There is certainly no shortage of Christmas movies to watch this holiday season. To list some examples almost feels redundant since most have probably seen them all dozens of times, but we're going to list them anyway. After all, how could we forget light-hearted winter romps like Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye's musical romp in White Christmas or the hilarity in the big apple seen in Elf? Still, some may prefer a bit more of a bite to their annual celebration of yuletide cheer, there are the many adaptations of Charles Dickens' existential jolly ghost story of A Christmas Carol plus there's always the holiday hostage high jinks of Die Hard, which yes, is absolutely a Christmas film. Then of course there are those who want the feel-good feeling the season is associated with but also want a story with something more to say. Thankfully, legendary filmmaker Frank Capra (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington) crafted a film that perfectly fits that description all the way back in 1946.
A first-generation Italian immigrant, Capra's works all have featured commentary on the "American Dream", and the toll it has on the average working man just trying to make a living. The auteur filmmaker clearly succeeded in translating this overarching theme through his films, as Capra is a three-time Academy Award recipient for Best Director, being nominated six times total. What Capra's "best" film is can undoubtedly be the subject of vigorous debate, but as far as what his most famous and well-known story is, it's hard to say anything other than It's a Wonderful Life.
Chances are even if you haven't seen It's a Wonderful Life, you've at least heard the title and have some sense of what the plot is. The film follows virtually the entire life of George Bailey (James Stewart), who despite constantly putting others before himself, feels he is in a perpetual downward spiral when it comes to his self-worth and ability to provide for his family. George eventually reaches a breaking point when a sum of $8,000 is misplaced, and he wishes that he had never been born. Shockingly, George's wish is granted by an angel-in-training, who shows George an alternate timeline where he was indeed never born in the hopes that the struggling man will realize how much good he did for his family and friends.
Sadly, both Capra and most of the incredible cast have passed on, but their legacy with this iconic, timeless, and brilliant film still lives on all these years later. Still, with the film coming up on its 76th anniversary, we wanted to pay tribute to the incredible cast of actors and the iconic characters they inhabited who helped make Frank Capra's ode to the American holiday the masterpiece it's remembered as.
Keep in mind, the rest of the article will feature full spoilers for the film, so in case you finally want to experience this all-time classic for the very first time, It's a Wonderful Life is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Editor's Note: This piece was updated on December 23, 2023.
It's a Wonderful Life
PGChristmasSupernaturalDramaAn angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.
Release Date January 7, 1947 Director Frank Capra Cast James Stewart , Donna Reed , Lionel Barrymore , Thomas Mitchell Runtime 131James Stewart as George Bailey
CloseGeorge Bailey is played by none other than James Stewart, who has frequently collaborated with Capra on projects like You Can't Take It with You and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, with the film earning Stewart one of his five Academy Award nominations before receiving an honorary award in 1985. Stewart, like Capra, was always been intrigued by stories that challenge and explore the American Dream, and he's played a number of characters who represent the everyday man who is beaten down and oppressed by the country's institutions.
George's life of painful altruism started all the way back when he was a boy, particularly when he save his brother from drowning in a frozen lake at the cost of George losing hearing in one of his ears. Young George also helped his boss at the pharmacy, Mr. Gower (H.B. Warner), cope with the loss of his own son and move away from deep alcoholism. While doing all these altruistic deeds, George is completely oblivious that he's had a secret admirer ever since he was working in that pharmacy.
That admirer was Mary Hatch (Donna Reed), who finally reveals her feelings for her long-time childhood friend when they're well into adulthood. Though George, being the kind-hearted pessimist he is, doesn't understand how someone as kind and beautiful as Mary could possibly love him, it doesn't take long for George and Mary to get married and start a family of their own, featuring their four children Pete (Larry Simms), Janie (Carol Coombs), Zuzu (Karolyn Grimes), and Tommy (Jimmy Hawkins). With a moderately sized group of kids to take care of now, George needed a way to provide for the family, and he found that in a Bank & Loan company where he and his Uncle Billy (Thomas Mitchell) are able to provide fair and affordable housing loans to the residents of their hometown Bedford Falls, much to the chagrin of their greedy and cruel business rival, Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore).
