It's a Wonderful Life: 50 Things You Don't Need to Know
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ธ.ค. 2017
- It's not Christmas until George Bailey's mouth is bleeding, he finds ZuZu's petals in his pocket, and he becomes the richest man in Bedford Falls. Join me as I explore some known and some not-so-known facts about the ultimate Christmas movie.
- บันเทิง
One year just before Christmas my boyfriend and I were watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” on television. He was so moved by it that, as it ended, he asked me to marry him. I said yes. Every year we watch it again, 47 and counting...
Susan Booker That’s beautiful!!!
Aww that is so sweet Susan!
Neat! :)
That is the most beautiful story ever. Congratulations on your 47 years & hope you get 47 more!
I don’t know why but when I watch it’s a wonderful life I’d rather know it’s a national broadcast I can watch it on TH-cam but I rather know millions are watching with me I guess,I guess it’s about sharing emotions with others...
"A toast to my big brother, George. The richest man in town!" That quote makes me cry EVERY TIME. ❤
Me too!
@@Brentstarga me too
Yep, that entire scene at the end where everyone comes to George's aid is a cry fest for me, and every time. Such overwhelming joy.
Sameee
Me too!
I was 17 in HS a senior, I was going to commit suicide and told my favorite teacher just before Christmas break, I’d never see him again that I was going to commit suicide 😭. He said he wasn’t going to try to stop me but I had to promise him I’d watch this movie called “It’s a Wonderful Life” first! He gave me his copy VHS, I did, and I’m still here! He and this movie saved my life! I’ve not missed one Christmas Eve watching his vhs movie! I still have his original VHS tape after 35 years! “I’ll have a flaming rum punch” “that’s it, out you two pixies go..out the door or through the window” ...lol what a movie!
Edit: I wasn’t expecting such heartfelt responses! Thank you all and Merry Christmas 🎄
I'm so glad your here!
I do not doubt you had that in mind and I’m sorry you came to that point. But it was great that you -subconsciously?- sent out a cry for help and that teacher answered it. A girl I didn’t know in jr high used to walk home in front of me. We never talked. One day she was gone and when I talked to someone about her not being around they said she committed suicide. That really upset me that I never took time to talk to her due to my shyness.
God bless you and God bless your teacher!
Yes, God bless you & a teacher who cared about you, too!
Wow!
Now this was eighteen minutes and twenty-one seconds well spent.
This movie had it all: drama, comedy, romance, a hero and a villain.
I've always considered "It's a Wonderful Life" as perhaps the most important film ever made from an inspirational standpoint. The line that always got me was when George appears to be at the end of his rope when others fail to recognize him and Clarence the angel says "strange how one man's life touches so many others and when he is gone he leaves an awful hole".
You don't know who will touch.
My favorite line is "no man is a failure who has friends"
@Wayne I completely agree with you! It's my favorite of all movies for the content as well! So meaningful! 🤗💖
@@ED80s I always loved that part as well!! I wrote it down one time after watching it decades ago and posted it on my fridge. It became a conversation piece! 😉
Hear hear.
I'm 78. I saw this movie in 1950 when i was 9 years old. I've seen it almost every year except for the time I spent in Asia with the military. I've watched it when I was single, married, single, married and most Christmases in between. Without this movie, it isn't Christmas for me. The idea that the world would be a different place without me is powerful, very powerful. It means a lot to me.
Ron Stash I love this movie too and have to watch it every year!
Ron, every year that I watch this film the more I find out how truer your observation is. I think if everyone lived their lives with that thought in mind, maybe then mankind--and the world--would be a better place, one in which hatred and anger were not so prevalent. So I say right here, right now--thanks to all of my friends and family members who have helped me know how much my life has truly mattered!
Ron Stash
Married,single,married,single 😂😂😂 I hope everything turn out alright for ya!
Awwwwww.❤❤❤🎅🎅🎅🎄🎄🎄🎁🎁🎁happy new year 🗓📅🎆🎊
@@shamalama29 he may of bin lucky,. me ive never bin married never found right one at 64 now. Wudda like to happy new year 🗓📅🎆🎊
Every year my wife of 41 years and I would watch this movie several times with our kids and family. Since 2016 when she was killed in a car accident, I still watch it and can't help remember the good times we had and the values it helped instill in our children and now our 8 grandchildren.
That's beautiful... Take care friend... She's with u when u watch it, I believe that wholeheartedly...
George, My sincere condolences on the tragic death of your beloved Wife. I cry as a I read your comment.
Sorry for your loss but it sounds like you and your wife had a wonderful 41 years together ! God bless you and wife. Enjoy the movie until you meet her again.
Awww what a special attachment to this wonderful movie!! I’m glad you 2 shared it so many times and now you continue as your family grows. So very sorry about the loss of your wife. Sounds like you did have ‘a wonderful life’ 🙂❤️
A Merry Christmas
STORY....
DOWN With
happy holidays!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm 64 years old and have seen that movie so many times, and still can't get thru the ending without getting choked up. That movie is genius. Kudos to everyone involved. My favorite part is the whole movie!
Same age as you!! I still cry every single time - best wishes and Merry Christmas from England.
I’m crying now...jeez..
I agree. Two wonderful stars but my favorite Jimmy Stewart who was a Christian. I think it was the perfect movie to star in after WWII.
Actually, whenever I'm around anything that **STINKS**, I always hold my nose...
Same with me. I always watch it with my daughter. Originally with my daughter and her mother, then with my daughter and her live in boyfriend. At this part the room gets very quiet.
The scene that makes me fall apart every time is when he's at the bar and absolutely beside himself as everyone is having a great time around him. The camera moves in and he says.. "I am not a praying man but if you're up there and you can hear me... " Just the way Stewart plays it with such desperation. I cry every time.
He wasn’t acting;he was dealing w/PTSD after coming home.
I love it when George and Mary are walking home from the dance with her in the robe, and the guy on the porch says "Why doncha kiss her instead of talking her to death!" then, "Awww. Youth is wasted on all the wrong people!" Very funny, but touching, too. You could see them falling in love.
