Saturday, July 2, 2016
Capra Directing Actors, the greatest
In my esteem, Capra was the greatest director of actors. Even better than Elia Kazan. Why? Because he left them alone---to a large degree.
Why would you call him the greatest if he left them alone?
Where Capra did 95% of the directing of his actors was in the casting. He was brilliant at picking the right person for the job and then leaving them alone.
If he saw an actor doing something quirky in their normal day to day living, he would ask them to add it. It worked. It added that dimension of reality to his films. So you discover Clark Gable doesn't wear t-shirts. Or you get to see Sterling Holloway add his Vaudeville act to his bit part as a soda jerk. Or you see the way Barbara Stanwyck could bully a man into submission, while keeping her femininity. Or you can see Jean Arthur literally charm herself into the heart of a man.
Let me give a couple examples of his get out of the way style. In It Happened One Night he asks Claudette Colbert to stick a leg out to stop a car while she and Clark are hitchhiking. He well knows that Claudette has the best pair of legs in Hollywood. He also knows she's a bit shy about showing anything since Cecil B. DeMille bullied her into swimming nude for Cleopatra.
So, when she refuses, Frank says "No problem," and brings in the double, The double sticks out a beefy leg to stop the car. Claudette takes one look, vocalizes her exasperation, asks the double to step aside, and lets Capra get the shot. The rest is history (repeated over and over by Tex Avery and others).
Maybe we should call him Mr. Sly Fox. He looked like a small, simple Italian man with a bit of a stutter, a balding pate and a nerd's sensibility (he had a degree from Cal Tech in chemistry and biology). But by being this nice guy who got out of the way, he got the best performances from our greatest actors and actresses.
Another example is when James Stewart prays in the bar during It's A Wonderful Life. Capra saw this real moment from Jimmy, but he was shooting a wide shot. He asks Jimmy if he can do it again for a close-up. He says he doesn't think so. No problem. Capra takes the film into the lab and magnifies the piece until he gets the incredible performance we get to see today.
As the studio system changed and actors began to feel their oats, Capra's hand's off approach lost its power. It was a loss to all of us. The fleeting beauty of art. We're blessed to have these moments preserved.
Why would you call him the greatest if he left them alone?
Where Capra did 95% of the directing of his actors was in the casting. He was brilliant at picking the right person for the job and then leaving them alone.
If he saw an actor doing something quirky in their normal day to day living, he would ask them to add it. It worked. It added that dimension of reality to his films. So you discover Clark Gable doesn't wear t-shirts. Or you get to see Sterling Holloway add his Vaudeville act to his bit part as a soda jerk. Or you see the way Barbara Stanwyck could bully a man into submission, while keeping her femininity. Or you can see Jean Arthur literally charm herself into the heart of a man.
Let me give a couple examples of his get out of the way style. In It Happened One Night he asks Claudette Colbert to stick a leg out to stop a car while she and Clark are hitchhiking. He well knows that Claudette has the best pair of legs in Hollywood. He also knows she's a bit shy about showing anything since Cecil B. DeMille bullied her into swimming nude for Cleopatra.
So, when she refuses, Frank says "No problem," and brings in the double, The double sticks out a beefy leg to stop the car. Claudette takes one look, vocalizes her exasperation, asks the double to step aside, and lets Capra get the shot. The rest is history (repeated over and over by Tex Avery and others).
Maybe we should call him Mr. Sly Fox. He looked like a small, simple Italian man with a bit of a stutter, a balding pate and a nerd's sensibility (he had a degree from Cal Tech in chemistry and biology). But by being this nice guy who got out of the way, he got the best performances from our greatest actors and actresses.
Another example is when James Stewart prays in the bar during It's A Wonderful Life. Capra saw this real moment from Jimmy, but he was shooting a wide shot. He asks Jimmy if he can do it again for a close-up. He says he doesn't think so. No problem. Capra takes the film into the lab and magnifies the piece until he gets the incredible performance we get to see today.
As the studio system changed and actors began to feel their oats, Capra's hand's off approach lost its power. It was a loss to all of us. The fleeting beauty of art. We're blessed to have these moments preserved.
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