107-513: Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra ; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-American film director, producer, and screenwriter who was the creative force behind several major award-winning films of the 1930s and 1940s . Born in Italy and raised in Los Angeles from the age of five, his rags-to-riches story has led film historians such as Ian Freer to consider him
214-414: A Day , Mr. Smith Goes to Washington , and It's a Wonderful Life ). On May 5, 1936, Capra hosted the 8th Academy Awards ceremony. Although It's a Wonderful Life is his best-known film, Friedman notes that it was Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), which most represented the "Capra myth". That film expressed Capra's patriotism more than any others, and "presented the individual working within
321-499: A German-made film biography of composer Frédéric Chopin . He purchased the film himself as a basis for his new production, and recruited one of Columbia's leading writers, Sidney Buchman , to fashion a screenplay. Capra spent a full year working on the Chopin project, and the film was ready to go into production. Capra wanted to make the film in the costly Technicolor process—a first for Columbia—but Columbia's New York office balked at
428-533: A Pass/Fail basis. There is little competition; collaboration on homework is encouraged and the honor system encourages take-home tests and flexible homework schedules. Caltech offers co-operative programs with other schools, such as the Pasadena Art Center College of Design and Occidental College . According to a 2018 PayScale study, Caltech graduates earn a median early career salary of $ 83,400 and $ 143,100 mid-career, placing them in
535-495: A bag. Nobody takes their clothes off. There's no ventilation, and it stinks like hell. They're all miserable. It's the most degrading place you could ever be. Capra remembers the ship's arrival in New York Harbor, where he saw "a statue of a great lady, taller than a church steeple, holding a torch above the land we were about to enter". He recalls his father's exclamation at the sight: Cicco, look! Look at that! That's
642-624: A collaboration between the Naval Ordnance Test Station and the Manhattan Project. Caltech scientists worked on a variety of assignments, including B-29 airdrop tests of model atomic bombs and the manufacturing of explosives for use in the atomic bomb’s implosion mechanism. Additionally, the Salt Wells Pilot Plant at Inyokern was developed with Caltech scientists in response to concerns about
749-594: A division of biology was established under the leadership of Thomas Hunt Morgan , the most distinguished biologist in the United States at the time, and discoverer of the role of genes and the chromosome in heredity. In 1930, Kerckhoff Marine Laboratory was established in Corona del Mar under the care of Professor George MacGinitie . In 1926, a graduate school of aeronautics was created, which eventually attracted Theodore von Kármán . Kármán later helped create
856-593: A fruit grower, and the former Rosaria "Sara" Nicolosi. Capra's family was Roman Catholic. Frank's siblings were Luigia, Ignazia, Benedetto, Antonino Giuseppe, Antonia, and Anne. The name "Capra", notes Capra's biographer, Joseph McBride, represents his family's closeness to the land, and means "goat". He notes that the English word "capricious" derives from it, "evoking the animal's skittish temperament", adding that "the name neatly expresses two aspects of Frank Capra's personality: emotionalism and obstinacy." In 1903, when he
963-469: A gag writer for Hal Roach 's Our Gang series. He was twice hired as a writer for a slapstick comedy director, Mack Sennett , in 1918 and 1924. Under him, Capra wrote scripts for comedian Harry Langdon and produced by Mack Sennett , the first being Plain Clothes in 1925. According to Capra, it was he who invented Langdon's character, the innocent fool living in a "naughty world"; however, Langdon
1070-537: A heavy load, and registrations above 51 units require an overload petition. Approximately 20 percent of students double-major. This is achievable since the humanities and social sciences majors have been designed to be done in conjunction with a science major. Although choosing two options in the same division is discouraged, it is still possible. First-year students are enrolled in first-term classes based upon results of placement exams in math, physics, chemistry, and writing and take all classes in their first two terms on
1177-439: A master plan for the 22 acres (8.9 ha) campus. Goodhue conceived the overall layout of the campus and designed the physics building, Dabney Hall, and several other structures, in which he sought to be consistent with the local climate, the character of the school, and Hale's educational philosophy. Goodhue's designs for Caltech were also influenced by the traditional Spanish mission architecture of Southern California. During
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#17327724385921284-664: A million-dollar cash offer from Warner Bros. Columbia ultimately went ahead with the Chopin biography, in Technicolor, under the direction of Charles Vidor : A Song to Remember (1945). Capra's first Warner project was Meet John Doe (1941). So important was the Capra name that Warner Bros. took its own name off the main title. Instead of the usual "Warner Bros. Pictures presents", Meet John Doe begins with "Presenting". Some consider Meet John Doe to be Capra's most controversial movie. The film's hero, played by Gary Cooper ,
1391-463: A movie extra, playing poker, and selling local oil well stocks. During this time the 24-year-old Capra directed a 32-minute documentary film titled La Visita Dell'Incrociatore Italiano Libya a San Francisco . Not only did it document the visit of the Italian naval vessel Libya to San Francisco, but also the reception given to the crew of the ship by San Francisco's L'Italia Virtus Club, now known as
1498-489: A newspaper article about a new movie studio opening in San Francisco. Capra phoned them saying he had moved from Hollywood and falsely implied that he had experience in the budding film industry. Capra's only prior exposure in films was in 1915 while attending Manual Arts High School. The studio's founder, Walter Montague, was nonetheless impressed by Capra and offered him $ 75 to direct a one-reel silent film. Capra, with
1605-495: A picture for First National, For the Love of Mike (1927). This was a silent comedy about three bickering godfathers—a German, a Jew, and an Irishman—starring a budding actress, Claudette Colbert . The movie was considered a failure and is a lost film . Capra returned to Harry Cohn's studio, now named Columbia Pictures , which was then producing short films and two-reel comedies for "fillers" to play between main features. Columbia
1712-459: A reality only when they all learn to love each other. This added goal was inspired after meeting with a Christian Scientist friend who told him to view his talents in a different way: The talents you have, Mr. Capra, are not your own, not self-acquired. God gave you those talents; they are his gifts to you, to use for his purpose. Capra began to embody messages in subsequent films, many of which conveyed "fantasies of goodwill". The first of those
1819-601: A sign on the library bearing the simple phrase " Impeach Nixon ". The following week, Ross McCollum, president of the National Oil Company, wrote an open letter to Dabney House stating that in light of their actions he had decided not to donate one million dollars to Caltech. The Dabney family, being Republicans, disowned Dabney House after hearing of the protest. Since 2000, the Einstein Papers Project has been located at Caltech. The project
1926-745: A solar astronomer from the University of Chicago , founded the Mount Wilson Observatory in 1904. He joined Throop's board of trustees in 1907, and soon began developing the university, and the whole of Pasadena, into a major scientific and cultural destination. He engineered the appointment of James A. B. Scherer , a literary scholar untutored in science but very capable in administration and fund-raising, to Throop's presidency in 1908. Scherer persuaded retired businessman and trustee Charles W. Gates to donate $ 25,000 in seed money (equivalent to $ 800,000 in 2023) to build Gates Laboratory,
2033-572: A striking illustration of one way in which the Research Council can secure co-operation and advance scientific investigation. This institution, with its able investigators and excellent research laboratories, could be of great service in any broad scheme of cooperation. President Scherer, hearing of the formation of the council, immediately offered to take part in its work, and with this object, he secured within three days an additional research endowment of one hundred thousand dollars. Through
2140-556: A visiting-scholars program soon after joining Caltech. Notable scientists who accepted his invitation include Paul Dirac , Erwin Schrödinger , Werner Heisenberg , Hendrik Lorentz and Niels Bohr . Albert Einstein arrived on the Caltech campus for the first time in 1931 to polish up his Theory of General Relativity , and he returned to Caltech subsequently as a visiting professor in 1932 and 1933. During World War II, Caltech
2247-514: A year without work, seeing how his siblings had steady jobs, he felt he was a failure, which led to bouts of depression. Chronic abdominal pains were later discovered to have been an undiagnosed burst appendix . After recovering at home, Capra moved out and spent the next few years living in flophouses in San Francisco and hopping freight trains, wandering the Western United States. To support himself, he took odd jobs on farms, as
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#17327724385922354-526: Is a former baseball player now bumming around, lacking goals. He is selected by a news reporter to represent the " common man ," to capture the imagination of ordinary Americans. The film was released shortly before America became involved in World War II, and citizens were still in an isolationist mood. According to some historians, the film was made to convey a "deliberate reaffirmation of American values," though ones that seemed uncertain with respect to
2461-491: Is governed by a permanent trustee committee and administered by an investment office. The institute is organized into six primary academic divisions: Biology and Biological Engineering (founded 1927), Chemistry and Chemical Engineering (founded 1926), Engineering and Applied Science (founded 1926), Geological and Planetary Sciences (founded 1927), Humanities and Social Sciences (founded 1926), Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy (founded 1926). Given Caltech's historical prestige and
2568-646: Is located approximately 11 mi (18 km) northeast of downtown Los Angeles , in Pasadena. First-year students are required to live on campus, and 95% of undergraduates remain in the on-campus housing system at Caltech . Students agree to abide by an honor code which allows faculty to assign take-home examinations . The Caltech Beavers compete in 13 intercollegiate sports in the NCAA Division III 's Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC). Scientists and engineers at or from
2675-589: Is one of the first screwball comedies , and with its release in the Great Depression , critics considered it an escapist story and a celebration of the American Dream . The film established the names of Capra, Columbia Pictures, and stars Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert in the movie industry. The film has been called " picaresque ". It was one of the earliest road movies and inspired variations on that theme by other filmmakers. He followed
2782-605: Is the largest ever for environmental sustainability research and the second-largest private donation to a US academic institution (after Bloomberg's gift of $ 1.8 billion to Johns Hopkins University in 2018). On account of President Robert A. Millikan's affiliation with the Human Betterment Foundation , in January 2021, the Caltech Board of Trustees authorized the removal of Millikan's name (and