And do you know, just who that actor is?? It's, Parley Baer. So, who's he?? Mayberry's first, mayor😉!!! He was, a bit character actor also, playing in many films.
Actually, the actor in IAWL was Dick Elliott. He was Mayor Pike. Mayberry's first mayor on TAGS. Elliott died during the second season. Parley Baer was Mayor Roy Stoner. Mayberry's second mayor on TAGS. A side note. Sheldon Leonard went on to become a successful producer, director and screenwriter for many shows. Including The Andy Griffith Show.
@@rogerrendzak8055yes sir. Good Ole Mayor Pike. Lol. Loved him.
Anyone who's ever had a deep, seamingly insurmountable struggle in life can relate to the sceen with George at the bar asking God for help, to show him the way.
mjnc367 you bet...I’m there now!
@@bearbear4030
Are you joking? Many times. Never make permanent decisions on temporary circumstances. All bad things pass...its getting through them that's the hard part. I attended BU....not Boston Univ, rather Brutal U. Got my doctorate.
Many go through the School of Hard Knocks but I had to up the ante. Hang in and hold on.....
Isn't that a beautiful scene? I had never seen this film for years after it had become such a classic. My friend told me to watch it and during the bar scene i started crying. Frank Capra captures the human condition so honestly.
@@bearbear4030 Ask...
I am sure there will never be a more convincing, authentic depiction of yearning and love than that achieved by Donna Reed as she shared that telephone with George and Sam. Her longing is both painful and filled with human beauty. It seems to reside at the core of human experience. By far, it is my most valued scene in this movie or any other. I just wish she were here today and that it were possible to thank her for this inestimable gift.
Hi Charlie! She is and you have! Best wishes.
Amazing wonderful acting by Donna, best scene ever, thank you Donna xxx.
That was a very well written comment.
I couldn't agree more. I really noticed it more than ever this year. Truly great acting.
So true. Also when she ran away from him as the old maid librarian and he was being held back from her by others and he screached, "Mary????" That scene tears at my heart and when he says her name like that and realizes how he has lost everything that mattered to him, it makes me burst out crying everytime. (Doing it now thinking of his face and voice and hands shaking.)
That phone scene where Mary and George first kiss is, in my opinion, one of the hottest love scenes in any move ever. What passion!
Absolutely agree - just right on the money
George's (Stewart) simultaneous realization that he loves Mary (Reed) meaning he'll never realize his dreams of an education, travel, and a career as an architect, but that his love for her is more important...an incredible, passionate scene.
Agreed! (Swoon)
Funny I've always considered it the weakest moment in the story. It always makes me uncomfortable. It's interesting to me that you see it that way.
The sexual tension sizzles!
"It's A Wonderful Life" is timeless. Better than most films made today. No profanity, No nudity, No violence, etc. and yet has such a warm loving ending. It always helps me to remember God doesn't play his hand until things look so bleak that there's no hope. And then God uses others to show his love. He always wins in the end. "Faith, hope, and love abideth, but the greatest of these is love."
Amen !
It's a reminder that script writers get to play God when the are writing movie scripts, and that wringing every drop of pathos out of situation is generally good box office, though apparently not so much in this particular case
@@mattlove1 Exactly. Great movie that this is, it's pure fiction.
@Sponge Bob It just goes to show the power of God!! Do something that is so outrageous that it's doomed to fail except God be in it.
BIG JOE 245 MOST????? What is better, better in the true sense? Maranatha
The bar scene where he is asking god to help is one of the best acting scenes ever .
Frank Capra was a dear friend of my grandmother. After his second wife passed they would spend their breakfasts together discussing the world events. He was one of the nicest persons I have ever met.
Awe that’s so sweet and a good memory.
Thank you for sharing your story, I love Frank Capra’s movies.
Wow!
Jimmy Stewart was from Indiana, PA and every Christmas, the town of Indiana decorates their downtown like Bedford Falls in It's A Wonderful Life.
My daughter goes to school there it’s so pretty at Christmas
@@erica6488 very cool! She goes to IUP?
Bob Stewart yes !
@@erica6488 I live very close to Penn State University.
Omg that's so wonderful
I'm 74 and I've seen many, many movies in my lifetime, but It's A Wonderful Life is my all-time favorite! And Jimmy Stewart is my all-time favorite actor!
I love the scene where Mary and the main character were kids. He’s making her ice cream and she whispered in his weak ear that she will love him for the rest of her life. It’s such a sweet little scene.
I love that scene as well, of children's innocence. Something that has been lost in our modern day society.
That was one of my favorite scenes too. Always makes me smile
One of my favorites.
Unfortunately, as it was his weak ear, he didn't hear a thing.
@@peterpiper7441 that was the idea. Mary purposely whispered that in his bad ear so that he wouldn't hear it!
His breakdown in the bar when he prays to God was Jimmy remembering the war and the loss of his men he commanded in the airforce,hence the one take
OK, yes very much, but ... U.s. Air Force was founded 1947
Was U.S. Army Aircorps.
Stewart was a B17 pilot.
Huge gonads on that man, very deceptive.
@@toms641 ok; since you are being precise and technical; Jimmy flew B-24’s
@@ObservingtheObvious I have always respected and admired the man and the actor, Jimmy Stewart. He truly was larger than life.
The look on his face when he realizes the enormity of what's going on chills me to the bone!
Really?? That scene killed me the first time i saw it. Every year i watch this film I wait for Martini's bar.
It is a one-of-a-kind movie about how one's life affects others and how we're all interconnected. A wonderful movie!
I still cry at the end every Christmas when I watch this movie. It just makes you feel like there's still so much good in humanity.
When George looks up and says, “Atta boy Clarence” I always tear up, even though I know it’s coming... Who amoung us hasn’t wondered what life would be if we went ever here, or did one thing in our life differently....one thing..
@@Hambone571 yeah, like never voting for Trump for anything.
@@paulengstrom432 or, like not making your post. Paul's real last name is Potter.
Funny, I can't watch this movie anymore. It's brilliant but it's so dark and depressing I can't deal with it. You can cock your head any which way you want, to make it look joyous, but it's not. It's about a man who gave up his career hopes and dreams for what he perceived (wrongly) as family obligations and then chose to settle in his "crummy" hometown with a job he hated. Capra's a genius but beneath all the family values is a very painful situation.
@@sportsmediaamerica my life turned out like this....i am now old, bitter and without hope
A very subtle "dirty joke" happens in the movie that a lot of people never get. When George, Bert and Ernie are standing around the cab and Violet Bick walks by, the dialogue as they watch her walk away is hilarious.
• How would you like to...
• Yes!
•Think I'll go home and see what the wife is doing...
I've always wondered if that was improvised or not. Either way, I laugh out loud every time.
How about right after that when Ernie asks Bert if he wants to go along with Ernie and George and see the town and Bert says "No thanks, I, uh (looks at his watch) think I'll go home and see what the wife is doing".
There's another subtle "dirty joke," when Annie says, "That's why all children should be girls!" Mrs. Bailey starts to say, "Well, if they were all girls..." but then stops herself. Clearly an allusion to sex and if children were all girls, the human race would end.
@@chuckhoffman8680 And Ernie replies sarcastically: "A family man."
More people got it than you think. Children no but adults, yes.
My mother played an extra in this movie... The swimming pool scene was filmed at Hollywood high School at the time my mother was going to school there they let the kids be extras in the movie while they were dancing
If I was her, I would have told every single person I ever met about that.
Correction. The swimming pool scene was filmed at Beverly Hills High School. I know that place, I was with the Redondo High Water Polo team in 1966 when we went to play BHHS then. I watched them open the floor up to show the pool.
@@dougmontgomery1868 that's what I meant it's Beverly hills high School
Well, which do you mean--Hollywood High or Beverly Hills High? I was at the latter, where the pool was below the floor.
Where'd your father go to school?
My favorite line... "I've been saving this for a divorce.......if i ever get a husband"........ best comedy line ever!!!!!!!
Perhaps Dorothy Parker's contribution? 😄
I thought it was, "I've been saving this for my dowry....if I ever get a husband".
How about Donna Reed's line to Jimmy Stewart's when he was tapping at her front fence? "What are you doing? PICKETING?"
Here's another. What are the three things that are the most wonderful things to hear?
George says: Plane propellers, anchors raising, & train whistles.
Uncle Billy retorts: Breakfast is served, lunch is served, dinner is served.
@@Richie8a8y Another one of hers: With Liquor & Gin, why do the boys need girls? George's mother's reaction to that as she tries to explain it to Dorothy Parker's contribution, Well, if boys don't meet girls....... & they fade of stage as you know that the pre-code censors would not allow them to discuss the birds & the bees.
Poor Frank Capra, losing all that money. But he created a holiday classic, and I will always be grateful.
But he made all these fans happy so he might be as rich as George.
He recouped his loss later on. I do not know what the final total was.
@@timhawks6101 i'm sure he came out all right in the end. don't cry for Capra, Argentina.
"grateful" *
Eh... so he lost some money.... but he became a LEGEND and lives on FOREVER!!
I was young when I first saw this movie, I'm 19 now and I want to say I was around 10 when I viewed it. It was so long ago, my mother loves classic movies and I would watch them all the time with her and my family.
Gosh, whenever I feel stressed or sad I always think back to George Bailey. There is something so comforting in the message - like it is a happy ending but not exactly. Potter never gets punished, but I like that, it's more relatable. It tells you that you don't have to get revenge or 'beat' the bad guy to have a happy resolution, you simply need to find solace in your situation and in what you do have. The movie tells you it's okay to not be perfect and to make mistakes and it tells you probably one of the most important messages I've ever heard: your life has worth, even if it doesn't seem like it directly, even if you don't see it yourself, you're far more important than you realize.
❤
Beautifully written and appreciated.
Not bad, for a 19 year old👏👍!!!
You are absolutely right about old man Potter getting away with it. Ultimately, what makes the movie powerful is that it feels true. We know that the powerful get away with it every single day. Putting a pretty pink bow on top would have cheapened it.
Some many years ago I was speaking to my brother-in-law's good friend, he was around thirty-five then. We were talking about great movies and all and I mentioned that every year I like to watch "It's a Wonderful Life". He said that he had never heard of it. I was, of course, surprised at this. I then told him all about it and said that he just had to see it, that he would love it.
Well, came "The Season" and he did. When I saw him on Christmas Day he came over to me and gave me a big bear hug. He said that he saw it and that it' was the greatest movie he had ever seen, thanking me profusely for turning him on to it.
It made me feel so good that I had been able to bring something so nice to him and give him such a good, warm feeling. To do something good for another brings the greatest reward. Sometimes just the right word to someone at the right moment is the greatest gift.
my mom loved this movie, so my husband and i watch it every christmas eve with our kids to honor her
"It's a Wonderful Life" is my favorite Christmas and Thanksgiving movie. I love James Stewart movies.
My understanding is that Jimmy Stewart, having suffered terribly during "The War," was so depressed that this film perfectly fit his temperament at the time. He wanted to change from the happy-go-lucky, The Philadelphia Story, kind of actor. I believe you'll find that all of his subsequent films had a much more serious tone.
In a life time of watching "It's a wonderful life" the last scene has never failed to produce tears.
The scene of Jimmy crying at the bar had me crying. This is one of my all time faves for its true reflection of life, then, now and always. Thank you, all this additional information is much appreciated.
he was struggling w PTSD from the war. Some of the emotion you see is raw, this film helped him deal with all the death he saw in the war.
@@magdalenem4949 Oh, my! I did not know that. The emotion really was raw and now that I learn that the movie helped him, I am so happy. He was such a lovely, lovely man.Thank you, @Gina H !
