'It's a Wonderful Life' opens and closes with a Christmas theme. |
It’s a Wonderful Life
has been revered—and occasionally reviled—from about every angle. What’s left
to say about this 1946 film, about a suicidal man and his guardian angel, which
went from half-forgotten to holiday favorite?
The Baileys wonder if they should go back to the bank! |
I
can only add that It’s a Wonderful Life,
along with a few other favorite films, was an important part of my childhood.
As an adult, I haven’t watched the movie every year like I did as a kid. When I
do watch, I see Hollywood storytelling at its best. And that beneath the story’s
sentiment is the slightly melancholy message that each person matters in this
world.
It’s a Wonderful Life
is a movie that started popping on local TV across the US in the early 1970s,
when the rights fell into public domain. Our family first started watching it in
on the afternoon movie. Our Upper Michigan TV channel ran old films during the
week for 90 whopping minutes, before the local news. Since It’s a Wonderful Life ran 130 minutes, it had to be aired on two
days.
George & Mary Bailey of Bedford Falls. This was Donna Reed's first starring role. |
During
my upbringing, Life was a welcome
tradition in our family. Our Manistique family related to small-town Bedford
Falls, with its poor, working-class people. We loved the familiar faces of the
cast—hey look, there’s Grandma Walton playing a bank customer! We loved to hate
Bedford Falls own Scrooge, Mr. Potter. And we really loved the fantasy look at Bedford Falls as Potterville, when
George Bailey gets his wish that he’d had never been born. And like The Wizard of Oz, us smarty pants Gould
kids never tired of the story, in fact, we enjoyed the repetition and pointing
out the movie’s miniscule details.
Drew Barrymore's great-uncle Lionel as Mr. Potter! |
As
an adult, I fell away from watching It’s
a Wonderful Life because it hadn’t yet been hailed as a re-discovered
holiday classic, and was still run on afternoon movie shows. I
have caught Life a few times in the
last couple decades, and while nostalgia certainly figures into my feelings, I
still find It’s a Wonderful Life an
incredibly moving as well as entertaining movie. The film is the American
counterpart of A Christmas Carol.
Director
Frank Capra has often been criticized as a filmmaker version of artist Norman
Rockwell. While there’s truth to that comparison, both men were meticulous
artists and suffered from depression, which made their optimistic work a bit
dark around the edges at times. In Capra’s case, both he and star Jimmy Stewart
had come back from World War II changed men. They weren’t sure what kind of
films they wanted to make. Capra was intrigued by a story about an ordinary man
who still had a great impact on the people around him. Stewart was interested,
but no longer wanted to play the folksy good old boy roles that made him
famous.
Gloria Grahame played Violet, Bedford Falls bad girl with a heart of gold. |
It’s a Wonderful Life
had its critics upon its Christmas 1946 release and beyond, citing Capra’s
sentimental whimsy as naïve in post-war America. Ironically, though Life wasn’t the flop that legend has it—as
was said of The Wizard of Oz—yet
audiences found the story depressing. Like Oz,
Life was a costly film to make, and
despite some good reviews and Oscar nominations, was not a great comeback movie
for the director and star. And as the case with Oz, television is the medium that made Life a classic, a perennial favorite.
What
I enjoy about It’s a Wonderful Life is
that the film has the greatest qualities of old-time Hollywood film-making. Yes,
it’s sentimental and the plot hinges on chance—every time George Bailey tries
to bail out of Bedford Falls, something life-changing happens and he gets
pulled back home. But I have no patience for today’s movie watchers who
criticize past cinematic conventions by today’s standards, as if to demonstrate
their coolness. I find it ridiculous that at least two generations of
moviegoers, whose movie diet is mostly big-screen cartoons, can’t tolerate
another era’s movies, because they’re not believable. It’s called suspension of
disbelief, people.
George Bailey is not feeling so wonderful about his life. |
In
fact, in It’s a Wonderful Life, Jimmy Stewart’s George Bailey is
not always such a wonderful guy. George is bored with small-town life and longs
to travel the world. But Bailey’s sense of obligation keeps him tied to the
family banking business due to his father’s death, financial mismanagement, and
WWII. Stewart truly should have won an Oscar for his multi-layered portrayal of
George Bailey, a decent everyman frustrated by his lot in life. Stewart is not
always saintly. Think of the scene where George calls upon Mary, at the
insistence of his mother. With interference from her mother and rival Sam Wainwright calling, Bailey rails at poor
Mary about not getting tied-down to the same small town and woman. The scene is
emotionally heart-felt, despite being one of the least romantic proposals in
movie history. Or how about the scene where George’s befuddled Uncle Billy
loses the bank’s money? Again, Stewart is no saint, ranting that he won’t take
the fall. This is capped by the disturbing domestic scene—especially for a ‘40s
movie—where Jimmy’s George Bailey takes his frustrations out on his entire
family, before bailing to the nearest bar.
Thomas Mitchell, Scarlett O' Hara's dad, plays Uncle Billy. |
Life
is a great example of old-style filmmaking where all the threads of the story
come together and create a beautiful piece of storytelling. All the strands of
George Bailey’s life and the people who know him come together memorably. Which
is the point of It’s a Wonderful Life:
each person’s life has an effect on another.
H.B. Warner & Robert J. Anderson as the bereaved druggist and young George. |
What
I’ve always loved about this Frank Capra classic is that the brilliant casting.
Capra was famous for starring American icons like Jimmy Stewart or Gary Cooper
in his films and surrounding them with great character actors. It’s a Wonderful Life has one of the
best ensembles in film history. Aside from Stewart in his signature role, Life gave Donna Reed her first starring
role. Reed’s ideal as the girl next door, warm and real. Lionel Barrymore is
one of movie’s great villains as Bedford Falls’ rich and rotten Mr. Potter.
Thomas Mitchell, famous as Scarlett O’Hara’s father in Gone with the Wind, plays his other most famous role as alcoholic,
forgetful Uncle Billy. Beulah Bondi, often cast in maternal roles, has her most
famous mother as Mrs. Bailey. Her warm presence makes the later scene where she
harshly doesn’t recognize son George most startling. Gloria Grahame got her
first break as small town vixen Violet. H.B. Warner, famous in the silents as
Jesus in King of Kings, does a
heartbreaking turn as Mr. Gower, the drunk druggist. The intense scene where
young George Bailey makes Gower realize he’s accidentally poisoned a prescription
always makes me tear up. Robert J. Anderson is naturally appealing as young
George—unlike many child stars of the era. Ward Bond and Frank Faylen were so likeable
as Bedford Falls’ Bert and Ernie that Sesame
Street named two of their puppets in their honor!
Henry Travers' turn as Clarence didn't even get an Oscar nod! |
Of
course, the scene stealer of It’s a
Wonderful Life is Henry Travers as Clarence, the angel in need of wings. Travers
was a popular working actor, but Life
was the cherry on top of long career—he retired from acting just three years
later.
To George Bailey, the richest man in Bedford Falls! |
Given
the acting style of classic Hollywood, the film’s entire cast, from the stars
down to the bit roles, is remarkably natural. This great acting ensemble, along
with Frank Capra’s superb storytelling, is why It’s a Wonderful Life has stayed in the hearts and minds of
audiences for 70 years.
Here's another holiday themed movie with James Stewart and the great Carole Lombard, as struggling newlyweds in Made For Each Other, my look here: