Now when I say a Christmas classic, I truly mean a classic movie for Christmas. I missed out on this gem for many years before one day I thought to myself hey let’s put ‘It’s Wonderful Life’ on and see what the fuss is about. Well, I saw what the fuss was about. Released in 1946 which makes it third or fourth oldest movie on my list. And based on a short story called the Greatest Giff. This was produced and directed by Frank Capra with a screenplay by Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett and Frank Capra. Made on a budget of $3.18m it went on to make a return of $3.3m from the box-office. Which back then may have seemed a profit but with a quoted breakeven point of $6.3m this movie was seen as a flop. Like so many other movies in this list - It’s a Wonderful Life got more traction after the cinema was concluded. It is now a well-loved Christmas movie and now even the harshest critics out there liked it. Look at IMDb giving this an 8.6 out of 10 and rightly so Rotten Tomatoes giving it a 94%. There is list of names in this movie, namely - James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell, Henry Travers, Beulah Bondi, Ward Bond, Frank Faylen, and Gloria Grahame. This was one of the directors’ favourite movies if not his most successful.
The story revolves around the life of George Bailey who on Christmas Eve in 1945 in Bedfont Falls, New York is thinking about suicide. The whole town appears to be praying for him and all these prayers are heard in heaven where an Angel (2nd class) hears them and is assigned to save George’s life so it can earn its wings. The angel is called Clarence Odbody and he is shown the life of George Bailey being a 12-year-old he saved his brother from drowning in an icy lake, he also stopped a distraught pharmacist from accidently poisoning a child in the prescription. George has always planned on a world tour and throughout his entire life there has been a reason stopping him, sometime just at the last minute but he has been prevented each and every time. Sadly, his father dies, and George takes over running the family Building and Loans business because one of the board members Henry. F. Potter wants to dissolve the business mainly due to him owning the rest of the businesses in town and doesn’t want the competition. Whilst running the business his younger brother goes to college and joins the army and wins a Medal of Honour and goes off and gets married. Then the forgetful clerk who’s worked in the business for years, loses the takings for the day which results in George begging Potter about a loan to cover the shortfall Potter points out that his life assurance means he is worth more dead than alive. Just to twist the knife more Potter calls the police for misappropriation of funds George runs to a bar where he gets slugged in the face and meets Clarence who offers his angelic help. Instead, George says that he wishes he hadn’t been born and Clarence is able to grant that wish, that will change everything. And that is a hell of a lot of the story for you!
OK I may have given you way too much of the story there, but I have also missed out so much as well as this story runs for 2 hours and 11 minutes. It really doesn’t feel that long to me as the story shoots along and you really feel for George Bailey as the years tick by and his chances of travelling the world are missed time after time as his moral standing takes over and he feels compelled to stay. The decisions that lead to his desperation are clear and believable and you can really see how he reached the bottom where we find him in the bar the night Clarence joins him. There are few movies that nearly bring me to tears each and every time I watch it, but this is one that is so heartfelt and loving that it nearly gets me every time. This is a vastly different movie for me and for it to be in my top 50 as well must mean it is something special. It won me over despite being black and white from the 1940’s and something that I avoided for years and years. To be fair my teenage self would not of appreciated this one and I may not have enjoyed it. I know the story has been copied many times and it is referenced in many other locations and it also saw the pairing of Bert and Ernie for the first time as well. I would strongly recommend this movie for you and cannot say a bad word against it as it is undeserved. There is a real heart to this one and should be welcomed and loved without any negativity.
How can I follow a heartfelt movie like this, with a mindless stupid comedy that brings me back to my university years…
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