It's actually well-known now that, at the time of filming, Jimmie hated making it. He wanted to do a feel-good film, and while it is (in the end), it puts him through the emotional ringer to do it, and, as has been said, he was dealing with his PTSD and he left most days of filming feeling miserable.
And no one could have played George Bailey better than Jimmy Stewart.
Watching this film helped me from committing suicide when I broke up with my first long time girl friend. That my life also affects other people’s life also.
Hate to hear you were at that point. My family has been affected by that as well and I wish we could have found a way to help in time. I hope things are better for you now.
Terry M I was there, I can relate!
2
Thumps
UP!
@@AMillionMovies .....
Get a digital copy of the movie that you get from the DVD or the Blu-ray and then forward it to all your friends IN UR contact list that you like...
Even the ones you don't like.lol
@@AMillionMovies Yes I am okay now. It took me a long time to get back to normal but actually it was a good happening in my life. Thru friends and family I learned life goes on. I have now been married for over 30 years. Had several girl friends in between my break up and finding my wife. God was good to me.
Here it is another Christmas Day 2020 in the midst of the covid virus and I'm watching this movie all over again. It is "timeless" indeed. In fact, it is on television all day today. The more I watch it the more the little and more important things stand out in the movie. For instance, Clarence just told George "each man's life touches so many other lives" Sometimes we forget that about our lives. If each one of you were to really stop to think about it, I bet there are a few people who have touched your life. They are the "Clarences" or angels in your life. They were put there to tell you how important you are and how important you are to everyone around you. If we all could just be an angel to others then this world would be better for all of us. God Bless and Merry Christmas 2020.
@@seang2700 It's really a simple concept, but difficult for most people to comprehend. It is life altering when you do incorporate into your understanding of existence.
Amazing that probably most of us baby boomers and older never saw or heard of this movie until the 1970s -- so glad Capra gave us this gift that is ageless.
Frank Capra gave a lecture at my college( early 80s). He said Jimmy Stewart LIVED the part, and was actually worried that he "gave too much". The PTSD explains a lot!
Jef Olson, I had Frank Capra at MY college in the early 1970s. He said that was the most meaningful film he ever made, that prisoners on death row would tell him that they believed their lives meant something because of It's a Wonderful Life.
Stewart had PTSD alright Paid To Stay Deceitful
@@juniorthompson6085 what the hell does that mean, junior?
@@juniorthompson6085 what kind of a moron are you, Junior?
@@tearose9938 ; You call it Rose it's in the leafs
The first time I saw It's A Wonderful Life was when I was 16 years old. I was in my English class in high school. It was getting close to Christmas vacation so my teacher showed the class this movie. I fell in love with it the first time I saw it! Ever since I watched it on television every Christmas Eve.
The first time I saw any of It's A Wonderful Life was during the summer(?)of 1971. I later learned that my Uncle,a teacher, showed it to his class every Christmastime.
What a coincidence! I was around 16 myself when this movie came on. The scene where the boys are snow-sliding down hills in shovels etc. reminded me of what my best friend & I were doing at that time (we used toboggans). As an adult, I told my girls, who were young teenagers at the time, that they'd like this movie, as it was coming on one night. They scoffed when I told them the name, & they said they expected some "square" type of movie. Of course, it became one of our family favourites.
Gosh, I wish our teachers were smart enough to show them movie in class
Ah man wasn't getting a movie in elementary school at Christmas a treat ! I don't think you could do that now with this movie, maybe any Christmas movie because of the underlining religious theme.
@@Theywaswrong yep,teach a kid a lesson in grammar school, so they don't want to commit suicide when they go into the opioid use when they're in high school..and think my life's not worth living but then they remember the movie they watched and grammar school 😊
I have always laughed when Mary, played by Donna Reed, comes in at the end. George is happy to see her, but of course she has her own wonderful news. She summons George with the children behind the table, then in one fair swoop, sends everything off that damn table without batting an eye, losing her smile or anything. She does it like it is the most normal thing in the world to do.
Ditto to all of you. Just reading your comments and recounting the scenes gets me a lump in my throat. I especially like the supper scene. George and PA Bailey eating and talking. PA Bailey stirring his coffee, giving his philosophy of just what is important.
When George walks into Potters Field and sees Harry's headstone reminds me of the 1st Christmas after my younger brother passed away. His birthday was 2 days before Christmas, I was laying flowers on the site. The was blowing hard making it very cold. I knelt on the dirt and cried til my head hurt. Now every time I watch that part of the movie I need to pause it so I can weep for our brothers.
I am truly sorry for your loss... And happy u've found a way to vent your pain & loss...
"It's a Wonderful Life is my favorite Christmas movie. I love that when George is telling Clarence that he wants to live there is no snow falling. It is only when he prays to God that he wants to live again that the snow starts up and you know that his prayer is answered.
Susan Rice - yep. That’s when I start crying and don’t stop until the very end. I’m glad you pointed that out - it’s the snow and as the viewer (watching for the first time) you KNOWS That is the moment
A very special part of the movie!
Yeah they resurrected George kinda like Haysoos
That always gets me.
Favorite Christmas Movie? Try Favorite Movie PERIOD!
It's a Wonderful Life.
It'll still be a classic and relevant 100 years from now. Atta boy Clarence!
Merry Christmas George! 👋🤣🎄
This is my favorite Christmas movie of all time. Thanks for all the tidbits. I get so emotional when a stressed-out George tells Zuzu to "Go to sleep, and when you dream about your flower, it will be a whole garden." That line says so much and is a foreshadowing of the whole film--George is so despondent and overwhelmed by his own situation, he can't see the inspirational blessings around him. He's looking for the "whole garden" that he does not have, instead of the lovely, simple single flower. It isn't opulent, but it is the best thing in the world according to little Zuzu. It makes me cry, and I don't stop until the ending credits.
