The films of Frank Capra have been a parade of some of the best things yet produced by the American Cinema. And they have been films very American in outlook, humour and feeling. This is not to say, far from it, that his work has been limited in its appeal. Rather that Capra has a definite talent for evoking American dreams and hopes. Since the war, the director has only made a brief handful of pictures …, but, even so, his general neglect in post-war critical circles has been shameful…. I can't help feeling that his latest film, Pocketful of Miracles, is in for a somewhat stormy critical passage.

In the first place, it's such a blithe and cheery piece. A film not above wearing its heart (with a capital H) firmly upon its sleeve. A film unashamedly sentimental, brashly humorous, and determinedly high-spirited. A frolic, a romp, a...