by Father Robert Lauder

IN THE FEB. 4 issue of the Jesuit magazine America, there was a provocative essay titled The Searcher, which was written by Patrick J. McNamara about the great American film director, John Ford.

In the essay, McNamara points out a number of themes that appear in John Ford’s films that seem traceable to Ford’s Catholic background. It may be an illustration of how deeply the Catholic faith can color a young person’s conscience and general outlook on life. How conscious was Ford that some of the themes he presented in his films may have their roots in his Catholic background is anybody’s guess. Perhaps Ford, whom some critics and film historians consider the greatest American film director ever, was not even aware how Catholic his themes were.

An artist may not be the best interpreter of his or her work. The creative process can be very mysterious even to the person who is doing the creating.

Shortly after reading McNamara’s essay, I began to think of another American director whose Catholic background seemed to influence his vision as expressed in his films. In fact, his films seem to reveal his Catholic outlook on reality even more than Ford’s films do. I am referring to Frank Capra.

Notion of Gratitude

Besides McNamara’s essay, another reason I began to think of Capra’s Catholicism is that I was invited to give a talk as part of a day of recollection. I was told that the theme of the day focused on the notion of gratitude. The person organizing the day of recollection asked me if I could suggest some film clip that might be used to introduce the notion of gratitude to those attending the day.

I looked through the titles of the 245 films that I have shown over the last 20 years in the Friday Film Festivals that I conduct, and I tried to remember if there was any scene that powerfully illustrated gratitude.

Suddenly, I recalled the last 20 minutes of Capra’s classic It’s A Wonderful Life. George Bailey, played by James Stewart, had wanted to commit suicide before an angel arranged that Bailey see all the good he has done in his life and what the world would have been like without him. Bailey prays to God, “Dear God, let me live again. I want to live again.”

In the closing seconds of the film, George sees again what a wonderful life he has had, and he is profoundly grateful. I believe gratitude to God would be the proper response that each of us should make when we reflect on our lives. Every life is more wonderful than any of us realize.

Frank Capra’s films, I am certain, were influenced by his Catholic faith. In his autobiography, The Name Above the Title: An Autobiography (New York: Macmillan Company, 1971, 513 pages, $12.50), Capra mentions that, while in college, he became enamored of science and became quite lax concerning the practice of his Catholic faith. However, he did attend Mass on Christmas and Easter.

He writes the following:

“On these two holy days I sneaked into a Catholic church to kneel; to smell the incense, hear the angels sing, and be lifted out of my shoes by the passion and resurrection of Christ. It may happen to you only once in a hundred Masses – but it will happen. You walk back from Communion with the Host on your tongue – a nobody. You kneel, drop your head in your hands. Slowly the wonder of it fills you with joy – the dissolving Host in your mouth is the living Christ. The priest, the church, all the bowed heads around you, disappear. You hear nothing, see nothing, feel nothing. Your mind empties itself of all thought, your body of all substance. You are a spirit suffused in a glorious Light. And out of its glory a word infuses your spirit: ‘Courage’ You have glimpsed the Eternal! …You hear the priest say ‘Go. The Mass is ended’ You leave filled with the urge to shout it to the whole world – ‘Courage! Courage!” (p.130)

I wonder if anyone who wrote such words could create a work of art that was not in some way Catholic.

In his films, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Meet John Doe, Capra created three main characters who are in many ways “Christ figures.” Each suffers because of his interest in helping others. Each is saved from disaster through the power of love.

In a society that is as secular as ours, religious believers look for signs of transcendence and God wherever they can find them. In films that don’t seem to be overtly religious, there may be themes that can speak deeply to those who believe in God. We have to be attentive and receptive.[hr] Father Robert Lauder, a priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn and philosophy professor at St. John’s University, Jamaica, writes a weekly column for the Catholic Press.