You Can’t Take It With You

Frank Capra saw the play You Can’t Take It with You by George Kaufman and Moss Hart and immediately wanted to make a film of it. Using his power as president of the Academy in contract negotiations with Harry Cohn, president of Columbia, to buy the rights and grant the assignment to Capra, an effort that led to his third Best Director Oscar and second Best Picture win. Released after one of the major dips within the Great Depression, it’s a wholesome tale of the common man finding common cau...