2889-509: The California Legislature calling for the establishment of a publicly funded "California Institute of Technology," with an initial budget of a million dollars, ten times the budget of Throop at the time. The board of trustees offered to turn Throop over to the state, but the presidents of Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley successfully lobbied to defeat the bill, which allowed Throop to develop as
2996-714: The Fat Man implosion bomb, crucial to the Trinity Test and the subsequent bombing of Nagasaki . Lauritsen’s team at Caltech developed detonators that would later be used in atomic bombs. In November 1943, Caltech and the U.S. Navy established the Naval Ordnance Test Station (NOTS) in Inyokern, California , near the Mojave Desert to work on aircraft ordnance and rocket development. One of
3103-491: The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) owned by NASA and operated as a division of Caltech through a contract between NASA and Caltech. In 2008, JPL spent over $ 1.6 billion on research and development and employed over 5,000 project-related and support employees. The JPL Director also serves as a Caltech Vice President and is responsible to
3210-588: The Manual Arts High School , with Jimmy Doolittle and Lawrence Tibbett as classmates. Instead of working after graduating, as his parents wanted, he enrolled in college. He worked through college at the California Institute of Technology , playing banjo at nightclubs and taking odd jobs like working at the campus laundry, waiting tables, and cleaning engines at a local power plant. He studied chemical engineering and graduated in
3317-713: The National Research Council to coordinate and support scientific work on military problems. While he supported the idea of federal appropriations for science, he took exception to a federal bill that would have funded engineering research at land-grant colleges, and instead sought to raise a $ 1 million national research fund entirely from private sources. To that end, as Hale wrote in The New York Times : Throop College of Technology, in Pasadena California has recently afforded
Frank Capra - Misplaced Pages Continue
3424-554: The San Francisco Italian Athletic Club . At 25, Capra took a job selling books written and published by American philosopher Elbert Hubbard . Capra recalled that he "hated being a peasant, being a scrounging new kid trapped in the Sicilian ghetto of Los Angeles. ... All I had was cockiness—and let me tell you that gets you a long way." During his book sales efforts—and nearly broke—Capra read
3531-554: The U.S. Army Signal Corps and produced propaganda films , such as the Why We Fight series. After World War II, Capra's career declined as his later films, such as It's a Wonderful Life (1946), performed poorly when they were first released. Beginning in 1950, his cinematic output slowed, and he retired from filmmaking in the mid-1960s. In the ensuing decades, however, It's a Wonderful Life and other Capra films were revisited favorably by critics. Outside of directing, Capra
3638-497: The greatest films ever made . The following are the films directed by Frank Capra, along with a listing of his awards. California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech ) is a private research university in Pasadena, California , United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes of technology in
3745-481: The " American Dream personified". Capra became one of America's most influential directors during the 1930s, winning three Academy Awards for Best Director from six nominations, along with three other Oscar wins from nine nominations in other categories. Among his leading films were It Happened One Night (1934), Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), You Can't Take It with You (1938), and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). During World War II, Capra served in
3852-516: The 1960s, Caltech underwent considerable expansion, in part due to the philanthropy of alumnus Arnold O. Beckman . In 1953, Beckman was asked to join the Caltech Board of Trustees. In 1964, he became its chairman. Over the next few years, as Caltech's president emeritus David Baltimore describes it, Arnold Beckman and his wife Mabel "shaped the destiny of Caltech". In 1971 a magnitude-6.6 earthquake in San Fernando caused some damage to
3959-626: The 2021–2022 school year was $ 56,394 and total annual costs were estimated to be $ 79,947 excluding the Caltech Student Health Insurance Plan. In 2012–2013, Caltech awarded $ 17.1 million in need-based aid, $ 438k in non-need-based aid, and $ 2.51 million in self-help support to enrolled undergraduate students. The average financial aid package of all students eligible for aid was $ 38,756 and students graduated with an average debt of $ 15,090. The full-time, four-year undergraduate program emphasizes instruction in
4066-671: The Caltech campus. Engineers who evaluated the damage found that two historic buildings dating from the early days of the Institute—Throop Hall and the Goodhue-designed Culbertson Auditorium—had cracked. New additions to the campus include the Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics and the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Center for Information Science and Technology, which opened in 2009, and
4173-654: The Class of 2027 (enrolled Fall 2023), Caltech received 13,136 applications and accepted 412 applicants for a 3.14% admit rate; 270 enrolled. The subsequent year, for the Class of 2028, Caltech reduced the number of seats by almost one hundred, accepting 315 applicants out of approximately 13,000 total applications. For the Class of 2025, 32% were of underrepresented ancestry (which includes students who self-identify as American Indian/Alaska Native, Hispanic/Latino, Black/African American, and/or Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander), and 6% were foreign students. Undergraduate tuition for
4280-611: The French public was asked to select which film they wanted to see most, having been told by the Vichy government that soon no more American films would be allowed in France, the overwhelming majority chose it over all others. To a France soon to be invaded and occupied by Nazi forces, the film most expressed the "perseverance of democracy and the American way ." Capra became enchanted with
