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American Film Institute, Black & White Movies, Christmas, Christmas Classics, Christmas Movies, Classic Movie Reviews, Classic Movies, Classic Tales, Classics, Donna Reed, Frank Capra, Gloria Grahame, Henry Travers, It's A Wonderful Life, James Stewart, Jimmy Stewart, Lionel Barrymore, Movie Reviews, Opinions, Reviews, Short Stories, Talkies, Thoughts, Vintage, Vintage Movies
I’m a little late on this one but it’s been a busy week.
I hope everyone has had a Merry Christmas, or whatever you celebrate this holiday season.
I got a stack of old movies for Christmas and It’s A Wonderful Life was one of them. I’ve never seen it before, surprising I know, and I wanted it to be the first thing I reviewed since it’s the holiday season.
It was directed by Frank Capra in 1946 and stars Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, (whose a part of the Barrymore family dynasty) and Henry Travers.
It’s based off of a short story by Philip Van Doren Stern called The Greatest Gift.
The story follows the life of Jimmy Stewart’s character George Bailey. At the beginning of the film we learn that his character is suicidal and that his family is praying for him. Two of the head angels send a second class angel named Clarence (Henry Travers) to help him. If Clarence succeeds than he’ll get his wings.
First, we see flashbacks of George’s life and how he got to where he is. We see him save his little brother from drowning which causes him to lose his hearing in one ear. He saves a drugstore owner from making a terrible mistake. He falls in love with a girl, (Donna Reed) marries her and has a family. He takes over his father’s business and is in a constant war with the richest man in town Mr. Potter. (Lionel Barrymore)
One thing sets him apart though. He has big dreams and he always planned on getting our of the town where he grew up and seeing the world. He wanted to go to college but he gave up his dream for his father’s business and for his brother’s future.
Nearing the end of the film, it seems like Mr. Potter will win and George Bailey is standing on a bridge contemplating death. His guardian angel Clarence jumps from the bridge, knowing that he’d stop what he was doing to save him. Clarence grants a wish that he makes saying that he wished he was never born. He then learns what life would really be like if he had never been born.
At the end of the movie, we see a note from Clarence inside of one of his favorite books telling George that “No one is a failure who has friends.”
I can honestly say that I was floored by this movie and I’ve been thinking about it a lot. I understand why it was number one on the list of the most inspiring movies of all time by The American Film Institute.
While looking up this movie, I noticed that it was reportedly not a box office hit and that some people considered it a failure. As a fan of classic movies, I’ve noticed that of the famous movies I’ve seen so far some were considered failures at the time but are now considered works of genius. For example, Duck Soup by The Marx Brothers.
This is also the movie where I understood where the famous Jimmy Stewart impression comes from where he stutters a lot. I first saw him in Ziegfeld Girl and I didn’t understand why they made him stutter so much in the impressions I heard. I guess their impressions are based off of a few scenes in this movie unless he stutters in his other movies. I love his voice though. I’ve never heard anything quite like it.
I loved the performances in this film and how it sticks with you long after it’s over.
I rate it five stars.