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IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE






On Christmas Eve, all of the citizens of the small town of Bedford Falls pray to the heavens to help George Bailey. A befuddled and wingless Angel is sent to help George discover what is truly rich and meaningful about his existence on the planet. And how, throughout his life, he has helped more people including himself, than he ever dreamed was possible.






Frank Capra was born on May 18, 1897 in Bisacquino, Sicily. On May 10, 1903, his family left for America aboard the ship Germania, arriving in New York on May 23rd.

"There's no ventilation, and it stinks like hell. They're all miserable. It's the most degrading place you could ever be," Capra said about his Atlantic passage. "Oh, it was awful, awful. It seems to always be storming, raining like hell and very windy, with these big long rolling Atlantic waves. Everybody was sick, vomiting. God, they were sick. And the poor kids were always crying."

Capra graduated from high school on January 27, 1915, and in September of that year, he entered the Throop College of Technology. Throop had a fine arts department, and Capra discovered poetry and the essays of Montaigne, which he fell in love with. He then decided to write.

"It was a great discovery for me. I discovered language. I discovered poetry. I discovered poetry at Caltech, can you imagine that? That was a big turning point in my life. I didn't know anything could be so beautiful." Capra penned "The Butlers Failure," about an English butler provoked by poverty to murder his employer, then to suicide."

Hal Roach Studios hired Capra as a gag-writer for the "Our Gang" series in January 1924. After writing the gags for five "Our Gang" comedies in seven weeks, he asked Roach to make him a director. When Roach refused, Capra quit.

"It was so easy to be better than the other directors, because they were all dopes. They would shoot a long shot, then they would have to change the setup to shoot a medium shot, then they would take their close-ups. Then they would come back and start over again. You lose time, you see, moving the cameras and the big goddamn lights. I said, 'I'll get all the long shots on that first set first, then all the medium shots, and then the close-ups.' I wouldn't shoot the whole scene each way unless it was necessary. If I knew that part of it was going to play in long shot, I wouldn't shoot that part in close-up. But the trick was not to move nine times, just to move three times. This saved a day, maybe two days."

What was more important just as important the subject was the maturation of Capra's directorial style with film. Capra had become convinced that the mass-experience of watching a motion picture with an audience had a psychological effect in individual audience member.





Years later, on the night of March 16, 1934, in which Capra attended as one of the Best Director nominees for "Lady for a Day", he had literally caught Oscar fever, and in his own words, "In the interim between the nominations and the final voting.... my mind was on those Oscars." When Oscar host Will Rogers opened the envelope for Best Director, he commented, "Well, well, well. What do you know. I've watched this young man for a long time. Saw him come up from the bottom, and I mean the bottom. It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Come on up and get it, Frank!"

Capra got up to go get it, squeezing past tables and making his way to the open dance floor to accept his Oscar.

"The spotlight searched around trying to find me. 'Over here!' I waved. Then it suddenly swept away from me - and picked up a flustered man standing on the other side of the dance floor - Frank Lloyd!"

Frank Lloyd went up to the dais to accept HIS Oscar while a voice in back of Capra yelled "Down in front!"

Capra's walk back to his table amidst shouts of "Sit down!" turned into the "Longest, saddest, most shattering walk in my life. I wished I could have crawled under the rug like a miserable worm. When I slumped in my chair I felt like one. All of my friends at the table were crying."

That night, after Lloyd's "Cavalcade," beat "Lady for a Day." for Best Picture, Capra got drunk at his house and passed out. "Big 'stupido,'" Capra thought to himself, "running up to get an Oscar dying with excitement, only to crawl back dying with shame. Those crummy Academy voters; to hell with their lousy awards. If ever they did vote me one, I would never, never, NEVER show up to accept it."

However, Capra would win his first of three Best Director Oscars the next year, and would show up to accept it. More importantly, he would become the president of the Academy in 1935 and take it out of the labor relations field a time when labor strife and the formation of the talent guilds threatened to destroy it.

Capra, a genius in the manipulation of the first form of "mass media," was opposed to "massism." The crowd in a Capra film is invariably wrong, and he comes down on the side of the individual, who can make a difference in a society of free individuals.

In “Wonderful Life” Capra lets the story unfold through George Bailey’s eyes. His world and his dreams crumble and we’re in the middle of it. We feel everything he feels and we’re in peril and just as anxious. His beautiful long shots and his tight close ups of Stewart’s grimacing features as his last hope for survival topples in Potter’s office is both claustrophobic and expansive. Amazing work.





