Frank Capra | the m0vie blog

273. It Happened One Night – Valentine’s Day 2022 (#241)

Posted on February 12, 2022 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, and this week with special guest Ciara Moloney, The 250 is a weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released Saturdays at 6pm GMT.

So this week, Frank Capra’s It Happened One Night.

Wealthy heiress Ellie Andrews has married playboy “King” Westley agaisnt her father’s wishes. Hoping to reunite with her lost love, she absconds and finds herself on a night bus with recently-fired reported Peter Warne. Even drunk and unemployed, Warne can smell a story. He decides to join Andrews on this unlikely adventure, and sparks begin to fly.

At time of recording, it was ranked 241st on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: academy awards, ciara moloney, clark gable, claudette colbert, corniness, Drake, Frank Capra, heat 2, it happened one night, Oscars, podcast, production code, romantic comedies, screwball comedies, sex, sublimation, The 250, the hays code | Leave a comment »

86. Mister Smith Goes to Washington – Independence Day 2018 (#147)

Posted on June 30, 2018 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, The 250 is a fortnightly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users.

This time, an Independence Day treat. Frank Capra’s Mister Smith Goes to Washington.

Local activist and unlikely politician Jefferson Smith finds himself appointed to represent his great state in the United States Senate. However, while trying to ensure a fair deal for his constituents, Smith soon finds his faith in democracy threatened as he figures out how the institutions actually work.

At time of recording, it was ranked the 147th best movie of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: america, decency, democracy, experience, Frank Capra, honest, Independence Day, jimmy stewart, mister smith goes to washington, politics, The 250, the simpsons, trump, United States | Leave a comment »

Potter Might Have a Point: Perhaps It’s Not Such a Wonderful Life After All…

Posted on December 23, 2011 by Darren

I don’t have your money here! It’s in….Bill’s house…And…Fred’s house!

What the hell are you doing with my money in your house Fred?

– The PTA Disbands, The Simpsons

I finally saw Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life. The Helix over at DCU was screening a variety of modern and classic films in a cinema setting, and they chose the Jimmy Stewart classic as their Christmas movie. And quite right, too. However, watching the film, I couldn’t help but get the sense that things weren’t quite as simplistic as the movie made them out to be and that, while George Bailey might be one heck of a nice guy, there’s absolutely no way I’d trust him to handle my finances. While the town’s old miser, Potter, might as well have a moustache to twirl, I can’t help but think that maybe he might have a point or two about George Bailey, something the movie never really addresses.

The deficit is thiiiiiiiis big...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: christmas, films, Frank Capra, George, George Bailey, Helix, It's a Wonderful Life, James Stewart, Movies, Potter, recession, world war ii | Leave a comment »

Remember Me: The Box Office & Pop Culture Longevity…

Posted on October 19, 2010 by Darren

I was reading an interesting article on Rope of Silicon which pondered whether Scott Pilgrim vs. The World was our generation’s iteration of The Big Lebowski. Much like the comparisons between The Social Network and Citizen Kane, it doesn’t matter whether the question is downright ridiuclous or even improper, it simple serves to illustrate the type of movie that people think of when they see these modern films. That people would even utter “Scott Pilgrim” and “The Dude” in the same sentence is a huge compliment to the latter, no matter what the literal result of the comparison. Of course, this is small comfort to the studio which is no doubt disappointed by the less than stellar box office returns. However, ignoring the obvious immediate and practical impact of box office receipts, do they speak at all to a film’s longevity?