4387-637: The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and played an integral part in establishing Caltech as one of the world's centers for rocket science . In 1928, construction of the Palomar Observatory began. Millikan served as "Chairman of the Executive Council" (effectively Caltech's president) from 1921 to 1945, and his influence was such that the institute was occasionally referred to as "Millikan's School". Millikan initiated
Frank Capra - Misplaced Pages Continue
4494-576: The Kremlin. The black cloud of war hung over the chancelleries of the world. Official Washington from the President down, was in the process of making hard, torturing decisions. "And here was I, in the process of making a satire about government officials; ... Wasn't this the most untimely time for me to make a film about Washington? When the filming was completed, the studio sent preview copies to Washington. Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. , U.S. ambassador to
4601-562: The National Research Council, Hale simultaneously lobbied for science to play a larger role in national affairs, and for Throop to play a national role in science. The new funds were designated for physics research, and ultimately led to the establishment of the Norman Bridge Laboratory, which attracted experimental physicist Robert Andrews Millikan from the University of Chicago in 1917. During
4708-541: The President of the Institute for the management of the laboratory. Caltech is a small four-year, highly residential research university with slightly more students in graduate programs than undergraduate. The institute has been accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges since 1949. Caltech is on the quarter system : the fall term starts in late September and ends before Christmas,
4815-512: The SAT Physics Subject Test was 760–800; SAT Chemistry Subject Test was 760–800; SAT Biology Subject Tests was 760–800. In June 2020, Caltech announced a test-blind policy where they would not require nor consider test scores for the next two years. The moratorium was extended twice, starting July 2021, but was subsequently cancelled starting with the Class of 2029. The institute is need-blind for domestic applicants. For
4922-685: The UK, wrote to Columbia head Harry Cohn, "Please do not play this picture in Europe." Politicians were concerned about the potential negative effect the film might have on the morale of the United States' allies, as World War II had begun. Kennedy wrote to President Roosevelt that, "In foreign countries this film must inevitably strengthen the mistaken impression that the United States is full of graft , corruption and lawlessness." Many studio heads agreed, nor did they want negative feelings about Hollywood instilled in political leaders. Nonetheless, Capra's vision of
5029-416: The United States that are devoted to the instruction of pure and applied sciences. The institution was founded as a preparatory and vocational school by Amos G. Throop in 1891 and began attracting influential scientists such as George Ellery Hale , Arthur Amos Noyes , and Robert Andrews Millikan in the early 20th century. The vocational and preparatory schools were disbanded and spun off in 1910, and
5136-435: The United States among national universities overall, 11th for most innovative, and 15th for best value. U.S. News & World Report also ranked the graduate programs in chemistry and earth sciences first among national universities. Admission to Caltech is extremely rigorous. Prior to going test blind, Caltech students had the highest test scores in the nation. In admissions for the Class of 2028 (entering 2024), Caltech
5243-524: The University Librarian. Faculty are responsible for establishing admission requirements, academic standards, and curricula. The Faculty Board is the faculty's representative body and consists of 18 elected faculty representatives as well as other senior administration officials. Full-time professors are expected to teach classes, conduct research, advise students, and perform administrative work such as serving on committees. Founded in 1930s,
5350-630: The Warren and Katherine Schlinger Laboratory for Chemistry and Chemical Engineering followed in March 2010. The institute also concluded an upgrading of the South Houses in 2006. In late 2010, Caltech completed a 1.3 MW solar array projected to produce approximately 1.6 GWh in 2011. Caltech is incorporated as a non-profit corporation and is governed by a privately appointed 46-member board of trustees who serve five-year terms of office and retire at
5457-411: The age of 72. The trustees elect a president to serve as the chief executive officer of the institute and administer the affairs on the institute on behalf of the board, a provost who serves as the chief academic officer of the institute below the president, and ten other vice presidential and other senior positions. Thomas F. Rosenbaum became the ninth president of Caltech in 2014. Caltech's endowment
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#17327724385925564-641: The arts and sciences and has high graduate coexistence. Caltech offers 28 majors (called "options") and 12 minors across all six academic divisions. Caltech also offers interdisciplinary programs in Applied Physics, Biochemistry, Bioengineering, Computation and Neural Systems, Control and Dynamical Systems, Environmental Science and Engineering, Geobiology and Astrobiology, Geochemistry, and Planetary Astronomy. The most popular options are Chemical Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Physics. The most popular majors of
5671-439: The campus tripled in size. DuBridge, unlike his predecessors, welcomed federal funding of science. New research fields flourished, including chemical biology , planetary science , nuclear astrophysics , and geochemistry . A 200-inch telescope was dedicated on nearby Palomar Mountain in 1948 and remained the world's most powerful optical telescope for over forty years. Caltech opened its doors to female undergraduates during