The immigrant who had struggled and been humiliated but persevered due to his inner resolution realized what it took for the under dog to achieve success. He brought his inner struggles of the New Deal movie-goer to the screen by using his heroes as mirrors.. The country during the Depression was down but not out, and the ultimate success of the individual in the Capra films was a bracing tonic for the movie audience of the 1930s. His own personal history, transformed on the screen, became their myths that got them through the Depression, and when that and the war was over, the great filmmaker found himself out of time. Capra, like Charles Dickens, moralized political and economic issues. Both were primarily masters of personal and moral expression, and not of the social and political. It was the emotional realism, not the social realism, of such films as "Mr Smith Goes To Washington" which he was concerned with, and by focusing on the emotional and moral issues his protagonists faced, typically dramatized as a conflict between cynicism and the protagonist's faith and idealism, that made the movies so powerful, and made them register so powerfully with an audience.

If Wider was The Picasso of the movies, then Capra was the Rembrandt.








Lionel Barrymore, who was born Lionel Blythe, was an American actor of stage, radio and film, and elder brother of Ethel and John Barrymore. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on April 28 1878. Barrymore made a name for himself on stage before going to Hollywood in 1924. He won an Oscar in 1931 for best actor in A Free Soul, after having been nominated in 1930 for best director for Madame X. He also played the irascible Doctor Gillespie in a series of Doctor Kildare and Doctor Gillespie movies in the 1930s and 1940s. Years later, after breaking his hip twice, he was confined to a wheelchair, but still continued to act.

It was, however, his role in “It’s A Wonderful Life” that gave him his greatest fame. Barrymore took a lifetime perfecting the ultimate villain. And he did it with style and panache. He has a terrific moment when he’s discovered Uncle Billy’s’ money wrapped up in a newspaper sitting in his lap. Barrymore relishes every wicked moment of his discovery. We hate him fully and completely, and in the end, when George is re born, Mr. Potter flashes through our minds. A performance that can resonate like that, even after the actor is off screen, is very rare.





She was the perfect wife, the all-American embodiment of feminine appeal. But her wholesome image was rarely put to good use; MGM signed the farm-raised campus queen in 1941, and made her a utility player in the likes of Babes on Broadway (her debut), Shadow of the Thin Man , The Courtship of Andy Hardy, Calling Dr. Gillespie , The Human Comedy , and numerous others. Her role as Navy nurse (and John Wayne's love interest) in John Ford's They Were Expendable gave her more shading and nuance, and showed what she was capable of. She finally broke the mold in 1953's From Here to Eternity playing Alma, a prostitute (though not referred to as such, given Hollywood's censorship restrictions); the performance earned her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. But it was back to the kitchen for her most successful venture, "The Donna Reed Show," a long-running sitcom (1958-66), produced by her husband, Tony Owen. Her movie career basically finished, and she appeared in a few TV movies and on the series "Dallas" during the 1984-85 season.

Reed was born in the Midwestern town of Denison, Iowa, on January 27, 1921, as Donna Belle Mullenger. A small town - a population of less than 3,000 people. Donna grew up as a farm girl; much like many young girls in western Iowa, except for one thing - Donna was very beautiful. That wasn't to say that others weren't as pretty, it's just that Donna's beauty stood out from all the other local girls. It was a combination of her radiance and her uniquely unaffected acting ability that drew Capra to cast her Mary, the ultimate girl next door.

Reed’s ability to embody the girl every boy wants to marry was uncanny. She was able to allow herself to pine over George and wear her heart on her sleeve, and at the same time, pepper her with a steely reserve and a reckless abandon. Watch as Reed pulls out her own Honeymoon money in order to pay back the terrified costumers as they wait restlessly in the lobby of The Bailey’s Building and Loan. Her eyes flash, her hand goes straight up in the air, and there’s not a moment’s hesitation. Reed is wonderful in this role, and it is through her eyes that we see the pain and ultimate allegiance Stewart metamorphosis’s into at the climax of the film. A radiant performance by a very gifted actress.







Jimmy Stewart was an American film actor beloved for his persona as an average guy who faces adversity and tries to do the right thing, an image which was largely reflected in his own personality. James M. Stewart was born on May 20, 1908 in his parents' home on Philadelphia Street, Indiana, the only son of Alexander and Elizabeth Stewart. After Jimmy's arrival the family expanded to include daughters Virginia and Mary. Perhaps his film career really got its start when Jimmy operated a hand-cranked film projector at the Strand Theater on Philadelphia Street in Indiana. He also gained some show biz savvy assisting his boyhood pal, Bill Neff, in performance of his magic shows. His first film was 'Murder Man,' with Spencer Tracy for MGM in 1935. He appeared in twenty-four movies over the next four years, with an Oscar nomination for 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.' In 1940, he won his Oscar for his bravura performance in 'The Philadelphia Story.' Within the next year his acting career was brought to an abrupt halt by World War II.

His radio career then spanned seven decades. Henry Fonda and Stewart roomed together when they went to work on Broadway in 1932 and films in 1935. Margaret Sullivan insisted he be given roles opposite her, which was a great help to him and a favor he never forgot. Jimmy was always ready to lend a hand to an up and coming young actor.

Great roles and honors began in the late 1930s and continued throughout his career. When he won the Oscar for Best Actor in 1940, he sent it to his father in Indiana, PA, who put it in his hardware store. The award remained there for 25 years.

Stewart’s ability to play the Everyman was unequalled in Hollywood. There was no one better when it came to understanding the psyche of the American Male. So when George Bailey needed life, it was Jimmy Stewart, and only Jimmy Stewart, who could do him justice. He was already an Oscar winner for his magnetic and complicated performance in “Philadelphia Story”, and although he hadn’t made a movie in quite some time, Capra never had any doubts about his ability and he two men got along famously throughout shooting.

As George, we are always on Jimmy’s side. We want everything he wants. We expect him to go off on his adventure, and yet when complications arise, and he’s settled back in his sleepy Hamlet, we’re secure in the fact that he will rise with respect and dedication to his friends and family in need of help. His performance is mind boggling. It’s frenetic, solid, controlled, and filled with angst and sorrow. The scene where Stewart’s atop the bridge ready to throw himself head first into the icy river, is harrowing. Very rarely do we get to see him play a man so utterly despondent. His wringing hands, his face, furrowed and bent, and his crackling voice add desperation and a resignation that is palatable.

I love him when he realizes that Clarence (another wonderful performance by the oft forgotten Henry Travers) is not a dream or a hallucination, and seems to literally wake up in the middle of a crowded bar after a fight with his friend Nick. He turns on the shoulders of the people gathering on the street, and with a look of rage and horror he screams Mary’s name in succession. It’s a bravura moment, and one I’ve never seen in any other Stewart film.
He is the center of this movie and it’s on his shoulders that the ringing of the bell becomes real. Because of Stewart’s George Bailey, his redemption is ours. It is one of the great performances of his career, and one of the great performances on screen. No question.






TRIVIA

• Lionel Barrymore convinced James Stewart to take the role of George, despite his feeling that he was not up to it so soon after World War II.

• Originally ended with "Ode to Joy", not "Auld Lang Syne".

• Films made prior to this one used cornflakes painted white for the falling snow effect. Because the cornflakes were so loud, dialogue had to be dubbed in later. Frank Capra wanted to record the sound live, so a new snow effect was developed using foamite (a fire-fighting chemical) and soap and water. This mixture was then pumped at high pressure through a wind machine to create the silent, falling snow. 6000 gallons of the new snow were used in the film. The RKO Effects Department received a special award from the Motion Picture Academy for the development of the new film snow.

• As Uncle Billy is leaving George's house drunk, it sounds as if he stumbles over some trash cans on the sidewalk. In fact, a crew member dropped some equipment right after Uncle Billy left the screen. Both actors continued with the scene ("I'm all right, I'm all right!") and director Frank Capra decided to use it in the final cut. He gave the clumsy stagehand a $10 bonus for "improving the sound."

• The Bells of St. Mary's is showing at the movie house as George runs down the street in Bedford Falls. Henry Travers, who plays Clarence, the angel, starred in that film as Horace P. Bogardus.

• For the scene that required Donna Reed to throw a rock into the window of the Granville House, Frank Capra hired a marksman to shoot it out for her on cue. To everyone's amazement, Donna Reed broke the window herself and never needed the help of the marksman.

• James Stewart was nervous about the phone scene kiss because it was his first screen kiss since his return to Hollywood after the war. Under Capra's watchful eye, Stewart filmed the scene in only one unrehearsed take, and it worked so well that part of the embrace was cut because it was too passionate to pass the censors.

• Jean Arthur was Capra's first choice for the part of Mary.

• In 2004 the BBC TV listings magazine "Radio Times" conducted a poll into the Best Film Never to Have Won an Oscar. "It's a Wonderful Life" came second ("The Shawshank Redemption" was first).

• This was the first and last time that Frank Capra produced, financed, directed and co-wrote one of his films.

