Frank Capra's American Dream

Talk about capraesque. According to Frank Capra's American Dream, which celebrates the director's birth 100 years ago last month, Capra's life was not unlike those of his can-do heroes. A poor Sicilian immigrant who became a three-time Oscar winner (for It Happened One Night, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, and You Can't Take It With You), the director inspires adoration from narrator Ron Howard and a bevy of critics, directors, and actors. Since this is a tribute, written and directed by Kenneth Bowser and executive-produced by Capra's sons Tom and Frank Jr., some intriguing aspects of his life are omitted; for example, he was a longtime Republican who despised Roosevelt. Still, the clips do clue us in to the director's durability: His brand of optimism and sentimentality, very much of its time, flew on the wings of seductive cinematography, lively editing, and the charisma of such stars as Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, and Jimmy Stewart. B