5778-519: The class of 2023 were Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, and Electrical Engineering. Prior to the entering class of 2013, Caltech required students to take a core curriculum of five terms of mathematics, five terms of physics, two terms of chemistry, one term of biology, two terms of lab courses, one term of scientific communication, three terms of physical education, and 12 terms of humanities and social science. Since 2013, only three terms each of mathematics and physics have been required by
5885-539: The college assumed its present name in 1920. In 1934, Caltech was elected to the Association of American Universities , and the antecedents of NASA 's Jet Propulsion Laboratory , which Caltech continues to manage and operate, were established between 1936 and 1943 under Theodore von Kármán . Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphasis on science and engineering, managing $ 423 million in sponsored research in 2022. Its 124-acre (50 ha) primary campus
5992-522: The course of the war, Hale, Noyes and Millikan worked together in Washington on the NRC. Subsequently, they continued their partnership in developing Caltech. Under the leadership of Hale , Noyes , and Millikan (aided by the booming economy of Southern California ), Caltech grew to national prominence in the 1920s and concentrated on the development of Roosevelt's "Hundredth Man". On November 29, 1921,
6099-405: The dark. Even the sound man didn't know much about it. Frank lived through it. But he was quite intelligent. He was one of the few directors who knew what the hell they were doing. Most of your directors walked around in a fog – —they didn't know where the door was. During his first year with Columbia, Capra directed nine films, some of which were successful. After the first few, Harry Cohn said: "it
6206-557: The democratic system to overcome rampant political corruption". The film, however, became Capra's most controversial. In his research before filming, he was able to stand close to President Franklin D. Roosevelt during a press conference after the recent acts of war by Germany in Europe. Capra recalls his fears: And panic hit me. Japan was slicing up the colossus of China piece by piece. Nazi Panzers had rolled into Austria and Czechoslovakia; their thunder echoed over Europe. England and France shuddered. The Russian bear growled ominously in
6313-498: The eighth president, announced on February 19, 2013, that he would be stepping down to accept the presidency at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology . Thomas F. Rosenbaum was announced to be the ninth president of Caltech on October 24, 2013, and his term began on July 1, 2014. In 2019, Caltech received a gift of $ 750 million for sustainability research from the Resnick family of The Wonderful Company . The gift
6420-426: The end of the war, Caltech had essentially become an extension of the U.S. Navy’s Bureau of Ordnance , with its rocket research providing important technology to U.S. combat capabilities. From April to December 1951, Caltech was the host of a federal classified study, Project Vista . The selection of Caltech as host for the project was based on the university's expertise in rocketry and nuclear physics. In response to
6527-403: The expense. As Cohn's biographer Bob Thomas recounted, "They were aghast at the prospect of trying to sell an expensive costume film about a piano player and a woman novelist who wore pants and smoked cigars. The opposition was strong enough to veto the project." The enraged Capra quit Columbia. Harry Cohn tried to lure him back with an unprecedented profit-sharing split of 50/50, but Capra accepted
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#17327724385926634-474: The film to go into distribution and remembers the intensity of their decision making: Harry Cohn paced the floor, as stunned as Abraham must have been when the Lord asked him to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac . Cohn and Capra chose to ignore the negative publicity and demands and released the film as planned. It was later nominated for 11 Academy Awards, only winning one (for Best Original Story) partly because
6741-418: The film with Broadway Bill (1934), a screwball comedy about horse racing. The film was a turning point for Capra, however, as he began to conceive an additional dimension to his movies. He started using his films to convey messages to the public. Capra explains his new thinking: My films must let every man, woman, and child know that God loves them, that I love them, and that peace and salvation will become
6848-543: The film's significance was clear: The more uncertain are the people of the world, the more their hard-won freedoms are scattered and lost in the winds of chance, the more they need a ringing statement of America's democratic ideals. The soul of our film would be anchored in Lincoln . Our Jefferson Smith would be a young Abe Lincoln, tailored to the rail-splitter's simplicity, compassion, ideals, humor, and unswerving moral courage under pressure. Capra pleaded with Cohn to allow
6955-458: The first science building on campus. In 1910, Throop moved to its current site. Arthur Fleming donated the land for the permanent campus site. Theodore Roosevelt delivered an address at Throop Institute on March 21, 1911, and he declared: I want to see institutions like Throop turn out perhaps ninety-nine of every hundred students as men who are to do given pieces of industrial work better than any one else can do them; I want to see those men do
7062-614: The first talkie, Capra recalled his reaction: It was an absolute shock to hear this man open his mouth and a song come out of it. It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Few of the studio heads or crew were aware of Capra's engineering background until he began directing The Younger Generation in 1929. The chief cinematographer who worked with Capra on a number of films was likewise unaware. He describes this early period in sound for film: It wasn't something that came up. You had to bluff to survive. When sound first came in, nobody knew much about it. We were all walking around in