Potter is the one who throws George's life into a downward spiral, as he steals the money that Uncle Billy accidentally misplaced. Fearing that a federal investigation into the apparent misappropriation of funds causes George to fall into a state of fear, anger, and depression, lashing out against his family of friends before contemplating suicide on a snowy bridge. When he wishes to never be born, that's when Clarence (Henry Travers) miraculously drops from the sky, claiming to be an angel-in-training sent to help George get out of his slump. The new reality George finds himself in horrifies him. Bedford Falls is now run entirely by the greed of Mr. Potter, George's brother Harry (Todd Karns) died in that frozen lake when they were children, and Mary grew up never knowing who George was.
George eventually finds himself back on that fateful bridge, begging for the life he took for granted. George is then sent back to his original timeline and is overjoyed, enthusiastically wishing Merry Christmas to all those he passes by. He comes home to his family and apologizes, but the issue of the missing money is still present. The film's final scene show's that no good deed goes unpunished, as all the friends and family members that George aided and helped throughout the years pull together to recuperate the funds, leading to the start of a fantastic new year for the Bailey family.
Donna Reed as Mary Hatch
CloseYet another Academy Award winner, Donna Reed (From Here to Eternity) plays George's staunchly optimistic Mary Hatch, who functions as a perfect foil to George over the course of the entire story.
Mary has been in love with George ever since they were children. For practically every situation where George is doubting himself, Mary is always there to encourage him and show him how important and kind-hearted he is for so many people in the Bedford Falls community. She wishes George would put that overly cautious pessimism aside, she ultimately proves that opposites do indeed attract when she shows George her true feelings for him, leading to one of many iconic romance scenes in the film when George is so filled with love and confidence that he offers to lasso down the moon and give it to her as a gift.
Years later when Mary and George are married and have their children, Mary is the driving force for both George's rebound from depression and his financial troubles. When George returns home and begins lashing out at her and the children, Mary knows that something serious is going on to make George behave this way. It doesn't take long for her to find out about the money going missing, and quickly hatches a plan, as she is the one who informed their friends and family about the incident which of course led to their generous donations. Mary is more than just a kind and dedicated partner to George. She represents the idea that even in the darkest of times, there is always the possibility of a solution at the end of it.
Lionel Barrymore as Mr. Potter
Another frequent Capra collaborator and another Oscar winner, Lionel Barrymore (Key Largo) plays the villainous Mr. Potter, who represents the corruption that money and power can have on a person as well as the societal systems that allow men like him to have their success.
Potter has always despised the Bailey family, believing their tendency of going easy on people experiencing hard times as idiotic and bad for business. That did little to sway the Baileys who, despite recognizing that Potter is a cruel and shady man, still moved on with their lives and helped those struggling with financials through honest and kind methods. Potter certainly didn't realize how simply being nice to customers would be a successful business strategy, and he found himself losing more and more customers to George and Billy. That's what causes Potter to steal their money, even threatening and gaslighting George when the panicked Bailey comes to Potter for help. Though he doesn't face any direct repercussions, Potter ultimately loses in the end when the community comes together for George, showing life still goes on even when the schemes of the greedy fail.
Thomas Mitchell as Uncle Billy
Hey, guess what? Another Capra veteran and another Oscar Winner! Thomas Mitchell (Gone With the Wind) plays the kind but absent-minded Uncle Billy.
Billy's not the sharpest knife in the drawer and he has something of a drinking problem, but his compassion for his nephew and willingness to help him run the family business. He does get a bit cocky when he's gloating in front of Mr. Potter, which causes him to accidentally drop the money he just got from the bank. Though the slip-up could very nearly lead to financial ruin, we all know things turn out okay in the end, and George and Billy's familial relationship remains completely unscathed.
Ward Bond and Frank Faylen as Bert and Ernie
Bert (Ward Bond) and Ernie (Frank Faylen), who yes are the namesakes for the legendary characters on Sesame Street, are two of the best friends that the Bailey family could ask for.
Bert, a policeman, and Ernie, a cab driver, have plenty of connections to help George when he needs it, like when George wanted to properly propose to Mary in their dream home. They both serve as the film's prime source of comic relief, but they also are great examples of the many friends George makes in the film and how treating others with respect and dignity is the key ingredient to having a wonderful life.
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