Jimmy Stewart was before my time, but after watching all his old movies, he is my favorite actor! We went to a screening of It's a Wonderful Life at UNCW, Wilmington NC and met Frank Capra, Jr.
His Hitchcock movies are amazing!
I am also a fairly young lad and havent experienced the young Jimmy Stewart...... I have seen his movies though...
and later I even wrote to him / his agency for an autographed picture....and I received one......and it even included the dedication by him for me and my mother ( she helped me write the letter..and we signed it together )...and now Jimmy and my mother have passed away.....but that dedication is still with me.
@@maxnoerenberg6370 Wow! Awesome story. God be with you.
He is my favorite too. One of my more exciting days was going to Beverly Hills to see the house he lived in for decades..
donna reed: one of the most gorgeous women i have ever seen. beautiful until the day she died.
Oh YES! The scene when they are both listening on the same phone is HOT! "...the chance of a lifetime" Damn!
The message is you matter if you want to, not depressing unless you want to be!
@Sponge Bob try rolling those eyes down to the nearest eye doctor. and do the public a favor, and uber it.
When she gave up the honeymoon money to support the bank, well let’s just say I am STILL searching for that kinda woman
@@rcdogmanduh4440 It was only depressing until George finally saw how much of a difference he'd made in people's lives.
One more cut item: there WERE supposed to be a couple of scenes that showed Potter getting some kind of comeuppance. One draft had him outside the Bailey house with the money, listening to the festivities inside and silently realizing how little he and his money counted for next to George's life. Another had Clarence show up in Potter's office right after "Happy New Year to you--in jail!" to taunt Potter: "You're an old man, you're going to die soon, and no one is going to care." Clarence vanishes as Potter screams for his valet Horace in terror. But in the end, Capra realized that the audience didn't really need George's victory over Potter to be spelled out (SNL's "lost ending" notwithstanding). It's all about George's emotional journey, and that's been resolved. Besides, in the world of the movie, divine justice exists...and there's one Judge that Potter won't be able to buy off.
They chose the right ending. It's best to leave Potter's judgement to the audience's imagination. Everything about this film is PERFECTION!
I like that ersatz ending with the flaming wheelchair coasting down the street.😄
I thought the ending fit because, in real life, sometimes the bad guys get away with it. It's a mistake to believe otherwise. You usually have no choice but to deal with it. (Everybody falls down and whether it's your fault or not, you still have to get up.)
Saturday Night Live's "Lost Ending to It's A Wonderful Life" is one their great classic sketches. Introduced by Bill Shatner, no less:
th-cam.com/video/vw89o0afb2A/w-d-xo.html
At first I was disappointed that Potter never got his just desserts at the end. But then I got to thinking about it I realized that in a way he did get his connupance. Even though he got away with keeping the $8000 he didn't get what he really wanted. To see George Bailey ruined and thrown into jail and the Building And Loan shutdown! You see George Bailey had been a thorn in his side for years. He had been wanting that Building And Loan place to go under so bad if it killed him! I can imagine his disappointment and anger of finding out that George Bailey would not go to jail!
At 8:40 or so + The kissing scene is, to me, the most honest expression of love and angst to be rendered on screen." My god, I would be lost without you"...oh yeah. Beautiful. And the truth.
"Isn't it wonderful, I'm going to jail" LOL I love this movie.
I love this line!
"Hey, my lip's bleedin'. Isn't that great?
This movie is one of my favorites
It is a film I constantly refer to when meeting people and telling them how special they are and that they ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD
It is truly one of the most inspirational movies I have seen and love it
Agree! I love watching It's a Wonderful Life too.
YOU Leon, are pretty amazing2use this as an analogy2 help those who are hurting. If ok w/you, I'll do same. Brilliant, & your comparison surely must not only lift a person up, but gives them hope & a vision 2see beyond the pain or sorrow theyre experiencing. Thank you for leaving your comment!! Wonderful Life surely is, for this reason, at top of list for Christmas films. ( I now 2nd it with: (It Happened On 5th Avenue")
I have a relative that as a child was playing on the phone and somehow accidentally entered numbers and dialed.....none other than donna reed answered the phone......and until her death she sent my relative a christmas card every year. The call happened in the early 70s.
Donna Reed was a wonderful person and a great actress. We need more folks like her.
That’s an amazing story, I love it. ❤️
What a loving magical thing for a person to do.May God Bless the Soul of Donna Reed.Amen 🌹
The funniest part is when Nick keeps opening the register and says, “Look at me. I’m giving out wings.” Too funny.
Me and my high school just finished performing this play before the holiday season began, and as a person who watches the movie every year and really pushed for its production, this has a huge place in my life
Did youall tape it? Bet it was great
I, one Christmas Eve in 1988 I think, found myself alone. This was not the norm as I came from a large family but oh well. Anyway, I was quite upset about it but I just sat down in front of the TV and started wrapping Christmas presents and It's A Wonderful Life was on so I watched it. I had always heard of the movie but thought nothing of it but I will tell you this, it filled me with the Christmas Spirit, as a matter of fact, it was the first time I even became aware of that spirit and what it felt like, all because of that beautiful movie and the dream that started it. It was meant to come to us and I'm so glad Jimmy Stewart played George Bailey's part and Donna Reed his wife. I think they were perfect for the roles and so cute. Anyway, great movie. just shows you don't HAVE to be surrounded by anyone to enjoy Christmas. You really don't. I was alone and it was one of the most spirit-filled Christmas Eve's I had ever spent.
Merry Christmas 2020! God bless you!
Happy New Year for 2023🐝🌈💫
A friend of ours, Lynn Jameson, played the *infant* Janie Bailey in this movie. It's uncredited, but her name is listed in the IMDB cast and crew list. My husband and I worked with her in the computer healthcare industry. We always yell her name out when we watch the movie. LOL
Virginia Patton, who played Ruth Dakin, "Ruth Dakin Bailey!", retired from acting after marrying. She moved to Ann Arbor Michigan, and is now 95 yrs young!
Thanks for this tidbit!
