Capra

American  

[kap-ruh] / ˈkæp rə /

noun

1. Frank, 1897–1991, U.S. film director and producer, born in Italy.

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Capra British  

/ ˈkæprə /

noun

1. Frank. 1896–1992, US film director born in Italy. His films include It Happened One Night (1934), It's a Wonderful Life (1946), and several propaganda films during World War II.

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Example Sentences

Based on the Pulitzer-winning play, it is a box-office success and earns Frank Capra his third Oscar directing award.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 8, 2026

“As we were selling this movie, trying to get it financed, I was pitching it to everyone as a Capra movie and what I kept hearing is, ‘We don’t make those movies anymore.’”

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 13, 2025

No matter when you tuned in, he was telling it like it is, for 25 straight hours with passion, insight, inspiration and empathy, like something out of a Frank Capra movie.

From Salon • Apr. 2, 2025

Famously, the Frank Capra directed fantasy drama failed to break even when it was first released, but became a TV fixture after the rights to the film entered the public domain in 1974.

From BBC • Dec. 20, 2023

Those who had had dates over the weekend talked about the new movies in town—Gary Cooper in One Sunday Afternoon, at the Paramount, and a Frank Capra film, Lady for a Day, at the Roxy.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown