Happy holidays!
It is a very interesting story in which how this movie came into fruition. RKO Pictures shelved this project in 1944 and decided to make another holiday movie called The Bishop's Wife. However, you have to thank Frank Capra of reading an original story called "The Greatest Gift" and saw that the project has had potential. So, RKO sold the rights to his production company, Liberty Films for $10,000. The script had to be revised and that's that...
Well, hold on. The movie opened to mixed reviews, more on the negative side. Critics complained that it is too sentimental for no apparent reason when it focuses more on George Bailey's dark side. I could see that defense, however, Bailey is a charismatic person who had unfortunate luck on his side throughout the movie, we will get to that later. Now, why is this a Christmas movie? If you think about it, it is like another edition or version of A Christmas Carol and again, I will get to that later. However, this movie can be treasured as a Christmas classic with one character's arc but you can consider this movie as a monumental treasure of the cinema that people will watch repeatedly over the holiday season.
This entire movie actually is shown from the point of view of Clarence (Henry Travers), an angel who is in 2nd Class, to save George Bailey (James Stewart) from committing suicide. He is shown flashbacks of George's life when he was a 12-year-old. He saved his younger brother, Harry, from drowning in an icy lake, which resulted hearing loss in one of George's ears. George also has an after-school job working for the druggist, Mr. Gower (H.B. Warner), who has been distraught by his son's death from the flu. George intervenes Mr. Gower from drinking poison to kill himself and as a result, Gower feels ashamed for what he was trying to do.
In 1928, George goes to Harry's high-school graduation party and he is re-introduced to Mary Hatch (Donna Reed), who has had a crush on him ever since they were young. Mary and George have a good time at the dance, even by accidentally falling down in the swimming pool while dancing. While walking home, George receives tragic news that George's father has had a stroke. George postpones his travel to take care of his father's bank and loan business. Henry F. Potter (Lionel Barrymore) wants to eliminate the business as a competitor. Despite of his wishes, the board elects to keep the place open, under the conditions that George and his uncle Billy (Thomas Mitchell) run it.
Afterwards, George gets word that Mary has come back from college. In a great scene, during a phone conversation, Mary and George both realize that they love each other and they get married. On their way to their honeymoon, George and Mary witnesses a run on the bank and they use the honeymoon savings to keep the bank in business. Things are going well for George as he buys a housing development for people to live in their own houses rather than rent a house in Potter's slums. He also has three children. However, unfortunate circumstances occur as Billy loses the $8,000 deposit (think about how much it is today) and George berates him for it and he is now in a crisis situation.
SPOILERS AHEAD! (But come on, this is over 70 years old.)
While watching this classic again, this movie resonates with many people, including myself because we see a George Bailey in ourselves as a theme of sacrifice and goodness surrounds around him. The goodness is that he provides so much not for only his family but also the Bedford Falls community. The masterstroke of the screenplay by Capra, Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett and Jo Swerling is that in the beginning as a child he helps two people individually, both from death but one from grief. He is a person seeing the good in people serving the community by simply working in their everyday jobs. Obviously, Potter's rules of economics prevent the people to find a clear path for them to live in his dump of terrible housing. Publicly, he is a man for the greater good.
Now, personally, George Bailey is a person aspiring to pursue his dreams by traveling all over the world and then go to college. But, reality is a wall between himself and his dreams as he has to now overlook his business. It is sad because mostly all of his friends moved on into other places and he has to stay, being selfish but business-driven to take care of the people. It was his sacrifice to stay behind to abandon his dream. However, there is some happiness in his sacrifice where he marries Mary and has children in the run-down home that he and she earlier in the movie as they throw rocks at it.
Like I asked again earlier, why this is a Christmas movie? Well, I cannot exactly say except it is reminiscent from A Christmas Carol except it is not told from Scrooge's point of view, but the beggar's point of view. Before the crisis, George was doing well but the second half of the movie is when it truly becomes a Christmas movie for the good-doer is the one in peril and he is asking the Scrooge of the movie, Mr. Potter, for a loan. However, his greedy ego wants to see George Bailey fail and go to prison. His power overcomes Bailey's good doing leading to his suicidal attempt.
Now, this is when the movie become something more special and turns back to the writing masterstroke in the beginning in which we see the angel, Clarence, in person as he is not in trouble, wanting George to save him from drowning. (I did not realize that Harry's drowning was foreshadowing for this event in a way because Bailey's goodness saves Clarence.) Clarence has now heard Bailey's prayers and Bailey does not believe that Clarence is his guardian angel. He grants George's wish that he does not ever want to be born so George sees an alternate reality in which Bedford Falls has become Pottersville. It is a dire consequence as Mr. Gower is released from prison for manslaughter, George's mother does not recognize him, the Bank and Loan Business has closed down, Harry died and Mary never married.
Upon that realization, George realizes that Clarence is his guardian angel and he has become the "guardian angel" of Bedford Falls, saving both the community and gaining more family in his present life. In the last scene, we witness the theme of family, as the community gathers to donate more than $8,000 to save George and the business. Bedford Falls is a family of townspeople and George's family has restored the meaning in his life as Mr. Potter has no family, in which he is bitter, greedy and alone.
Even though Mr. Potter's (aka Scrooge) life does not change, George's life will still remain constant as it will continue to be wonderful for himself, his family and for the community. It's a Wonderful Life is not only the holiday classic that many see that it is today, but it is also terrifying film seeing a toxic environment of evil-doing to restore more sinful acts without a good-doer transcending a society into something greater. This movie is the essential portrait of America that it takes hard work, dedication, love, faith and family to restore a town or city into a community that always sees the good in things, for better or worse. If worse, failure will never be an option. This is a Christmas movie that will stay with you and tell you to do something or to never give up or to know that you are special after having a rough year or a somewhat ok year. It is an excellent movie.
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