Top 35 Frank Capra Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “There are no rules in filmmaking. Only sins. And the cardinal sin is dullness.”

— Frank Capra

2. “Don’t follow trends, start trends.”

— Frank Capra

3. “No saint, no pope, no general, no sultan, has ever had the power that a filmmaker has; the power to talk to hundreds of millions of people for two hours in the dark.”

— Frank Capra

4. “Film is one of the three universal languages, the other two: mathematics and music.”

— Frank Capra

5. “My films must let every man, woman, and child know that God loves them, that I love them, and that peace and salvation will become a reality only when they all learn to love each other.”

— Frank Capra

6. “If You Want to Send a Message, Try Western Union.”

— Frank Capra

7. “I think the human spirit is a real powerful spirit. It has no limits and it has no ends. And I hate to see it put in any kind of box – pink or green.”

— Frank Capra

8. “In these days of wars and rumors of wars, haven’t you ever dreamed of a place where there was peace and security, where living was not a struggle but a lasting delight?”

— Frank Capra

9. “Friend, you are a divine mingle-mangle of guts and stardust. So hang in there! If doors opened for me, they can open for anyone.”

— Frank Capra

10. “Making money, getting yourself status in this world is not everything at all. But it has become everything in America. That you really have to get going and keep up with the Jones’. Get a house and a car and other things. And pretty soon you’re stymied. Things own you.”

— Frank Capra

11. “There are no rules in filmmaking.”

— Frank Capra

12. “Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream, it takes over as the number one hormone; it bosses the enzymes; directs the pineal gland; plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to film is more film.”

— Frank Capra

13. “I always felt the world cannot fall apart as long as free men see the rainbow, feel the rain and hear the laugh of a child.”

— Frank Capra

14. “Everybody who works under any system feels confined. It is a natural reaction. You are confined to a certain extent. You are confined if you work in a bank, if you paint. You are confined, in a sense, to your art – the enclosure of your mind. Everybody should break out.”

— Frank Capra

15. “Compassion is a two way street.”

— Frank Capra

16. “When you get to political machines that can control a state, then you’re really into organized crime – almost. You’re fighting a political mafia.”

— Frank Capra

17. “I want to put into your heads that the world is not all evil. Yes, we do have nightmares, but we also have dreams. We do have villainy, but we also have great compassion among ourselves. That’s all I’m here for, really, to try to tell you that there’s good in the world. And that it’s wonderful.”

— Frank Capra

18. “Film is universal. All the countries of the world are making films. Hollywood is the only major unsubsidized center for films. To my knowledge all others are at least partially subsidized. I’m glad Hollywood isn’t.”

— Frank Capra

19. “Whenever a situation develops to its extreme, it is bound to turn around and become its opposite.”

— Frank Capra

20. “A hunch is creativity trying to tell you something.”

— Frank Capra

21. “Capitalism is supposedly free enterprise. Supposedly about the free individual. But capitalism itself is so massive that the guy on the street gets caught in paying rent, taxes, and he doesn’t own himself at all.”

— Frank Capra

22. “In our film profession you may have Gable’s looks, Tracy’s art, Marlene’s legs or Liz’s violet eyes, but they don’t mean a thing without that swinging thing called courage.”

— Frank Capra

23. “I have a feeling that demonstrations don’t accomplish anything. That they become fads. I also feel that demonstrations wouldn’t go on unless there is a TV camera. That part of it all is performance for the media. I didn’t know whether they are completely honest.”

— Frank Capra

24. “Man is a unique individual. He can never be put in a system where he becomes just another notch. Another nail.”

— Frank Capra

25. “The Oscar is the most valuable, but least expensive, item of world-wide public relations ever invented by any industry.”

— Frank Capra

26. “My Advice to Young Filmmakers is This: Don’t Follow Trends. Start Them!”

— Frank Capra

27. “War to me is the stupidest way of settling anything. The whole damn thing goes to pieces.”

— Frank Capra

28. “Do not help the quick moneymakers who have delusions about taking possession of classics by smearing them with paint.”

— Frank Capra

29. “I’m a living example of getting into films backwards. Merely by accident. Exposure to films and ideas is the best thing that colleges can do.”

— Frank Capra

30. “All you can do is learn the skills of movies. Neither colleges nor anyone else can teach you creativity. They can teach you abilities to work with – you know how to use the gifts you’ve been born with.”

— Frank Capra

31. “Most ideologies of the world are not for the individual. They’re against the individual. Communism, fascism. Any kind of an ism – almost – they’re against the individual.”

— Frank Capra

32. “I have a sixth sense for casting. I just have to see and talk to the actors. I never make tests. I like to work with crowds. I like to get the principals in a crowd. When they do, something else comes off, something special.”

— Frank Capra

33. “There’s music in my films but you seldom hear it. Very early I got the idea that the important things in films were people – the actors. They are the intermediary between the director and the audience. They make direct contact. People to people communication.”

— Frank Capra

34. “Things own you. That’s the trouble with capitalism. Things own you. With communism and fascism – ideas own you. One idea and you can’t have any other.”

— Frank Capra

35. “The best pictures are yet to be made.”

— Frank Capra

36. “One is never completely satisfied. But I can say that I’m not dissatisfied. I’ve been very fortunate. I’ve been given some gifts – to take advantage of the contemporary times when I made movies. Gifts to make audiences laugh.”

— Frank Capra