
92
/24/
82
/230/
63
/9/

Meet John Doe (1941)
As a parting shot, fired reporter Ann Mitchell prints a fake letter from unemployed "John Doe," who threatens suicide in protest of social ills. The paper is forced to rehire Ann and hires John Willoughby to impersonate "Doe." Ann and her bosses cynically milk the story for all it's worth, until the made-up "John Doe" philosophy starts a whole political movement.
poster
77
73
7.6
/15468/
72
/253/
70
/235/
3.6
/7968/
92
/13/
82
/230/

Lost Horizon (1937)
British diplomat Robert Conway and a small group of civilians crash-land in the Himalayas, where they are rescued by the inhabitants of the hidden, idyllic valley of Shangri-La. Protected by the mountains from the world outside, where the clouds of World War II are gathering, Shangri-La provides a seductive escape for the world-weary Conway.
poster
77
68
7.4
/5120/
70
/88/
70
/92/
3.6
/3347/
100
/11/
79
/42/

Lady for a Day (1933)
Apple Annie is an aging New York City fruit seller whose daughter Louise has been raised in a Spanish convent since she was an infant. As she grows up, Louise is led to believe that her mother is a society matron called Mrs. E. Worthington Manville. Annie worries that her lie is in danger of being uncovered when she learns that Louise is sailing to New York with her new fiancé and his nobleman father.
poster
73
63
7.2
/4569/
73
/87/
66
/70/
3.5
/2493/
80
/5/
78
/44/

State of the Union (1948)
An industrialist is urged to run for President, but this requires uncomfortable compromises on both political and marital levels.
poster
69
61
6.9
/4708/
64
/89/
62
/95/
3.5
/4218/
86
/58/
64
/48/

The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1932)
An American missionary is gradually seduced by a courtly warlord holding her in Shanghai.
poster
Hoopla
67
61
7.1
/8564/
71
/159/
73
/174/
3.4
/3792/
50
/10/
73
/84/

Pocketful of Miracles (1961)
A New York gangster and his girlfriend attempt to turn street beggar Apple Annie into a society lady when the peddler learns her daughter is marrying royalty.
poster
75
57
7.2
/2674/
67
/46/
67
/48/
3.6
/2421/
100
/7/
78
/20/

The Miracle Woman (1931)
After an unappreciated minister dies, his daughter loses her faith in God, prompting her to open a phony temple with a con man. Can the love of a blind former aviator restore her faith and happiness?
poster
fuboTV
67
57
6.7
/3915/
63
/51/
66
/54/
3.2
/3243/
78
/9/
67
/43/

Platinum Blonde (1931)
Ann Schuyler is an upper-crust socialite who bullies her reporter husband into conforming to her highfalutin ways. The husband chafes at the confinement of high society, though, and yearns for a creative outlet. He decides to write a play and collaborates with a fellow reporter.
poster
72
54
7.4
/2556/
66
/51/
68
/45/
3.6
/1681/
81
/467/

American Madness (1932)
Socially-conscious banker Thomas Dickson faces a crisis when his protégé is wrongly accused of robbing the bank, gossip of the robbery starts a bank run, and evidence suggests Dickson's wife had an affair... all in the same day.
poster
MGM Plus
65
48
7.0
/2550/
62
/81/
64
/71/
3.2
/2372/

Why We Fight: Prelude to War (1942)
Prelude to War was the first film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight propaganda film series, commissioned by the Pentagon and George C. Marshall. It was made to convince American troops of the necessity of combating the Axis Powers during World War II. This film examines the differences between democratic and fascist states.
poster
62
48
6.2
/3168/
68
/48/
61
/49/
3.1
/1303/
75
/8/
47
/43/

A Hole in the Head (1959)
An impractical widower tries to hang onto his Miami hotel and his 12-year-old son.
poster
fuboTV
66
47
6.9
/2308/
68
/41/
64
/35/
3.4
/2955/
62
/164/

