IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE Most Inspiring Film, 1946; Best Christmas Film Ever - 5-Star Masterpiece Best Christmas Film, One Of Best Films Ever It's A Wonderful Life is arguably one of the best films ever made - certainly the best Christmas film. Frank Capra is one of the most talented directors Hollywood ever produced, and he considered this to be his favorite film. It has been called sentimental - I would call it heart-warming. It is full of what makes life - and a film - wonderful. As far as I know, Jimmy Stewart was the only actor Capra ever had in mind for the part of George Bailey. This is not true of the other characters, although it would be hard to imagine anyone else in any of the roles other than the talented cast he chose. The script is superb, the set is one of the largest ever built, the cinematography is excellent. It is, in essence, a wonderful film of a wonderful story of a wonderful life. You can't beat a story about a person whose life is falling apart, finds himself on the brink of disaster and, through some turn-of-events, changes and comes back. George Bailey is such a person. He has spent his life doing the right thing and helping people whose backs are up against a wall, only to find his own back there and no one to help. He once had big plans for his life - he wanted to build things - but circumstances and his own character have not allowed him to realize those dreams. He has ended up doing the one thing he told himself he would never do: end up living in Bedford Falls running his father's Savings-and-Loan. But he cares about people. And he's got some wonderful relationships, not the least of which is his wife Mary, played by Donna Reed (who was an unknown at the time). Mary gives George everything he needs in a spouse: love, respect, support, a home, a family and a wonderful companion. George is blessed, but his life has not been easy, especially because of the town “Scrooge,” Potter, played by Lionel Barrymore. Potter owns everything - except the Savings-and-Loan. He'd like to own it, but George Bailey stands in his way. The Savings-and-Loan is the only way average people can own a home in Bedford Falls. If Potter gets his hands on it, he'll control the lives of everyone in the town and be able to keep what he calls "the riff raff" in his slums. Now, once again, circumstances take a turn for the worse: Uncle Billy (played by Thomas Mitchell), who works for the Savings-and-Loan, loses $8,000. In 1946, at the time of our story and the movie, this is enough money to put them out of business. Potter, who is aware of the loss, sees this as his opportunity to destroy the Saving-and-Loan and put George in jail. George desperately turns to God in prayer. Then, depressed, he gets drunk. Then, hopeless, he decides to take his own life by jumping off a bridge - but he's stopped by an angel. He's not just any angel: he's an angel second class named Clarence (played by Henry Travers), who is striving to earn his wings. Clarence is like someone out of the 19th century, when he had his last assignment on earth. When George tells him that it would have been better if he, George, had never been born, Clarence gets an idea. He decides that the best way to help George see the value of his own life is to show him what the world would have been like without George Bailey. It takes some convincing for George to realize that things have changed: he hasn't been born, so all the good he's done - including saving his brother's life, who later saves an entire ship of Navy men - never took place. Bedford Falls has become Pottersville, a decadent cesspool of hopeless despair. After George experiences incident after eye-opening incident of the difference his life has made, he returns to the bridge and cries out to God to let him live and to take him back to his life, which He does. Even though his circumstances haven't changed, George has. He realizes that, in spite of his circumstances, he is living a wonderful life that is making a huge difference in the lives of others. Before it's over, he realizes something else: because of the life he's living, he has a lot of wonderful people who care for him. As his brother puts it, "To George Bailey, the richest man in town." George is rich, but not in money. Potter may be rich in gold, but George is rich in something far more valuable - friends. It's a timely message that will always be needed. It's a story that only gets richer with the telling. And it's a film that seems to get better with age. Waitsel Smith, December 4, 2005 Text © 2005 Waitsel Smith. All Rights Reserved.

close window

make a comment

order DVD

Movie by Decade