7169-672: The funds went into the support of Caltech programs and projects. In 2010, Caltech, in partnership with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and headed by Professor Nathan Lewis , established a DOE Energy Innovation Hub aimed at developing revolutionary methods to generate fuels directly from sunlight. This hub, the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis , will receive up to $ 122 million in federal funding over five years. Since 2012, Caltech began to offer classes through massive open online courses (MOOCs) under Coursera , from 2013, edX , and bootcamps. Jean-Lou Chameau,
7276-532: The future. Film author Richard Glazer speculates that the film may have been autobiographical, "reflecting Capra's own uncertainties". Glazer describes how, "John's accidental transformation from drifter to national figure parallels Capra's own early drifting experience and subsequent involvement in movie making ... Meet John Doe , then, was an attempt to work out his own fears and questions." Frank Capra filmography#Films that won Academy Awards Frank Capra (May 5, 1897 – September 3, 1991)
7383-463: The greatest light since the star of Bethlehem! That's the light of freedom! Remember that. Freedom . The family settled in Los Angeles 's East Side (today Lincoln Heights) on Avenue 18, which Capra described in his autobiography as an Italian "ghetto". Capra's father worked as a fruit picker and young Capra sold newspapers after school for ten years until he graduated from high school. He attended
7490-470: The help of a cameraman, made the film in two days and cast it with amateurs. After that first serious job in films, Capra began efforts to finding similar openings in the film industry. He took a position with another minor San Francisco studio and subsequently received an offer to work with producer Harry Cohn at his new studio in Los Angeles. During this time, he worked as a property man, film cutter, title writer, and assistant director. Capra later became
7597-493: The hotel, Vista del Arroyo Hotel, which housed the study. The study operated under a committee with the supervision of President Lee A. DuBridge . William A. Fowler , a professor at Caltech, was selected as research director. More than a fourth of Caltech's faculty and a group of outside scientists staffed the project. Moreover, the number increases if one takes into account visiting scientists, military liaisons, secretarial, and security staff. In compensation for its participation,
7704-403: The institute, with the remaining two terms each required by certain options. A typical class is worth 9 academic units and given the extensive core curriculum requirements in addition to individual options' degree requirements, students need to take an average of 40.5 units per term (more than four classes) to graduate in four years. 36 units is the minimum full-time load, 48 units is considered
7811-460: The kind of work that is now being done on the Panama Canal and on the great irrigation projects in the interior of this country—and the one-hundredth man I want to see with the kind of cultural scientific training that will make him and his fellows the matrix out of which you can occasionally develop a man like your great astronomer, George Ellery Hale. Also in 1911, a bill was introduced in
7918-493: The most successful innovations was the development of the 5-inch High-Velocity Aircraft Rocket , commonly known as the " Holy Moses ," which was used in combat against enemy fortifications and ships. The partnership between the Navy and Caltech continued to deepen throughout the war, leading to the creation of several military technologies, and by 1945, the focus of Caltech’s war contributions expanded further with Project Camel ,
8025-625: The names of five other historical figures affiliated with the Foundation), from campus buildings. Caltech's 124-acre (50 ha) primary campus is located in Pasadena, California , approximately 11 miles (18 km) northeast of downtown Los Angeles . It is within walking distance of Old Town Pasadena and the Pasadena Playhouse District and therefore the two locations are frequent getaways for Caltech students. In 1917 Hale hired architect Bertram Goodhue to produce
8132-563: The new sound technology than most directors. He welcomed the transition to sound, recalling, "I wasn't at home in silent films." Most studios were unwilling to invest in the new sound technology, assuming it was a passing fad. Many in Hollywood considered sound a threat to the industry and hoped it would pass quickly; McBride notes that "Capra was not one of them." When he saw Al Jolson singing in The Jazz Singer in 1927, considered
8239-496: The number of major pictures that were nominated that year was 10, including The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind . Hollywood columnist Louella Parsons called it a "smash patriotic hit" and most critics agreed, seeing that audiences left the theaters with "an enthusiasm for democracy" and "in a glow of patriotism." The significance of the film's message was established further in France, shortly after World War II began. When
8346-552: The only individual in history to win two unshared prizes). In addition, 66 National Medal of Science Recipients, 43 MacArthur Fellows , 14 National Medal of Technology and Innovation recipients, 11 astronauts , 5 Science Advisors to the President , 4 Fields Medalists , and 6 Turing Award winners have been affiliated with Caltech. Caltech started as a vocational school founded in present-day Old Pasadena on Fair Oaks Avenue and Chestnut Street on September 23, 1891, by local businessman and politician Amos G. Throop . The school
8453-438: The only scientific research-oriented educational institute in southern California, public or private, until the onset of World War II necessitated the broader development of research-based science education. The promise of Throop attracted physical chemist Arthur Amos Noyes from MIT to develop the institution and assist in establishing it as a center for science and technology. With the onset of World War I , Hale organized
8560-462: The presidency of Harold Brown in 1970, and they made up 14% of the entering class. The portion of female undergraduates has been increasing since then. Protests by Caltech students are rare. The earliest was a 1968 protest outside the NBC Burbank studios, in response to rumors that NBC was to cancel Star Trek . In 1973, the students from Dabney House protested a presidential visit with