Forbidden (1932)
On a cruise to Cuba, Lulu Smith falls in love with Bob Grover. Back home, she breaks off the romance when he tells her he is married. Lulu has a baby but doesn't tell Bob, who turns out to be a rising politician. She passes herself off as the baby's nanny. When Bob learns what is going on, he adopts the little girl, not telling his wife or anyone else where she came from. Lulu gets a job at a newspaper. Things get complicated when the editor gets the dirt on Bob, but also wants to marry Lulu.
poster
MGM Plus
68
37
7.1
/1715/
65
/50/
68
/34/
3.5
/1049/
69
/20/

Why We Fight: The Battle of Russia (1943)
The fifth film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight propaganda film series, revealing the nature and process of the fight between the Soviet Union and Germany in the Second World War.
poster
Kanopy
68
36
6.6
/1062/
61
/15/
63
/27/
3.3
/708/
85
/170/

The Strong Man (1926)
A meek Belgian soldier (Harry Langdon) fighting in World War I receives penpal letters and a photo from "Mary Brown", an American girl he has never met. He becomes infatuated with her by long distance. After the war, the young Belgian journeys to America as assistant to a theatrical "strong man", Zandow the Great (Arthur Thalasso). While in America, he searches for Mary Brown... and he finds her, just as word comes that Zandow is incapacitated and the little nebbish must go on stage in his place.
poster
68
33
6.6
/1241/
59
/10/
60
/21/
3.3
/568/
100
/9/
57
/9/

Broadway Bill (1934)
Tycoon J.L. Higgins controls his whole family, but one of his sons-in-law, Dan Brooks, and his daughter Alice are fed up with that. Brooks quits his job as manager of J.L.'s paper box factory and devotes his life to his racing horse Broadway Bill, but his bankroll is thin and the luck is against him. He is arrested because of $150 he owes somebody for horse food, but suddenly a planned fraud by somebody else seems to offer him a chance...
poster
fuboTV
64
32
6.7
/1841/
70
/34/
61
/27/
3.3
/2731/
58
/5/

Ladies of Leisure (1930)
Kay Arnold is a gold digger who wanders from party to party with the intention of catching a rich suitor. Jerry Strong is a young man from a wealthy family who strives to succeed as an artist. What begins as a relationship of mutual convenience soon turns into something else.
poster
Kanopy
68
31
7.1
/1098/
67
/21/
67
/20/
3.4
/507/
69
/88/

Why We Fight: The Battle of Britain (1943)
The fourth of Frank Capra's Why We Fight series of seven propaganda films, which made the case for fighting and winning the Second World War. It was released in 1943 and concentrated on the German bombardment of the United Kingdom in anticipation of Operation Sea Lion, the planned German invasion.
poster
Hoopla
62
26
6.3
/1266/
62
/14/
52
/17/
3.3
/404/
60
/5/
69
/13/

Here Comes the Groom (1951)
Foreign correspondent Pete Garvey has 5 days to win back his former fiancée, or he'll lose the orphans he adopted.
poster
63
25
6.3
/617/
59
/11/
55
/12/
3.3
/438/
73
/145/

Long Pants (1927)
Harry Shelby has been kept in knee pants for years by his overprotective parents, but the day finally comes when Harry is given his first pair of long pants. Almost immediately, he is expected to marry his childhood sweetheart Priscilla... but instead, Harry's first heady whiff of manhood has got him panting after Bebe, a "fast" woman from the big city. Mistakenly thinking that Bebe fancies him too, Harry risks everything to help her out when she lands in jail, only to end up in hot water himself. Through it all, sweet Priscilla waits for her man to come to his senses.
poster
Amazon Prime Video
65
25
7.0
/1028/
61
/38/
63
/27/
3.4
/642/

Why We Fight: The Nazis Strike (1943)
The second film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight propaganda film series. It introduces Germany as a nation whose aggressive ambitions began in 1863 with Otto von Bismarck and the Nazis as its latest incarnation.
poster
MGM Plus
68
23
6.8
/890/
64
/17/
70
/17/
3.3
/400/
75
/20/

War Comes to America (1945)
The seventh and final film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight World War II propaganda film series. This entry attempts to describe the factors leading up to America's entry into the Second World War.
poster
63
23
6.0
/872/
55
/32/
58
/17/
3.0
/699/
83
/17/

Know Your Enemy: Japan (1945)
Frank Capra-directed propaganda film produced during World War II depicting the United States' new enemy: Japan.
poster
Amazon Prime Video
67
19
6.6
/754/
62
/18/
62
/15/
3.3
/402/
83
/13/

Tunisian Victory (1944)
Documentary made by the U.S. Army Signal Corps after the North African campaign.
poster
Kanopy
68
19
7.2
/889/
64
/22/
68
/16/
3.4
/459/

Why We Fight: Divide and Conquer (1943)
The third film of Frank Capra's 'Why We Fight" propaganda film series, dealing with the Nazi conquest of Western Europe in 1940.
poster
Amazon Prime Video
66
16
7.0
/863/
66
/18/
65
/14/
3.4
/420/

Why We Fight: The Battle of China (1944)
The sixth film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight propaganda film series illustrates Japan's occupation of China, including Madame Chiang Kai-Shek's stirring address before congress, the rape of Nanking, the great 2,000 mile migration, and Claire Chennault's Flying Tigers.
poster
62
15
6.3
/835/
68
/9/
50
/9/
3.3
/394/
57
/18/

Dirigible (1931)
Dirigible commander Jack Braden and Navy pilot 'Frisky' Pierce fight over the glory associated with a successful expedition to the South Pole and the love of beautiful Helen, Frisky's wife. After Braden's dirigible expedition fails, Frisky tries an expedition by plane. Unfortunately he crashes and strands his party at the South Pole. Braden must decide between a risky rescue attempt by dirigible and remaining safely at home with Helen.
poster
Hoopla
57
15
6.2
/624/
57
/8/
58
/7/
3.3
/201/
42
/998/

Riding High (1950)
A horse trainer who has fallen on hard times looks to his horse, Broadway Bill, to finally win the big race.
poster
65
14
6.9
/686/
62
/8/
63
/18/
3.4
/317/

The Matinee Idol (1928)
The famous matinee idol and blackface comedian, Don Wilson, heads out of town to escape adulation. There, calling himself Harry Mann, he accidentally joins a traveling acting troupe, and falls in love with Ginger Bolivar, who runs the troupe and stars in their Civil War melodrama. Don's producer sees the play, and thinks it's a comic masterpiece, and just what Don's Broadway show needs. But when Ginger finds out she's been played for a fool, will she forgive Don? Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. in 1997.
poster
60
10
6.4
/376/
50
/6/
62
/11/
3.4
/280/

The Power of the Press (1928)
The naive newspaper cub Clem lands a scoop when he's sent out to cover a murder. In his enthusiasm he writes that the main suspect is Jane. When she confronts Clem, she convinces him to help her prove her innocence.
poster
64
10
6.3
/382/
65
/2/
65
/10/
3.3
/300/

That Certain Thing (1928)
Gold-digger Molly marries the heir to a fortune, but things go badly when he is disinherited and starts working as a ditch digger.
poster
48
9
5.5
/229/
26
/3/
52
/11/
3.1
/392/

Fulta Fisher's Boarding House (1922)
Fulta Fisher runs a boarding house catering to seamen passing through the port. A girl known as Anne of Austria has had many lovers amongst the sailors, but presently she's known to be the "property" of Salem Hardieker, a tough Bostonian. When Anne's eye drifts to a new potential lover, Hans the Dane, he spurns her, knowing she's Salem's girl. But hell hath no fury like a woman scorned....
poster
59
9
5.7
/241/
62
/4/
53
/11/
3.3
/348/