Also ... the niece of Gen. Patton himself
Wow
Not only is It's a Wonderful Life my favorite Christmas movie, it's my favorite movie period
I completely understand! It's a charming, inspiring, emotionally engaging film made to high standards. An excellent, beloved classic American film.
Meeee toooo
My favourite too!
@John Caulfield ok Phoebe Bouffet
@John Caulfield, How so? The story is all about how much one life has an impact on everyone it encounters along the way and why it has value even if the person believes it doesn't. How is that depressing? Depressing would be if he found out everyone would be better off if he were never born! Instead, he finds out that everything he did had an impact that helped people and saved lives! At the end it shows just how much he was loved by everyone he knows and that his life mattered a great deal! If you think that is depressing, you have issues! LOL
My favorite scene is at the bridge lookout station when George tells Clarence that he wish he'd never been born. A wind gust blows a door open, Clearance looks up at the sky to God and says "you don't have to make a fuss about it!" That line gets me every time.
Another part of that scene that always cracks me up is after Clarence explains to George that he's his guardian angel. If I remember correctly, George sort of looks him up and down and says something like "Yeah, you LOOK about like the kind of angel I'd get".
Absolutely loved this. "It's a Wonderful Life" happens to be my favorite movie of all time
I will for the rest of my life pray for all those, and every single person involved in and all the people that helped with getting this movie to my eyes. A masterpiece that I just watched with my family of six, my wife and I and four of my children. It has left a profound impression on them (us) all and has permanently changed our lives for ever. +God+ bless every one involved!!!!
I too will do so. I am glad to see it so young, and I too am named Anthony with a family of six, although instead I am one of the children, can't wait to get my own Mary! Inspire love to others like George!
One of the funniest parts of the film is when Bert, Ernie and George watch Violet walk by and Bert says, “I think I’ll go home and see what the wife is up to.” Ernie then says, “oh, family man.”
That’s a great line. I’ve often wondered if people pick up on that subtle but quaint romantic comment!!
Pretty obvious that Bert, after seeing Violet sashay on by, has something in mind for the wife...afternoon delight...
I can’t count how many times I watched it before I caught that and so appreciated the “guy” humor
and the next scene opens with a chandelier shaking very suggestively. a little joke by Mr Capra i think.
@@johnnyvogue8673 I never noticed that, next time I watch it I will look out for it!. Merry Christmas!!!
My favorite scene of the movie is when George brother say to him: To my brother Georges, the richest man in town. It get's me everytime...
To my Big Brother George, the richest man in town
In town
Egad, I like the movie, but that line is so corny that I always cringe when I hear it (as I do every year!).
With so many great lines in this movie, here are a few that are also cute and memorable to me.
1. After Harry’s wedding reception when George’s mother is trying to convince him to call on Mary Hatch, George says “…and all’s fair in love and war.” Mrs. Bailey replies “Well, I don’t know about war.” Just priceless!
2. When George is by the street handing out papers showing Harry’s award, he shows it to his friend Ernie and asks if he saw it. Ernie looks at the paper (with the gigantic headline about Harry Bailey) and replies, “Yeah! It’s gonna snow!” It’s the kind of endearing remark that only a close friend could make in a way that affirms their friendship without causing harm.
"It's gonna snow again."
And sure enough, that evening it was snowing while George contemplated suicide.
The actor who played Mary's original date, Carl Switzer, also appeared in another Christmas movie, White Christmas. Well, his picture did, anyway. He played the brother of the two sister singers. He only appears in a photo.
I was fortunate enough to meet Karolyn Grimes, who played Zuzu, about 10 years ago. She does appearances now and then and I still have an ornament she autographed as well as an 8x10 she also signed. It's one of my most treasured possessions! I never miss this great movie.
lovely..
Sheldon and Leonard on Big Bang...who knew:) nice tribute!
I thought Zu zu, was a nickname for Susan.
'It's a Wonderful Life' is my favorite movie. I watch it every year - and cry at the end EVERY time! I really enjoyed learning all these facts about the movie. Thank you.
Donna Reed’s easy smile crushes me.
I've heard for years that Zuzu comments at the end that every time a bell rings, an angel gets their wings, was adlibbed by her and that the response from Jimmy and others was genuine because of the surprise.
I haven’t heard that one.
I'm very glad that Ginger Rogers didn't get the Donna Read part!
This is another movie that turned out so great, you cannot imagine ANY ONE of the actors, being played by someone else. Just like the Wizard of Oz.
The line in the film that best summarizes the theme of the story: When Harry Bailey says at the end "To my big brother, George, the richest man in town." George really was "rich" and not because he finally gets the $8,000. He made a difference in people's lives....and when he was in trouble, they repaid him for his hard work and goodness.
Technically, at some point in the finale, Sam Wainright, his childhood friend (Hee-haw! Hee-Haw!) offers to send him $25,000+ because of his help in the War Effort giving the idea of making plastics from soybeans for the governments need to have bullet-proof windows & employing the townsfolk to work in said factories because the people needed the jobs to help feed their families plus times were tough.
Also, the auditor sees all the generosity & rips the bill of summons, freeing George from his fiscal responsibility, & gives Zhu-Zhu his pocket watch. FYI O'Henry's The Gift Of The Magi has a Christmas story about a watch & a woman's beautiful hair. Look it up?
Mary K Unfortunately, nowhere in the film is it shown or even implied that Potter returned the $8,000 he got because of Uncle Billy's fumbling, making him one of the few movie "villains" to get away with his crime!
@@wranglerboi Karma always has a way of paying a villain back.
Potter got the $8k but he didn't need it. It made no difference to him. What he WANTED was the Savings and Loan, and Bedford Falls with it...
@@princezzpuffypants6287 So true, but think on this, how is Mr. Potter going to explain the extra $8,000 on his books considering the the Building & Loan had not paid the money SUPPOSEDLY & will be paying it AGAIN without Uncle Billy messing up the till for the new influx of money that all his friends just paid him. Remember, Sam Wayneright promised George Bailey up to $25,000 toward the Building & Loan, he truly as he wished made himself a "Millionaire" at the end of this movie.
