Similarities Between John Ford And Frank Capra

John Ford and Frank Capra: A Study of Their Movies

"A great man and a great American, Frank Capra is an inspiration to those who believe in the American dream" John Ford

"The megaphone has been to John Ford what the chisel was to
Michelangelo.....Ford Cannot be pinned down or analyzed. He is pure Ford--Which means pure great" Frank Capra

Frank Capra and John Ford have directed many classic movies and it is unfair to only view two of their works and summarize all there is too say about their styles, so I won't. Instead, I will be discussing different styles and conventions that Frank Capra and John Ford used in the four movies I viewed.
These movies are Mr. Smith goes to Washington, Mr Deeds goes to Town both
Capra, films and The Informer
Capra's heroes come from small town, happy middle America and are the epitome of the common man. They are well liked and respected in the community that they live in. Capra's men have greatness thrust on them by luck, while Ford
‘s characters have trouble thrust upon them. Both Smith and Deeds achieve their honored positions by the misfortune of someone else. In both cases it is the death of a famous individual who perishes and Deed's and Smith are called up from the ranks of the common people to eventually achieve greatness. However, their call is based on pure luck. Deeds luck was due because he was an heir of a wealthy relative, and Smith because a coin toss ends with the coin standing erect. Ford's men come from the outside of society, Fonda from prison and Gypo had been kicked out of the IRA. They have been disgraced and are at low points in their lives, while Fonda tries to redeem himself in a society that keeps dropping him down. He is released from prison, finds out the authorities have taken his home and starts out with nothing. Fonda tries his hardest not
Ford way of secretly criticizing the learned man. Perhaps he is commenting on the fact that we pay to much attention to what is written, which could lead to our downfall. Don't just believe what you read investigate to find out the truth. Later on in Grapes of Wrath we find out that the pamphlet is actually a tool of the rich man to lure lots of workers out to California so they can offer really low wages. The wealthy man controls the news and will always use it to his advantage, even though most common folks believe what they read they must learn not to be so blind. The use of newspapers and written words are more obvious in the two
Capra films. They not only affect the characters but they also help explain the story to the audience. In the Capra films we learn that news is subjective to mistruths and when silly stories appear of Deeds in the paper we know they were not meant in the context that they were printed. Yet it seems that in Capra's films the society believes without question everything they read in the paper, yet as spectators we learn the truth about the media. Babe the reporter who loves Deeds says in the court room she colored the articles to sell more papers.
Finally when we are introduced to Taylor in Smith we realizes how corrupt