• At $3.7 million, this was a very expensive independent production. In its initial box office run, it only earned $3.3 million.

• James Stewart cited George Bailey as being his favorite character. The part was originally developed at another studio with Cary Grant earmarked for the role. When Frank Capra inherited the project, he rewrote it to suit Stewart.

• Vincent Price was considered for the part of Mr Potter.

• This was Donna Reed's first starring role.

• After the war Capra set up Liberty Films with George Stevens and William Wyler to make more serious, soul-searching offerings. This was Liberty's only production.

• James Stewart repeated his role in a one-hour radio version for NBC Radio Theater in 1949.

• Dalton Trumbo, Dorothy Parker, and Clifford Odets all did uncredited work on the script.

• In the original script, Clarence confronts Potter about what he did to George. It was to take place right after Potter yelled, "And Happy New Year to you, in jail!"

• The raven, named Jimmy, appeared in all of Frank Capra's movies.

• Two of Street’s most famous Muppets, Bert and Ernie, share their names with the cop and cab driver in this film, but this is said to be just a coincidence.

• The name of the character for George Bailey came from a man Jimmy Stewart was acquainted with while stationed at Selfridge Field in Michigan, where both were members of the 94th Pursuit Squadron. The real George Bailey, who now lives in Valrico, Florida, said that Stewart liked his "Everyman quality" and wanted to use the name.

• While filming the scene where George prays in the bar, James Stewart has said that he was so overcome that he began to sob right then and there. Later, Capra reframed the shot so it looked like a much closer shot than was actually filmed because he wanted to catch that expression on Stewart's face.

• Actor and producer Sheldon Leonard said in an interview that the only reason he agreed to play Nick the bartender in this film was so that he would have money to buy Dodger baseball tickets.

• The film has two lines of "secret dialog" - spoken quietly through a door. (They can be heard when amplifying the volume, and are also explicitly depicted in the closed-captioning.) The lines occur at the end of the scene set in Bailey's private office with Bailey and his son George, and Potter and his goon present. After George raves to Potter that "you can't say that about my father", he is ushered out of the room by his father, then George is shown standing outside the office door. At that moment, George overhears the following two lines of dialog through the glass pane of the door behind him:
• POTTER: What's the answer?
• BAILEY: Potter, you just humiliated me in front of my son.

• Pharmacist Gower's son's death at college is attributed to "Influenza" in the telegram that Young George reads. This is probably a reference to the "Spanish Flu" worldwide epidemic that killed millions of people around that time, and would have still been fresh in many people's minds when the movie was first released.

• The scene on the bridge where Clarence saves George was filmed on a backlot on a day where the temperature was 90 degrees Fahrenheit. This is why Jimmy Stewart is visibly sweating in a few scenes.

• Frank Capra often said that this was his favorite of all his films.

• The gym floor that opens up to reveal a swimming pool was real and was located at Hollywood High School in Los Angeles.
•
• - Ironically, after the initial flop of the film at the box office, its popularity grew after its copyright expired due to a clerical error and it was shown repeatedly on American television (especially at Christmas) without any royalties going to Frank Capra.







While holding his daughter Zuzu in his arms, George glances down at the pile of money. His eye catches what is buried on the pile - Clarence's copy of Tom Sawyer left for him as a gift. Zuzu opens it and they find an inscription written in it:
Dear George, Remember no man is a failure who has friends. Thanks for the wings! Love Clarence.

People who have real friends know the best there is in life, rather than reaching for rewards and yearnings elsewhere - real riches can be found in the treasures nearby. Only George realizes the full significance of the bell ringing - it rings for Clarence who has earned his wings by succeeding with a tough assignment - and also for George's awakening of consciousness through divine intervention in his experiences, enabling him to be freed from the confines of earthly pressures. He has found his own rewards and gifts - life, redemption, and freedom. The swelling sounds of Auld Lang Syne build to a crescendo in an affirmation of life. There is no such thing as a failure. There is no reason to want to go back and correct anything about the past. Whatever has happened to each of us has happened to everyone around us as well. I love this film. There’s never been a time when I haven’t sobbed like a 3 year old when Mom Bailey is belting out the final tune along with everyone else George has touched through his friendship and love. How many people have we all healed and been healed by? It’s impossible to count. All of it, the good, the bad, the mundane, the thrilling, it’s all been a blessing in one form or another. We just need to sift through the disarray of our own life and concentrate more on what’s directly in front of us. That’s usually where the Blessings are. And finally, hopefully, with a little luck and a little perseverance, we can hear the bell ring.