Mr. Potter will NOT be WINNING. HE did NOT get Bailey B&L, NOR Bedford Falls, & he WILL NEED TO EXPLAIN to the BANK EXAMINER where he received the $8K of monetary influx at the leanest time of the year, Christmas, especially during wartime. That kind of KARMA is a b*tch to pay.
The scene where mary fixes dinner in the old house roasting the chicken is the most romantic thing ive ever seen....😍
My wife's grandfather's first cousin did a lot of acting in Jimmy Stewart movies, he is the train conductor in the ending of The man who shot Liberty Valance. He told my father in law that working with jimmy was great, that Jimmy was very much like George Bailey
What do you mean by saying these are things that I DON'T need to know? Are you crazy? This is all great stuff that I DO need to know!
Excellent idea! Maybe in an alternate universe they do.
I almost didn't start watching it because of the title.
Right? That bugged me too. Why should I watch if I don’t need to know them?
TubenIt83 Perhaps the word ‘need’ is the key here. Of course we don’t NEED to know this and we don’t NEED to even see the movie, but in a way we’re better off for it. There are plenty of other things we’d be better off not knowing, but this isn’t one of them. Seeing and knowing beauty in any form enhances our lives. There’s too much ugliness out in the world. Beauty gives us hope.
one must use his or her imagination to complete the thought: "50 things you don't need to know, but 50 things you will appreciate knowing."
I saw this movie in my childhood and it touched my heart. Today it belongs to christmas every year. I just watched it. It's christmas and George lassoes the moon. Best wishes from Bedford Falls, Germany 😀🌲🙋♂️.
Frohe Weihnachten from Indianapolis, Indiana!
Merry Christmas from Westerville Ohio USA!
I can personally attest to the authenticity of that gym floor that opened to reveal a swimming pool: I was with the water polo team of Redondo High in 1966 and the team went to Beverly Hills to play a game. And that view of the fly leaf with Clarence's message to George Bailey, thanking him for the wings: Every time I have seen that message I have cried, and just now when it was shown was no exception!
Saw it on prime last night, you should have heard the groans when I asked my teens to watch it with us.Ten minutes later they were fully engrossed and loved it.Unfortunately their America is more like Pottersville.
You're right sad to say. I get more depressed on what this country has become!
Part of my enjoyment over the years of “ It’s A Wonderful Life” is not only the heartwarming story with it’s many good life-lessons, but the real-ness of the actors-every one of them. Wish we still had more of that quality on and off stage, especially America loving Jimmy Stewart(s). Thanks for the behind the scenes view.
I love “It’s a Wonderful Life “ too, but I cry at the scene where George hollers at Uncle Billy for losing the money. He shoves him back and leaves and Uncle Billy starts to cry and that little squirrel (I think) comes to comfort him. I bawl my eyes out every time!
Love Uncle Billy, played by the amazing Thomas Mitchell, aka Gerald O'Hara (Scarlett's dad) in Gone With the Wind.
Just shows that the George character is a human being. Pushed to a limit, we will all break.
Oh my gosh! The same thing happens to me EVERY TIME I SEE IT!! SAME scene. Makes me feel good to know there's a kindred spirit out there!! A scene that I just love is when Sam Wainwright is driving away from the Martini's new house, and George and Mary stand there in the road, each with their arm around the other, watching him drive away. It's so tender and simple, but speaks volumes. Enjoy watching the movie this year!!
Rita Smith I’m also glad to know someone else is affected the same way. And I like the Sam Wainwright scene too. Us sentimentalists have to stick together! Have a wonderful holiday season,
@@kimdorris8106 You too!!
Makes my heart swell - the passion of Gorge and Mary’s first kiss , the way the film conveys loyalty, dreams lost and dreams found. My favorite from the time I first saw it.
Family tradition to watch this every year on Christmas eve....brings tears every time! My favorite movie of all time!
In college, we studied this movie.
The teacher pointed out that every time a major change happens in George's life comes about, there is precipitation of some sort.
Yes, another useless fact.
That's how the story moves along in movies and books. It's called foreshadowing.
@Rick Charles Yes my sweet Mama used to say, "Is this some more of your useless knowledge?" Usually said right after I solved some problem for her.... 😁
@112yrs Aaahhhh. You are right! Apparently I misremembered, and should substitute "water" for "precepitation".
And I thought of another one that proves your point: although there was snow when George rescued his brother, it was from ICE and POND WATER.
I am a great one for extolling the virtues of exactitude in language. Seems I need to practice what I preach!
@@ladya1953 And, in case anyone missed it, the snow is replaced by howling wind when George enters the Other World, and when he returns to his original world the reverse occurs.
@@ladya1953 Not that it matters, but if we can believe the folks near where I used to live, Seneca Falls NY in Seneca County along the canal connecting Seneca Lake and Cayuga Lake to the Erie Canal is the model for Bedford Falls: therealbedfordfalls.com/
The bridge George Bailey is contemplating jumping from is over the canal, and in places people do slide down the sides and onto the frozen canal ice, though it can be risky near the faster waters (the canal water is lower during the winter, thus the banks higher and the low waters more rushing), thus George saved his brother from the canal. The bank auditor in the movie mentions having to get back to Elmira, which is south of Seneca Lake.
More things we don't need to know, but I sure love such details.
EDIT: Thinking back on both the movie and Seneca Falls, the sledding (shoveling?) and falling through the ice could have been something that might have happened in a canal or one of the mill ponds, so indeed you might have been right about it being a "pond". I'll have to pay more attention to the dialogue when I rewatch the movie this year.
The love scene with him and Donna Reed to me the greatest love scene in history of film making.
Yes! I thought it was an incredibly passionate kiss. Especially for back in the day! Now that I learned it was unrehearsed, I think that may be why!
