Talk:Frank Capra

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Contents 1 DP 2 Opera Hat (1935) 3 McBride biography 4 Anti-Communism 5 Hatnote 6 WP:WikiProject Actors and Filmmakers priority assessment

[edit] DP

I believe that Capra's DP was Joseph Walker not Joseph MacDonald. IMDB seems to confirm this.

references: http://www.theyshootpictures.com/caprafrank.htm

--- "In 1930 Capra went to work for Mack Sennett and then moved to Columbia where he formed a close association with screenwriter Robert Riskin..."

I changed that to Columbia Pictures because it's a bit ambiguous - at first I found it odd that Capra would move to South America. Also,Columbia has one of the longest disambiguation pages I've seen.

Greggykins 11:33, 23 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Opera Hat (1935)

I know of no such film. The fact that Mr Deeds Goes to Town(1936) is based on a story of this name suggests that this may have been a working title. No other sourse I've found gives any movie credit to Capra in 1935. I've deleted it from the filmography. 86.20.54.83 00:23, 22 December 2006 (UTC)Graeme

[edit] McBride biography

is more of a hatchet job. Has the writer of this entry actually read the book?

I'd suggest that of COURSE an autobiography is subjective. Who is ever 100 percent objective about the details of their own life?

McBride doesn't challenge Capra's interpretation. McBride seemingly set out to wipe Capra's legend from the face of the earth. A nasty, bitter, mean-spirited book, and it's a total shame, since it's obvious McBride did years of research. McBride's subjective interpretation of the voluminous material he compiled is what absolutely ruins the book.

I would definitely reword the passage on McBride's book. In light of actually reading the book, the commentary on McBride's book seems almost droll.

Simplemines 07:26, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Anti-Communism

Capra was very anti-Communist and testified against corrupt Hollywood figures who were attempting to push Communist propaganda through Hollywood. Seems odd this article doesn't mention any of that. JettaMann (talk) 03:10, 29 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Hatnote

I believe a hatnote to Frank Capra (disambiguation) would be better than the current double hatnote to Frank Capra, Jr. and Frank Capra III. User:Robert K S has disagreed. Robert feels there is no need to distinguish Frank Capra from Francis Capra; I think there are many analogous examples at Special:Whatlinkshere/Template:Distinguish (and indeed I've added the reverse hatnote at Francis Capra). Not wanting to be mentioned at WP:LAME, I won't further edit the hatnote, but I remain unconvinced. jnestorius^(talk) 23:47, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

I'm not convinced a link to Frank Capra belongs on Francis Capra or that a link to Francis Capra belongs on Frank Capra (disambiguation). IMDb indicates Francis Capra has never been credited as Frank Capra, and I can't find any indication that he has ever been known as "Frank" professionally or personally. What is the rationale for his inclusion? Disambigs and hatnotes aren't just for people with similar sounding names. Robert K S (talk) 01:42, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

Do you mean "aren't just for people with similar sounding names" or "aren't ever for people with similar sounding names" ? I agree with the former, not the latter. The name Frank is short for Francis, not merely similar-sounding. It is true that nowadays short-form names tend to be considered and bestowed as independent names never alternating with the long form. However, there are many people with Wikipedia articles who were, say, variously called John, Johnny, Jack, and/or Jackie. I imagine many more people have heard of Frank Capra than Francis Capra; some may well misinterpret a mention of the latter as an unusual way of referring to the former. A hatnote is a way of letting them know their mistake.

Hatnote policy is not (yet?) clearly established. My preference is to be inclusive in listing borderline cases on a disambiguation page. One extra name in the list will be passed over if not relevant; I don't think many readers will stop to ask "why is Francis Capra even being listed as a possibility?" For similar reasons, I favour being inclusive when deciding whether or not to have a hatnote at all. On the other hand, I favour making any hatnote as brief as possible — which of course also favours a one-link hatnote over a two-link — to make passing over it that much easier for the uninterested majority. jnestorius^(talk) 03:48, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

Do you mean "aren't just for people with similar sounding names" or "aren't ever for people with similar sounding names" ? I didn't mean either, and I'm sorry I wasn't clearer. What I meant is that a similar sounding name isn't a sufficient criterion for hatnote placement. There must be some indication that someone searching for one topic might plausibly end up at a different topic. Is there any reason to think that persons searching for the actor might end up at the director? Is there any evidence that such a thing as ever happened? The guideline at Wikipedia:Hatnotes#Disambiguating_article_names_that_are_not_ambiguous is clear, and while it is not directly analogous to this situation, I think it applies. Left unfettered, hatnotes proliferate--something that I feel should be combatted on style grounds. Robert K S (talk) 05:30, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

• Is there any reason to think that persons searching for the actor might end up at the director? Yes there is: Frank is short for Francis.
• Is there any evidence that such a thing as ever happened? No. However, hatnotes are part of the metacontent, not part of the content: verifiablity is not a requirement.
• Wikipedia:Hatnotes#Disambiguating_article_names_that_are_not_ambiguous is utterly irrelevant. It applies to hatnotes on a page with a parenthetic disambiguator.
• Left unfettered, hatnotes proliferate--something that I feel should be combatted on style grounds. I agree. However, I also much prefer short hatnotes to long ones.
• I believe policy for what deserves noting in a hatnote and policy for what deserves listing on a disambig page should be the same. It seems policy is undeveloped in this area. Mike Smith redirects to Michael Smith; John Smith and Jack Smith link to each other via "see also"; Francis Smith links to Frank Smith but not conversely.

jnestorius^(talk) 14:58, 16 February 2008 (UTC)

That "Frank" is a nickname for "Francis" would only be a compelling reason to include Francis Capra on a Frank Capra page (disambig or otherwise) if Francis Capra went by the name "Frank Capra". It would be absurd for Johnny Adams, Jack Adams, Jacky Adams, etc., etc., etc. all to redirect or hatnote to the article for the second president--unless he went by those names. The link I provided is not "utterly irrelevant", it is merely, as I said, "not directly analogous". The spirit of that guideline is, "If a user couldn't have plausibly ended up by mistake at a page the name for which carries specificity, don't senselessly put a redirect to a page that merely bears some similarity in name." Which is exactly what directing from Frank Capra to Francis Capra would be doing, because I don't think anybody searching for Francis Capra could end up at Frank Capra. Robert K S (talk) 21:18, 16 February 2008 (UTC)

Well, John Adams does have a hatnote. I've added one to Johnny Adams. And I've added "see also" to John Adams (disambiguation) and Jack Adams. Lets see if anyone objects. jnestorius^(talk) 12:05, 17 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] WP:WikiProject Actors and Filmmakers priority assessment

Per debate and discussion re: assessment of the approximate 100 top priority articles of the project, this article has been included as a top priority article. Wildhartlivie (talk) 10:29, 29 February 2008 (UTC)