One of the final scenes from “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Clockwise from top: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Carol Coombs, Jimmy Hawkins, Larry Simms and Karolyn Grimes. Herbert Dorfman/Corbis via Getty Images
Frank Capra’s great film released in 1946, at its heart, a love story. It’s about family and the way we overcome disasters and hardships. It’s about hiding from love, until one night, love finds you.
MOVIE INFO
”IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE”
Drama, Family, Fantasy
An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.
Length: 130 minutes
Rating: Smoking and some violence
Director: Frank Capra
Writers: Frances Goodrich (screenplay by), Albert Hackett (screenplay by), Frank Capra (screenplay by)
Stars: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore
OK, any argument here? You’ve seen it one trillion times, and every time you see it, you see something new.
For example, remember when Uncle Billy (Thomas Mitchell) loses the bank deposit on his way to Mr. Potter’s (Lionel Barrymore) bank, to deposit $8,000 of the Saving and Loan’s cash?
Billy wraps the envelope of cash in a newspaper, Potter finds it and keeps it.
Look at the expression on Potter’s assistant’s face. It’s only there for a moment, but you know he despises Potter’s deception, and we know sooner or later, he’s going to turn on him. Got that?
Barrymore, (Martin Vanderhof in Capra’s 1938 “You Can’t Take it With You”) as Potter, gives us a look at what such a creature could do to America in this decade.
In George Bailey’s (James Stewart) nightmare, Potter takes the soft smile of little Bedford Falls and turns it into a world of confusion, pain and darkness.
“It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946) when America was just getting over the end of World War II, was directed by Capra, who gave us a library of feel good, “it’s gonna be all right” movies.
To this day, we still say “Zuzu’s (Karolyn Grimes) petals,” and in our darkest hours, we all kind of look for an angel like sweet Clarence (Henry Travers) to rescue us.
It didn’t make much money, and wasn’t favorably reviewed, (Stewart blamed that on the casting of Donna Reed as his wife Mary), but it’s considered today as one of the greatest Christmas stories in movie history.
In real life, Stewart, just back from the war having flown 38 bombing runs over Adolf Hitler’s Europe read the script and, despite some misgivings, knew it was about renewal, love and why George Bailey truly was “The richest man in town.” It’s old, but still as bright as the brightest ornament on your tree.
”It’s a Wonderful Life” plays for free on PLEX, subscription on Amazon Prime and others.
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