@@riggs20 what about the "Almost nude scene?" Donna Reed naked in the bushes while George Bailey figures out how to lure her out, but God intervenes with the death of the father where he gallantly gives her back the robe & pursues more important duties. Being at his father's side.
I have always believed this to be true.
You have easily approachable standards!
I'm so glad this film won the recognition it deserved.
I can never get through the line "To my big brother George, the richest man in town" without crying. Very emotional. And another line I like is when Violet says "This old thing. I only wear it when I don't care how I look."
I like when the dude is staring at her and gets oogad
I made the mistake of looking her up to find out who she was played by. Big yikes.
No man is a failure who has friends.
-Clarence
Sam Samoa by being an incredible friend to people he acquired all those friends.
C DUB
This is a profound fact of life. A wonderful message. I wonder if our current president ever it?
@@steveflor9942 Your current president has many, many friends and is a decent, kind, caring and compassionate man. You don't know it because the MSM never allows you to see that side of him. He is loved by many on the black community by the way. This video starts properly at about the 34.00 mark. th-cam.com/video/v-ZUzIYjNmM/w-d-xo.html
@@deanpd3402 Not my friend. Does the main stream media have their hand up his dress making him say all those nasty offhand things?? To say nothing of his horrendous actions & appointments of unqualified sycophants, as himself. When I am down & out & cannot reciprocate in any way, I need a friend, not a pompous ass rubbing it in. TgT
Ya well most people spend most of their time not being friendly so I doubt it matters. For example most people DO NOT tip people they should. Which is something all of us are guilty of and needs to stop. If one truly HATES Billionaires and all that expressing this hatred toward your fellow, who is simply trying to feed his family, by stiffing them on a Tip is a really hypocritical and bad way to live as you claim you strive to. People love this movie because it strokes their massive need to dump the guilt they produce for themselves every waking moment.
This was ... well ... Wonderful! When I was in college in 1980 ... UMKC (University of Missouri Kansas City) had a guest artist series. I happened to notice that non other than Frank Capra was on the bill for a presentation with Q&A! I beelined it early to the university's theatre and sat in the front row. Mr. Capra was elderly at the time and was brought out on stage in a wheelchair by his assistant who also shared questions from the audience to the hearing impaired Capra. The presentation included film clips from his favorite movies with commentary in between segments. Plenty of 'It's a Wonderful Life' of course! I recall Mr. Capra was kind, gentle, smart as a whip and very funny. He was probably the biggest Jimmy Stewart fan in the room. It was an evening I'll never forget!
Thank you for posting!
Don't forget his two other message films "Mr Smith Goes to Washington" & "Meet John Doe"
I've been watching this movie since I was a child. I have it on videotape and DVD and I watch the broadcast version every year on Christmas Eve. And it STILL makes me tear up every time.
Xmas Day 1972,I was 15 and depressed because my Dad wasnt around, for the holidays,again.That evening I decided to watch TV,but with only 13 channels,there wasnt much to choose from.Mom suggested that I
watch this movie.Reluctant at first,but I didand it had an effect on me forever.Mom said that Dad liked it and I saw my Dad in George Bailey,with his stress and frustrations.It saddened me.Dad passed away seven yrs.later,and I know that if we ever watched this movie together,we would have probably both cried together,and I know that neither of us wanted to do that.
One of my favorite lines among many is when George Bailey asks -You wouldn’t happen to have $8000 bucks on you?
Clarence says - There’s no money in heaven.
George Bailey responds - Well it comes in pretty handy down here!
😆😆😆😆 yes! Cracks me up
Thanks for this! Hee Haw! And Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas to you
hee haw...!
Imagine how Sam Wainwright would have reacted if he'd known that his famous phrase would one day be the name of a television show!
The telephone scene
with ‘George and Mary’ will always be among my most
treasured scenes. And also when ‘Nathan’ comes back to his family in ‘Sounder’. I cry every time.
This movie is and has been forever top of my list
Of all Christmas movies..and such a cast..wonderful!
and as for Jimmy Stewart....everyman who ever had a dream..Frank Capra made Wonderful wonderful movies..and this Christmas guess what I'll be watching AGAIN..and I'm 84!!!!!
Thanks for watching.
I love Jimmy Stewart as an actor-an "everyman!"
I agree...he was surely a master of his craft!😊👍
And he was a service man too: th-cam.com/video/C7oaAbGXg2w/w-d-xo.html
I think he was a much better choice for this film than Cary Grant for that reason. He wasn't classically handsome and much more a character that people could relate to.
He was an amazing actor.
He was the best! Nobody compares today. Him and Mr Rogers should've been cloned. :)
Movie critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, on their TV show, often disagreed about a movie. But both agreed that their favorite movie of all time was "It's A Wonderful Life". Mine too.
i always thought jimmy the raven was very underrated. he never had huge roles but he could just swoop right in and really nail his part. he never even had any formal training, neither.
We watch this every Christmas, and, at 75 years old, I still cry at the end every time! This is by far my favorite movie. The perfect actors are playing each part, and the message is priceless. What a gift to us all! Louise
63 years old and I still cry at the end!!!
@Dennis Moore LOL ok.. as long as guys are confessing about crying.. I'm 59 and I sure do too at the end!
Clarence Odbody is an angel 1st class. The man waited over 200 years let's give him some respect.
Wasnt it angel 2nd class? AS2.
Max Hessling sir, it’s been 200 years and people are beginning to talk lol
Mair Waugus it is AS2..
Angel Second Class, somehow abbreviated AS2, not ASC, or A2C. Probably a misspoken line that wasn't caught in the editing process.
Since he now HAS his wings 1st class would be correct. "Atta boy, Clarence!" 😉😇
Just a note: Thomas Mitchell was an enormously popular character actor who was working extensively befor the Capra/Stewart movies. In fact he played Scarlett O'hara's father in a little picture called "Gone With the Wind".
best part of this movie I find a new favorite part every year. A true classic that will always stand the test of time.