# The best Frank Capra films

Three Best Director Oscars and the most famous Christmas film ever made: Capra's best, ordered from Gold Derby, Collider and Flickchart.

- 1559 votes · 13 items
- May 13, 2025 · Mitchell King
- https://even.best/en/l/3275/the-best-frank-capra-films

## Top 13

1. **It's a Wonderful Life (1946)** (160 · ▲173 ▼13) — James Stewart sees the world as if he had never been born.
2. **It Happened One Night (1934)** (124 · ▲135 ▼11) — Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert; the first film to win all five major Oscars.
3. **Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)** (113 · ▲133 ▼20) — James Stewart's filibuster in the US Senate.
4. **Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)** (105 · ▲118 ▼13) — Cary Grant and two sweet aunts who poison lonely men.
5. **Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)** (91 · ▲107 ▼16) — Gary Cooper inherits a fortune; Capra's second directing Oscar.
6. **You Can't Take It with You (1938)** (83 · ▲99 ▼16) — An eccentric family; Best Picture and his third directing Oscar.
7. **Lost Horizon (1937)** (73 · ▲91 ▼18) — Ronald Colman finds Shangri-La.
8. **Lady for a Day (1933)** (65 · ▲81 ▼16) — An apple seller passes as a society lady, from Damon Runyon.
9. **A Hole in the Head (1959)** (58 · ▲79 ▼21) — Frank Sinatra as a Miami hotel owner in debt.
10. **The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933)** (57 · ▲77 ▼20) — Barbara Stanwyck held by a Chinese warlord.
11. **Pocketful of Miracles (1961)** (53 · ▲73 ▼20) — His last feature, remaking Lady for a Day with Bette Davis.
12. **Meet John Doe (1941)** (49 · ▲77 ▼28) — Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck in a hoax that becomes a movement.
13. **State of the Union (1948)** (40 · ▲72 ▼32) — Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn in a presidential race.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.