So This Is Love (1928)
So This is Love? was another early Frank Capra production for fledgling Columbia Pictures. The hero, dress designer Jerry McGuire (William Collier Jr.), is tired of being considered a wimp. After business hours, Jerry secretly takes boxing lessons, enabling him to knock the stuffings out of his burly rival Spike Mullins (Johnnie Walker). Jerry's newfound pugilistic skills wins him the affections of store clerk Hilda Jensen (Shirley Mason), who's just car-razy about "cave men." Filmed in a fast three weeks, So This is Love? was completed before Frank Capra's Matinee Idol but released afterward. Leading lady Shirley Mason was the sister of Viola Dana, who starred in Capra's initial Columbia effort, That Certain Thing.
poster
73
?
7.5
/312/
64
/5/
81
/8/

Hemo the Magnificent (1957)
Professor Frank Baxter and some animated friends answer questions about blood. what makes it red? Why do little animals' hearts beat so quickly? And so much more.
poster
?
40
/2/

Why We Fight: World War II: The Battle of China / War Comes to America (2000)
Part of Frank Capra's World War II propaganda series made for the U.S. Armed Forces, this program presents newsreel footage addressing the Battle of China and shifting opinion as the United States moves from isolationism to supporting the war. Highlights include Madame Chiang Kai-Shek's moving address to Congress, Edward R. Murrow's reports from London during the Blitz and Charles Lindbergh expressing his opposition to America entering the war.
poster
?
4.9
/32/
50
/1/

The Burglar (1928)
A man, accidentally locked out of his house is mistaken for a burglar as he attempts to re-enter the house. The gag is that the person mistaking him, is an actual burglar thinking the man to be a rival to his score.
poster
?
4.0
/12/
10
/1/

The Fallbrook Story (1952)
“The Fallbrook Story,” is a 20-minute film of Cold War-era uneasiness in which director Frank Capra rails against what he calls the evils of Big Bureaucracy. In 1951, Capra lived in Fallbrook, California on his 1,000-acre Red Mountain Ranch farm filled with olive groves. The federal government, which had purchased the old Rancho Santa Margarita land in 1941 to build Camp Pendleton, was concerned that ranchers upstream would take or pollute the Santa Margarita River, which ran through Camp Pendleton. Capra’s film documents how Fallbrook residents fought back against the federal government.
poster
?
5.5
/21/
50
/1/

The Italian Warship Libia (1921)
A documentary recording the visit of the Italian navy warship Libia to San Francisco.
poster
57
?
6.9
/157/
43
/3/
60
/4/

The Strange Case of the Cosmic Rays (1957)
Part of acclaimed filmmaker Frank Capra's "Wonders of Life" series of science-based films (which won an Emmy Award for Best Editing) teaches kids about the power of gamma rays and radiation.
poster
70
?
7.4
/227/
65
/5/
73
/10/

Our Mr. Sun (1956)
One entry in a series of films produced to make science accessible to the masses—especially children—this film describes the sun in scientific but entertaining terms.
poster
?
4.8
/92/
50
/1/

For the Love of Mike (1927)
Three men join forces to raise an adopted son. A lost film.
poster
77
?
6.6
/179/
75
/2/
100
/1/

The Way of the Strong (1928)
A gangster falls for a blind violinist, only for his mobster rivals to kidnap her.
poster
67
?
6.3
/433/
75
/4/
66
/9/
3.3
/216/

The Younger Generation (1929)
Soap-opera about a social-climbing Jewish man and his old-world parents who are heartbroken by his rejection of them. Young Morris Goldfish follows his immigrant father into business. His ruthless business practices cause him to become a big success, and he moves the family to Park Avenue. They go, but were happier back on the East Side. Morris is ashamed of this parents and his humble origins, but learns in the end that there is more to life than money.


mdblist.com © 2020 | Contact | Reddit | Discord | API