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For some reason I got to thinking last night about how Capra is most often associated with super sappy sweet happy endings a'la It's a Wonderful Life. That being his most well known (and arguably best) film, I can understand it. Then I got to thinking, how many of Capra's films actually end in that fashion. I've only seen 10 of his 36 features thus far, and while they generally do have happy endings, they're not all of the super-sweet variety. I thought I'd look back at the ones I've seen to see if this reputation was warranted. Potential spoilers will follow.
1. The Matinee Idol (1928) - This silent Capra does indeed have a sappy ending with the lead couple ending up together at the fade out.
2. The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933) - As endings go, this one's kind of a downer. The villain, whom our heroine has fallen for, is dead. She was willing to go too, but instead ends up long-faced on a boat leaving the country. The end. About as far from an expected Capra ending as you can get (which is actually part of the genius of the film).
3. It Happened One Night (1934) - I'll chalk this one up as another sappy ending. You can't but but smile once the "Walls of Jericho" finally fall and you know the couple has finally ended up together.
4. Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) - This one is an expected Capra ending. Mr. Deeds is declared sane and we see him end up with the girl and they make their plans to go back to Mandrake Falls. Everybody's happy.
5. Lost Horizon (1937) - This is the most ambiguous ending I've seen to a Capra film (again, IMO, part of the genius of it). In a discussion earlier in this thread two different people stated they had opposite interpretations of it. Did Conway make it back? Is he still looking? I don't know, and therefore cannot count it in the sappy-happy ending column.
6. You Can't Take It With You (1938) - I'll give this one a sappy-happy ending. Our Romeo and Juliet end up together, the evil banker sees the error of his ways and everyone keeps doing just what they want to do. Hoo-ray!
7. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) - Does this film have a happy ending? Yes. Senator Smith is finally able to prove his innocence and expose the corruption he was fighting against. But, is it the over-the-top sappy-happy ending. Not really. As the credits role our hero has collapsed on the Senate floor and his fallen idol has attempted suicide before going on the lunatic rant that reveals all the evil machinations of he and his cohorts. We won, but we don't really get to partake in the celebration. I read recently that the film was intended to end with Smith and Saunders returning to Smith's hometown to a big parade and planning to start a family. While that would've definitely put it in the sappy column, I also think it might have diminished the impact of the film.
8. Meet John Doe (1941) - The ending that caused Capra and Riskin so much grief. The final ending is technically happy - John Doe does not commit suicide and several of his supporters return to their senses. However, it's almost a tragic happy. Doe was conviced suicide was his only course of action. As he carries Ann out, who has collapsed after her emotional - borderline hysterical - plea for him not to jump, he still doesn't look entirely convinced. And he's headed off with a group of people he knows can turn on him in an instant. He has a long way to go before he really trusts anybody again. And Norton's faction is not going away either. Again, not the traditionally thought of Capra ending.
9. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) - Happy? Sure. But there's still 13 bodies in the cellar no one's looking into. OK, the killers are either going to jail or the insane asylum and the hero discovers he's the son of a sea-cook. Happy? Yes. Funny? Yes. Sappy? Not in my book.
10. It's a Wonderful Life (1946) - This is the king of the Capra sappy endings. No commentary is really needed here.
So, looking at the Capra features I've seen so far, we're 50/50 on sappy-happy endings (IMO). With one - possibly two - exceptions, they have happy endings, just not always the saccharine sweet variety the man is generally associated with. Still, a 50/50 ratio doesn't mean the reputation is not deserved, just that there was a lot more to his filmmaking abilities than he is sometimes given credit for.
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