8667-433: The production of Long Pants (1927), Capra argued with Langdon over the direction his next project would take. Langdon's other confidant was writer-director Arthur Ripley , a fellow Sennett alumnus, and Langdon followed Ripley's suggestions. Capra quit, and the split was disastrous for Langdon, who took matters into his own hands and directed his films himself, to poor reception. After Capra split with Langdon, he directed
8774-641: The safety of explosive production at Los Alamos and began producing high explosives just days before the Trinity Test in July 1945. Early in the war, Caltech scientists, including Lauritsen’s son, Thomas Lauritsen , worked on various rocket designs at the Kellogg Radiation Laboratory. These rockets, including the " Tiny Tim " and the " Mighty Mouse ," were used in critical military operations, from naval engagements to land assaults. By
8881-543: The second term starts after New Year's Day and ends in mid-March, and the third term starts in late March or early April and ends in early June. Caltech was ranked within the top ten universities in the world by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings , QS World University Rankings , and Academic Ranking of World Universities . For 2022, U.S. News & World Report ranked Caltech as tied for 9th in
8988-517: The small size of its faculty in many major fields, the institution is exceptionally careful in selecting candidates. This rigorous process can result in some positions remaining unfilled for several years until the right candidate is found. Caltech dedicates significant resources to attract top-tier faculty and provides them with substantial financial support to foster their research and academic endeavors. The voting faculty of Caltech include all professors, instructors, research associates and fellows, and
9095-551: The spring of 1918. Capra later wrote that his college education had "changed his whole viewpoint on life from the viewpoint of an alley rat to the viewpoint of a cultured person". Soon after graduating from college, Capra was commissioned in the United States Army as a second lieutenant , having completed campus ROTC . In the Army, he taught mathematics to artillerymen at Fort Point, San Francisco . His father died during
9202-635: The story with his own life. Nonetheless, McBride insists that The Younger Generation abounds with parallels to Capra's own life. McBride notes the "devastatingly painful climactic scene", where the young social-climbing son, embarrassed when his wealthy new friends first meet his parents, passes his mother and father off as house servants. That scene, notes McBride, "echoes the shame Capra admitted feeling toward his own family as he rose in social status". During his years at Columbia, Capra worked often with screenwriter Robert Riskin (husband of Fay Wray ), and cameraman Joseph Walker . In many of Capra's films,
9309-443: The title" of his films, a first for the movie industry. Capra wrote of this period and recalled the confidence that Cohn placed in Capra's vision and directing: I owed Cohn a lot—I owed him my whole career. So I had respect for him, and a certain amount of love. Despite his crudeness and everything else, he gave me my chance. He took a gamble on me. Capra directed his first "real" sound picture, The Younger Generation , in 1929. It
9416-502: The trustees declared it to be the express policy of the institute to pursue scientific research of the greatest importance and at the same time "to continue to conduct thorough courses in engineering and pure science, basing the work of these courses on exceptionally strong instruction in the fundamental sciences of mathematics, physics, and chemistry; broadening and enriching the curriculum by a liberal amount of instruction in such subjects as English, history, and economics; and vitalizing all
9523-537: The university have played an essential role in many modern scientific breakthroughs and innovations, including advances in space research , sustainability science , quantum physics , and seismology . As of October 2022 , there are 79 Nobel laureates who have been affiliated with Caltech , making it the institution with the highest number of Nobelists per capita in America. This includes 46 alumni and faculty members (47 prizes, with chemist Linus Pauling being
9630-515: The university received about $ 750,000. From the 1950s to 1980s, Caltech was the home of Murray Gell-Mann and Richard Feynman , whose work was central to the establishment of the Standard Model of particle physics. Feynman was also widely known outside the physics community as an exceptional teacher and a colorful, unconventional character. During Lee A. DuBridge 's tenure as Caltech's president (1946–1969), Caltech's faculty doubled and
9737-526: The war in Korea and the pressure from the Soviet Union, the project was Caltech's way of assisting the federal government in its effort to increase national security. The project was created to study new ways of improving the relationship between tactical air support and ground troops. The Army, Air Force, and Navy sponsored the project; however, it was under contract with the Army. The study was named after
9844-399: The war in an accident (1916). In the Army, Capra contracted Spanish flu and was medically discharged to return home to live with his mother. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1920, taking the name Frank Russell Capra. Living at home with his siblings and mother, Capra was the only family member with a college education, yet he was the only one who remained chronically unemployed. After
9951-475: The war, some scientists from Caltech, including J. Robert Oppenheimer , Richard Tolman , and Robert Bacher , were instrumental in the Manhattan Project and contributed to critical aspects of the atomic bomb's development. Caltech was also directly involved in other bomb-related research with a group led by Charles Lauritsen which assisted in the development of the high-explosive lenses used in
10058-499: The wise-cracking and sharp dialogue was often written by Riskin, and he and Capra went on to become Hollywood's "most admired writer-director team". Capra's films in the 1930s enjoyed immense success at the Academy Awards . It Happened One Night (1934) became the first film to win all five top Oscars ( Best Picture , Best Director , Best Actor , Best Actress , and Best Adapted Screenplay ). Written by Robert Riskin , it
10165-529: The work of the Institute by the infusion in generous measure of the spirit of research". In 1923, Millikan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics . In 1925, the school established a department of geology and hired William Bennett Munro , then chairman of the division of History, Government, and Economics at Harvard University , to create a division of humanities and social sciences at Caltech. In 1928,
10272-433: Was Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), for which Capra won his second Best Director Oscar. Critic Alistair Cooke observed that Capra was "starting to make movies about themes instead of people". In 1938, Capra won his third Director Oscar in five years for You Can't Take It with You , which also won Best Picture. In addition to his three directing wins, Capra received directing nominations for three other films ( Lady for
10379-544: Was a rags-to-riches romantic comedy about a Jewish family's upward mobility in New York City, with their son later trying to deny his Jewish roots to keep his rich, gentile girlfriend. According to Capra biographer Joseph McBride , Capra "obviously felt a strong identification with the story of a Jewish immigrant who grows up in the ghetto of New York ... and feels he has to deny his ethnic origins to rise to success in America." Capra, however, denied any connection of
10486-662: Was active in the film industry , engaging in various political and social activities. He served as President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , worked alongside the Writers Guild of America , and was head of the Directors Guild of America . Capra was born Francesco Rosario Capra in Bisacquino , a village near Palermo , Sicily , Italy . He was the youngest of seven children of Salvatore Capra,
10593-416: Was an Italian American film director, producer and writer who became the creative force behind some of the major award-winning films of the 1930s and 1940s. Capra directed a total of 36 feature-length films (34 of which are known to survive) and 16 documentary films during his lifetime. His movies It's a Wonderful Life , Mr. Smith Goes to Washington , and It Happened One Night are often cited among
10700-428: Was established in 1986 to assemble, preserve, translate, and publish papers selected from the literary estate of Albert Einstein and from other collections. In fall 2008, the freshman class was 42% female, a record for Caltech's undergraduate enrollment. In the same year, the Institute concluded a six-year-long fund-raising campaign. The campaign raised more than $ 1.4 billion from about 16,000 donors. Nearly half of
10807-421: Was five, Capra's family immigrated to the United States, traveling in a steerage compartment of the steamship Germania — the cheapest way to make the passage. For Capra, the 13-day journey remained one of the worst experiences of his life: You're all together—you have no privacy. You have a cot. Very few people have trunks or anything that takes up space. They have just what they can carry in their hands or in
10914-425: Was known successively as Throop University , Throop Polytechnic Institute (and Manual Training School) and Throop College of Technology before acquiring its current name in 1920. The vocational school was disbanded and the preparatory program was split off to form the independent Polytechnic School in 1907. At a time when scientific research in the United States was still in its infancy, George Ellery Hale ,
11021-580: Was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program which offered students a path to a Navy commission. The United States Navy also maintained a naval training school for aeronautical engineering , resident inspectors of ordinance and naval material, and a liaison officer to the National Defense Research Committee on campus. During
11128-494: Was one of many start-up studios on " Poverty Row " in Los Angeles. Like the others, Columbia was unable to compete with larger studios, which often had their own production facilities, distribution, and theaters. Cohn rehired Capra in 1928 to help his studio produce new, full-length feature films, to compete with the major studios. Capra would eventually direct 20 films for Cohn's studio, including many of his classics. Because of Capra's engineering education, he adapted more easily to
11235-416: Was ranked the hardest college in America to gain acceptance to by admit rate, at an all-time low of 2.7%. For the freshmen who enrolled in 2019 (Class of 2023) the middle 50% range of SAT were 740–780 for evidence-based reading and writing and 790–800 for math, and 1530–1570 total. The middle 50% range ACT Composite score was 35–36. The SAT Math Level 2 middle 50% range was 800–800. The middle 50% range for
11342-499: Was the beginning of Columbia making a better quality of pictures." According to Barson, "Capra became ensconced as Harry Cohn's most trusted director." His films soon established Capra as a "bankable" director known throughout the industry, and Cohn raised Capra's initial salary of $ 1,000 per film to $ 25,000 per year. Capra directed a film for MGM during this period, but soon realized he "had much more freedom under Harry Cohn's benevolent dictatorship", where Cohn also put Capra's "name above
11449-427: Was well into this character by 1925. When Langdon eventually left Sennett to make longer, feature-length movies with First National Studios, he took Capra along as his personal writer and director. They made three feature films together during 1926 and 1927, all of them successful with critics and the public. The films made Langdon a recognized comedian in the caliber of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton . Following
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