It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

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.

Director:

Frank Capra

Writers:

Frances Goodrich (screenplay), Albert Hackett (screenplay)

Stars:

James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore

Top Rated Movies #25 | Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Stewart	...	George Bailey
Donna Reed	...	Mary Hatch
Lionel Barrymore	...	Mr. Potter
Thomas Mitchell	...	Uncle Billy
Henry Travers	...	Clarence
Beulah Bondi	...	Mrs. Bailey
Frank Faylen	...	Ernie
Ward Bond	...	Bert
Gloria Grahame	...	Violet
H.B. Warner	...	Mr. Gower
Frank Albertson	...	Sam Wainwright
Todd Karns	...	Harry Bailey
Samuel S. Hinds	...	Pa Bailey
Mary Treen	...	Cousin Tilly
Virginia Patton	...	Ruth Dakin

Storyline

George Bailey has spent his entire life giving of himself to the people of Bedford Falls. He has always longed to travel but never had the opportunity in order to prevent rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town. All that prevents him from doing so is George's modest building and loan company, which was founded by his generous father. But on Christmas Eve, George's Uncle Billy loses the business's $8,000 while intending to deposit it in the bank. Potter finds the misplaced money and hides it from Billy. When the bank examiner discovers the shortage later that night, George realizes that he will be held responsible and sent to jail and the company will collapse, finally allowing Potter to take over the town. Thinking of his wife, their young children, and others he loves will be better off with him dead, he contemplates suicide. But the prayers of his loved ones result in a gentle angel named Clarence coming to earth to help George, with the promise of earning his ...

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Plot Keywords:

guardian angel | christmas | small town life | alternate history | second chance | 

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Taglines:

Celebrating 65 years.

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Genres:

Drama | Family | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements, smoking and some violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

7 January 1947 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Greatest Gift

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,180,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,049,416

Company Credits

Production Co:

Liberty Films (II)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min 118 min (DVD edition)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film passed through several hands, including Howard Hughes, who expressed an interest.

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Goofs

Supposedly, the $8,000 is still missing at the end of the film. While family and friends have provided George Bailey with additional monies at that point, if or when an audit is performed, he still has to explain what happened to the money that his absent-minded uncle lost. This puts him in the same position that he was before he received the additional donations/deposits. In fact, without a solid explanation as to where the money went, it would likely be assumed that the money was either stolen by Uncle Billy or embezzled by George himself. The building and loan would likely face legal sanctions as would George Bailey. However, cash is cash. The Building and Loan does not have to explain what happened to the specific bills that were lost; they simply have to have $8,000 on hand to keep the books accurate. For the same reason that George can use $2,000 of his honeymoon cash to keep the B&L afloat, he can take the $8,000 donated by the townsfolk to balance its ledgers.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Mr. Emil Gower: [voice-over] I owe everything to George Bailey. Help him, dear Father.
Giuseppe Martini: [voice-over] Joseph, Jesus and Mary. Help my friend, Mr. Bailey.
Ma Bailey: [voice-over] Help my son, George, tonight.
Bert: [voice-over] He never thinks about himself, God, that's why he's in trouble.
Ernie Bishop: [voice-over] George is a good guy. Give him a break, God.
Mary: [voice-over] I love him, dear Lord. Watch over him tonight.
Janie Bailey: [voice-over] Please, God, something's the matter with Daddy.
Zuzu Bailey: [voice-over] Please bring Daddy back.

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Crazy Credits

A ringing facsimile of the Liberty Bell (without the crack) forms the backdrop for the studio logo, which is Liberty Films, and the opening credits are in a scrapbook with Christmas decorations. The bell reappears before the end credits, and the end credits have a Christmas card picture as a backdrop.

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Alternate Versions

The film was colorized three times. The first colorized version of the film was produced by Hal Roach Studios (now Sonar Entertainment), the second by Republic Pictures. A third colorization of the film was produced by Legend Films for Paramount, the film's current copyright holder, in 2007.

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Connections

Spoofed in It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002)

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Soundtracks

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
(pub. 1856) (uncredited)
Music by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1840)
Hymn by Charles Wesley (1730)
Performed by Carol Coombs

User Reviews

A wonderful film that should be watched again and again.

This is one of the best films of all time, without a doubt. I challenge anyone to watch this film and not be touched, if you can, you have no heart!

James Stewart is one of my favourite actors, and in this film he acts so naturally you even forget he's an actor playing a part, you really believe his story. You're pulled on a roller coaster of emotions throughout this film, and by no means is this a light hearted look at life, as many believe. This is not a rose tinted look at the wonderful life we have, this is a dark, downtrodden start to a film where the lead character is about to commit suicide.

However, it is a beautiful film, and is one of the few that you can watch again and again and walk away with the same glowing feeling as you did when you first watched it.