The film stars James Stewart as George Bailey, a man whose imminent suicide on Christmas Eve brings about the intervention of his guardian angel, Clarence Odbody (Henry Travers). Clarence shows George all the lives he has touched and the contributions he has made to his community.
Despite initially being considered a box office flop due to high production costs and stiff competition at the time of its release, the film has come to be regarded as a classic and a staple of Christmas television around the world. Theatrically, the film's break-even point was actually $6.3 million, approximately twice the production cost, a figure it never came close to achieving in its initial release. An appraisal in 2006 reported: "Although it was not the complete box-office failure that today everyone believes … it was initially a major disappointment and confirmed, at least to the studios, that Capra was no longer capable of turning out the populist features that made his films the must-see, money-making events they once were."
It's a Wonderful Life was nominated for five Oscars without winning any, but the film has since been recognized by the American Film Institute as one of the 100 best American films ever made, and placed number one on their list of the most inspirational American films of all time.
Plot Synopsis;
It's Christmas Eve and George Bailey (James Stewart) is deeply troubled. George prays for help and Clarence Odbody (Henry Travers), Angel Second Class, is assigned to save him — and thereby earn his wings. Joseph, the head angel, reviews George's life with Clarence. At the age of 12, George (Bobby Anderson) saved the life of his younger brother Harry (Todd Karns) who had fallen through the ice on a pond, though George got an ear infection that impaired his hearing in one ear. Later, as an errand boy in a pharmacy, George saved his grief-stricken boss, druggist Mr. Gower (H.B. Warner), from mistakenly filling a child's prescription with poison.
George's dream has been to see the world and design bridges and skyscrapers. He repeatedly sacrifices his dreams for the well-being of others, until Harry graduates from high school and can replace him at the Bailey Building and Loan Association, vital to the people of Bedford Falls. On Harry's graduation night in 1928, George discusses his future with Mary Hatch (Donna Reed), who has had a crush on him since she was a little girl. Uncle Billy (Thomas Mitchell) and Harry then break the news to George that his father has had a stroke, and later dies.
Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore), a heartless slumlord and majority shareholder in the Building and Loan, tries to persuade the board of directors to stop providing home loans for the working poor. George persuades them to reject Potter's proposal, but they agree only on the condition that George himself run the Building and Loan. He stays in Bedford Falls and gives his college money to his brother. Harry graduates from college and brings home a wife, whose father has offered Harry a good job in his company. George and Mary get married, and on their way out of town for their honeymoon, they witness a run on the bank that leaves the Building and Loan in danger of collapse. Potter offers George's clients "50 cents on the dollar," but George and Mary quell the panic by using the $2,000 for their honeymoon to satisfy the depositors' needs until confidence in the Building and Loan is restored. George starts up Bailey Park, an affordable housing project. They and the other residents will no longer have to pay Potter's high rents.
George and Mary raise a growing family. When World War II erupts, George is unable to enlist, due to his bad ear. Harry becomes a fighter pilot and is awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for shooting down 15 enemy aircraft, including one that would have slammed into a U.S. transport ship full of troops.
George gets drunk and crashes his car into a tree during a snowstorm. He runs to a nearby bridge to commit suicide, feeling he is "worth more dead than alive" because of a $15,000 life insurance policy. Before George can leap in, however, Clarence jumps in first. After George rescues him, he reveals himself to be George's guardian angel.
Left Pic;
Mr Potter slumps in his wheelchair after the board of trustees of the Bailey Building and Loan quashes his grab for power
George begs Clarence and God to let him live again. His prayer is answered and he returns to the moment he met Clarence on the bridge. George runs home and finds his friends and family have collected a enough money to rescue him from getting arrested as well as to save the Building and Loan. Then Harry arrives and proposes a toast to his brother, "the richest man in town." Seeing how many lives he has touched, and the difference he has made to Bedford Falls (along with helping Clarence earn his wings), George Bailey realizes that he truly has "a wonderful life." Read More...
Classic Christmas Collection (It's a Wonderful Life / White Christmas)
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