Frank Capra

This is more about the inspirational side of story/film making than the experimental Pulp Side, but it is clear to me at least that whether you are simply a consumer of original film stories or a story teller yourself, or someplace in-between, one man in the long History of Hollywood stands out as being one of the most innovative, dedicated and influential film makers, from the original Seed of Great American Story tellers.

Frank Capra, 1897 to 1991.

https://youtu.be/iMwMxTLeZy0?si=onC_1_xEmggDNnI2

The above, is a real nice little Video Primer on the Man and True American Patriot, having served in both WW1 and WW2, as an Officer in the US Army, along with such other greats as Clark Gable, [decorated Officer in US Army Air Corp.], Jimmy Stewart, Audie Murphy, Charlton Heston, Lee Marvin, Christopher Lee [UK], and Charles Bronson, plus many other great-ones, that thought nothing to interrupt their very lucrative careers as Famous Movie Stars and risk life, limb and financial well being, to serve their nation and fight the scourge of true Fascism.

However in terms of the Pulp-Vein of artistic expression, I myself do perhaps see, some Capra DNA/influence, in Pulp treasures such as- The Warriors-1979" , "True Romance-1993" "Streets of Fire - 1984", and "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood-2019".

The DEETS :) ... The Capra Influence perhaps?

1. The Noble Underdog vs. The Corrupt System, which lies at the heart of Capra’s definitive films (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington & Meet John Doe) featuring lone, pure hearted protagonists fighting massive, corrupt, and seemingly insurmountable institutions [odds].

A- The Warriors (1979)- The street gang is the ultimate collective "John Doe." They are framed for a crime they didn't commit and must fight their way through a labyrinth of hostile territory. Their struggle isn't just about survival, it is a quest to clear their Gang's name and get back "home" (Coney Island), which functions as their version of Capra’s idealized small town.

B- True Romance (1993)- Clarence and Alabama are naive, pure-hearted romantics caught in a meat grinder of Mafia Bosses, dirty cops, and Hollywood sleaze. Like a Capra couple, their weapon isn't just firepowe, it's their absolute, unshakeable belief in each other against a cynical loveless world.

[[ The "Mythic American Blueprint & Romantic Sincerity" Capra dealt in heightened, fairy-tale versions of American life. These pulp films as mentioned take that exact same romantic blueprint but drench it in comic-book color, rock-and-roll, and violence. ]]

C- Streets of Fire (1984)- Walter Hill subtitles this "A Rock & Roll Fable." It features a archetypal soldier/former-Romeo returning home to rescue his true love from a villainous gang. Strip away the leather jackets and neon, and Tom Cody has the same stubborn, uncompromising moral compass as a Capra hero. The film believes completely in its own romantic melodrama, entirely devoid of modern irony.

D- Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)- This is perhaps Quentin Tarantino's most overtly Capra-esque film. A nostalgic love letter from QT's heart, to the fading golden age of 1969 Los Angeles. A deeply nostalgic, warm-hearted fairy tale primarily about fading hard-working-class professionals (Rick & Cliff) and a pure, innocent soul and Mother to be (Sharon Tate). Swirling around our heroes is the ultimate human sewage, like a squirming flotilla of fecal covered leaches that must be burned off the Productive Flesh of Hollywood's best. A savage cult that should have been drawn and quartered by the Steeds at 'Spahn Ranch' . HOWEVER, QT uses the pulp canvas to rewrite history :) [I must have seen this movie 6 times now], granting his characters a benevolent, comforting "Capra-esque" happy ending where evil is flushed back down the commode where it belongs and neighbors successfully look out for one another and defeat the scourge of "Hate and Fascism"

* The Power of the Collective "Common Man". Capra’s climaxes almost always rely on ordinary people coming together to save the hero (the boys delivering newspapers in Mr. Smith, the townspeople pooling money in It’s a Wonderful Life). In pulp, this manifests as the tight-knit code of subcultures.

The intense loyalty of the Warriors to one another, or the unspoken bond between Rick and Cliff, mirrors that essential Capra belief that human connection and loyalty are the only things that save us from Despair, and Evil, as he helped America and the rest of humanity do, in two World Wars.

Frank Russell Capra's, Life Story is simply one of, if not the most heartfelt Capra-like Hollywood Story of all time.

I hope you might agree?