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It's a Wonderful Life (1946) is a very inspiring movie that the entire family can enjoyably watch over and over again. It makes you think about life and how each person truly does make a difference. This inspirational film, directed by Frank Capra, makes you think while entertaining you with a wide range of emotions from deep, complex feelings to fun, light-hearted moments. The plot chronicles the life of George Bailey (James Stewart), who, upon the untimely death of his father, forsakes his dreams of traveling to remain in his hometown of Bedford Falls and take over the helm of the family business. George is not really content, but marries Mary Hatch (Donna Reed) a nice, pretty local girl, embarks upon raising a family, and becomes a respected community member, especially when he refuses to sell out to the local wealthy miser named Potter (Lionel Barrymore), who is willing to do anything for a takeover. Disaster befalls George's business and from despair contemplates suicide. This situation calls for dramatic intervention by Clarence (Henry Travers) a particularly endearing angel. What an inspiring theme and so well captured. The value of an ordinary life lived with decency and integrity is portrayed with brilliance by James Stewart. Through his character, he masterfully conveys joys, sacrifices, sorrows, regrets, frustrations in all aspects of everyday life in a way we can easily relate. For example, what parent cannot identify with the guilt and regretted frustration that is evoked in the scene where George shows his irritation and snaps at his young daughter while she is proudly plucking her recital piece on the piano? The attractive 25 year old Donna Reed is also wonderful, both as the lovely sweetheart and later as the ordinary but moral wife who supports George and helps rear their four children. Her beauty and sensuality radiate from her femininity and this makes it very easy for the audience to fall in love with her just as George does. Lionel Barrymore gives a memorable performance as Mr. Potter and proves the perfect evil bastard to fight the innocent goodness we see in Stewart's character. Thomas Mitchell as the bumbling Uncle Billy and Henry Travers as the angel Clarence also do fine work. Director Frank Capra really tugs at the heartstrings bringing it all together delivering one of the most inspiring films of all time. But inspiration was in limited supply. The United States had just emerged from the war as a global military power, but a sense of hopelessness prevailed for many with close to 60 million deaths, catastrophic destruction, and millions of refugees and homeless. At the end of 1945, Frank Capra had just returned from World War II and was sobered by these horrific facts. Although hope, inspiration, and enthusiasm were emotions that seemed lost, a movie with such an outstanding storyline might help return these emotions and restore hope and joy to the whole country. The story was perfect as this poignant tale of a man finding hope at the end of a long and hard road that would parallel the story of humanity finding hope at the end of a long, hard, and devastating war. Despite this impeccable timing, the film was not popular when it was released. But this movie would gradually develop a cult following that would become a family tradition to be seen on countless occasions during the Christmas holidays. This popularity was directly due to the movie falling into the public domain. Since this movie was no longer under copyright protection, the television stations could show it at no cost and as often as they desired. The PBS stations were the first to exploit this free ride in the early 1970s using the film as counter-programming against expensive network holiday specials. From these unusual circumstances, the audience for the film grew and grew over the years into the great work of Americana art that it is today. Regardless, this film did very little for Frank Capra's postwar career as he never recaptured the box office magic that he enjoyed during the 1930s. His later films such as State of the Union (1948) and Pocketful of Miracles (1961) have the Capra touch, but not his golden magic. Between 1922 and 1961, Frank Capra made 42 films. He was nominated for three Oscars, winning three best-director Academy Awards. Capra died in 1991, having been witness to a time that saw the defeat of fascism and the collapse of Soviet communism. He also lived to see Americans embrace the virtues and lessons he offered in this movie that he claimed as his favorite film. When the American Film Institute revealed its list of the "100 most inspiring" films, this movie was number one on the list. Frank Capra's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), which also stars Jimmy Stewart, came in fifth, and he had two other films in the top 100. By comparison, Steven Spielberg had five films in the top 100, but his highest mark was third place with Schindler's List (1993). email this review to a friend
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