Pure movie magic. That’s what I think about when it comes to It’s A Wonderful Life, released by RKO and produced by directors Frank Capra, William Wlyer and George Stevens’ Liberty Films in 1946. It might not be Capra’s best film (I’m a big fan of You Can’t Take It With You, which won the 1938 Best Picture Oscar), but it is his most timeless. There is a reason why the film has been played on television every Christmas eve for the past few decades.
For those who somehow have managed to not see this film, it is almost impossible to summarize because there is so much Capra squeezed into it. It never feels like it goes over two hours because of this. Once those credits are done rolling, the audience goes on an unstoppable ride with George Bailey (James Stewart), his wife Mary (Donna Reed) and the rest of the citizens of Bedford Falls. At its very basic level, It’s A Wonderful Life, is about how George feels the need to commit suicide after his Bank and Loans company loses $8,000 because of a mishap by Uncle Billy (Thomas Mitchell) and Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore) will not help him recover the money. However, that doesn’t happen until the last 30 minutes of the film.
Capra knows, though, that this will not make the same kind of impact on the audience if we do not spend over an hour getting to learn and love George as much as his friends and family do. It makes George’s tour of what Bedford Falls would be like without him even more horrific.
Of course, Capra is not the only genius at work here. The other is James Stewart. Stewart was easily one of the best actors working at the time and was appearing in his first film after World War II ended. He knew he needed to come back with a bang to prove that he still had the acting bug and did exactly that. His performance is absolutely stunning, with the ending - going from such a character low to an amazing high - being one of the best on-screen transformations ever. While I am a fan of Wyler’s The Best Years of Our Lives, with won the 1946 Best Picture and Best Actor for Frederic March, I really think Stewart’s performance should have been honored.
There are also some fantastic supporting parts that it would be a shame to go without recognizing. Donna Reed is the perfect wife, while Thomas Mitchell plays the perfect, drunk, clumsy uncle. Lionel Barrymore shows just how versatile he could be as evil Mr. Potter, probably the most hated character ever. Seriously, Darth Vader cuts off your hand, but Mr. Potter wants to shut down your family business and build shabby apartments in your town. Last but not least, there is the great Henry Travers as Clearance, the angel that shows George what life would be like without him.
There are countless moments that make It’s A Wonderful Life the classic it is. It’s the gym dance or it’s George’s speech about giving Mary the moon or it’s George giving out his and Mary’s honeymoon money. For many it might just be that ending. It’s A Wonderful Life is one of those films that keeps getting better, no matter how many Christmas Eves you and your family have spent watching it.