American Cinematographer - February 2007 - 16

owed the film noir movement of the next
decade.

Walker shifted to

a completely
style for the romantic comedy
It Happened One Night, the film that put
Capra on the map. The movie fulfills the
most important requirement of any love
story: two characters that the audience
wants to end up together. Clark Gable
and Claudette Colbert's iconic perfor¬
mances are enhanced by Walker's glori¬
ously romantic lighting, which makes

different

both characters look gorgeous.
After the success of It Happened

You Can't Take It with You,

One Night,

ticism.

Mr. Smith Goes

whatever he wanted, and he eventually
used his new clout to make the social

The Premiere Frank

Capra

American Madness, It

Happened One Night,
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town,

to

Washington [ 1932-1939)

Overall,

Walker's

luminous

images have been beautifully captured

1.33:1 (Full Frame)

satire Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. In this

in these

story of a decent man who inherits a
fortune, Capra developed themes that

although the Deeds pressing exhibits
some picture flaws. Each film is accom¬
panied by an audio commentary by
Frank Capra Jr., who proves to be an

he would focus
career:

When

on

for the rest of his

the role of the individual in

Joseph Walker, ASC
Capra for the first
time, on That Certain Thing in 1928, the
director tested Walker's patience to the
point that the cinematographer asked

American

Columbia executive Sam Briskin not to

performance by Capra favorite Jean
Arthur, whose work is greatly aided by
Walker's use of lighting and composition
to illustrate her character's changing
feelings toward hero Gary Cooper. The
early scenes in which Arthur views
Cooper with condescension are lit in a
flat, slightly harsh manner that under¬
scores the methodical way in which she
means to destroy him. But as Arthur's
character grows to love and respect

worked with Frank

assign him to any more Capra pictures.
changed his mind after he saw
the completed film, however, and the
cinematographer and director eventually
collaborated on 20 pictures, five of which
are included in the recently released,
indispensable boxed set The Premiere
Frank Capra Collection.
Walker

The first film in the set is Ameri¬

Madness, which is

smart and

new to

funny tale of

DVD. This

bank in crisis
reflects New Deal thinking and
addresses issues both political and
personal; the movie has a lot to say
about class, and it's equally insightful in
its exploration of male-female relation¬
ships. Most of the story takes place in an
a

elaborate bank set, which Walker often
lit in a chiaroscuro style that foreshad¬

February 2007

Capra was in a position to do

Mr. Smith Goes to

Dolby Digital Monaural
Sony Flome Entertainment,
$59.95

16

collaboration with actor James Stew¬
art. One year

later, they reteamed on
Washington, one of
Capra's best and most personal films.
This stop/ of a principled young senator
fighting corruption is both an inspira¬
tional tale and a prescient examination
of the media's power to bring out the
worst in human nature. The complexity
of the piece is echoed in Walker's visu¬
als, which balance documentary-style
realism and stylized Flollywood roman¬

Collection:

can

oped in You Can't Take It with You, a
hilarious farce that marked Capra's first

excellent DVD transfers,

society, the intersection

astute commentator on his father's

between money and power, and the
conflicts between institutions and

work. His recollections of his father's

communities.
The movie features

relationships with studio executives
are a delight for
anyone interested in Hollywood's
golden age. On American Madness and
You Can't Take It with You, Capra
shares the commentary track with film
and collaborators

a

terrific

Deeds, Walker frames the heroine in

close-ups in which subtle gradations of
light convey her softening feelings.
Capra and his collaborators
experimented on Deeds, eschewing
conventional coverage for longer takes
and opting for editing that prioritizes
emotional continuity over spatial conti¬
nuity. This approach was further devel¬

scholar Catherine Kellison.

Supplemental material also
totaling 70

includes four featurettes

minutes; these feature interviews with

Capra Jr., Kellison, and film historians
Basinger and Richard Pena.
The featurettes cover Capra's family
Jeanine

life, his collaborations with other
artists, his golden period at Columbia,
and his later years as a mentor to young
filmmakers. There is

some

overlap

among the interviews, documentaries
and commentary tracks, but this is

understandable
amount of

given the massive
supplementary material

here.
The

highlight of the bonus mate-
American Cinematographer - February 2007

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - February 2007
