"Tucker looks at It s a Wonderful Life"

Some people have not given Its a Wonderful Life a chance, and to be honest I really did not until a few years ago. Maybe the reason is because at one point due to botched paper work the film went into public domain meaning any channel could should the film with out giving anyone a dime as many times as they wanted. Ironically when it was released in 1946 it quickly disappeared from theaters, did not win an Oscars and was eventually pretty much forgotten. That was until the error in the 1970s resulted in the film being shown dozens of times and word of mouth got out and even more channels started to run the film. The film was colorized and bastardized for a few decades, but now NBC owns the right to the film and limits themselves to showing the film twice during the holiday season. The DVD picture looks amazing for a film this old and is a great buy.

The film was director Frank Capra’s finest hour. Capra more or less invented the road comedy with IT Happened One Night, and actually tried various kinds of films. However the films that he would be remembered for were movies about the little against the system (see also Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1934). Most of the plots were fairly simple and critics dubbed his humor and sappy blend as CAPRA-CORN. However it just proves to me that critics were dickheads back than too. I have not seen all his major films yet but I Capra had a rare gift to tap into the human spirit that many directors these days lack. It’s a Wonderful Life and Mr. Smith Go to Washington still hold up after all these years as entertaining films and their storylines are still socially relevant today.

It s a Wonderful Life is an important film for many reasons, one being the time of the release. In was 1946 and World War II had just ended and the movie industry just wanted to churn out war stories. Capra was sick of the horrors of war and set out to make his most passionate picture of his career. James Stewart had joined the war effort immediately the bombing of Pearl Harbor and rose to the ranks of colonel before the war ended. He was hesitant about returning to acting after his experience. Stewart and Capra were supposedly both close to breakdown during production of the film, and Stewarts tears in the bar scene were real. He was extremely moved by the scene and Capra kept the moment on film.

I doubt many of my readers have not learned the plot of this film that has been spoofed and ripped off countless times however I guess I should throw up a spoiler warning any way. The movie shows us the life of George Bailey (Stewart) starting with his childhood when he rescues his younger brother from drowning in a frozen lake. We get take a brief tour of a small fictional American town Bedford Falls in the first portion the 20th century. The film touches on the roaring 20’s when everything seemed right in the world both broad and George’s. George tags along with this high-school dance ( we get to see George do the Charleston) and Stewart plays to his all shucks persona for the first quarter of the film. George was supposed to leave the next day and fulfill his life long dream of traveling all over the globe. However circumstances arise and he must shelf his dreams in order to keep the family business the Savings and Loans of Bedford Falls alive.


Staying in his hometown has its rewards such as settling down with his life long love interest, and serving as role model for the town. He stands his ground at first to the polar opposite opposition Mr. Potter who owns most of the town and the surrounding area and even was one of the few to capitalize on the great depression. While George lives modestly and barely breaks even with the business Mr. Potter gets increasingly more powerful and wealthy over the years. While George helps build the American dream with his clients even going as far as helping them move into nicer homes or start their new business Potter is looking at his customer base as dollars and cents and making calculated moves in order to maybe them more dependent on him and shake them down for more coinage.

When money is missing George has an intense breakdown, all his sacrificed could have been in vein if he ends up in the slammer. Stewart s performance is nothing short of brilliant as we watch him quietly grow increasingly more bitter and resentful to never leaving his home town while watching his brother; best friend and various others come go as the please chasing after the American Dream as he remained at a job he never cared for. On the brink of Suicide Christmas Eve an angel in training allows him to see a vision of how the people in his life would have been affected had he never been born.

Actually many movie goers thought this sequence pushed into being too depressing when it was released. Without Stewart many his loved ones were worse off. Certainly his brother who was supposed to be a war hero was. His beloved Mary never found her soul mate, and Mr. Potter had no one to stand up to him. The entire town was overrun with bars and nightclubs. Everything including the town bared his namesake, the bars were slummier and one can argue that it Capra was dead on as his vision for the future of many American towns.

The film I think actually gets better with annual viewings. One of the reasons the film still holds up is its timeless story line. Everyone can relate to their life not panning out to the way they mapped it out as a child. Everyone has had to make decisions based on elements they have not control over. Speaking for myself I often measure myself against others. The film speaks to the audience to look less outward and more inward. George s brother Harry was a good solider because he had a good brother. George’s best friend offered George many chances to get rich, and although he lived the high life he certainly respected his childhood home. This was key for the film not to paint all rich people as cold hearted bastards and to show money can be used for good. Everyone has had misfortunes pile up to the point that they want to kick the crap out of things.

The movie plays very well this year, a year that saw death and destruction, a year of layoffs and various college graduates like myself struggle to carve out their niche in the world. The movie alludes that a capitalistic society can appear to be unforgiving at times. Especially for those who have always played the hands dealt close to their chest with aspirations to make it a big in the world. Many war veterans this year had to struggle with the issue of returning back to their hometowns. Going back to normal life many of them returned with a greater appreciation of what they have.

Liza (so were others) was miffed that Mr. Potter who was basically a crook seemingly got off the hook at the end of the film. Something unheard of in movies until this film came a long. The Mr. Potters of the world will always have more impressive pay stubs than me but as the film says if you have a good heart and surround yourself with people of good character no one can logically call you a failure. Mr. Potter’s success was only in the business world not successful in the aspects of life that actually matter. The films title references something that can’t be judged by a bank examiner.

Capra perhaps after the film flopped never really gained his confidence back, and most of his films from that were what I am told not up to par, and he eventually moved into television films. However he did leave a film legacy and now that I have Netflix I plan to discover some of his films. In movies today there are too many overly cynic post-modern directors so it will be refreshing to cook up a warm tub of CAPRA-corn every now and than.

As for Stewart It s A Wonderful Life was turning point for him. He had been mostly known for his screwball comedies until Capra helped him find his dramatic capabilities. Later he worked with the legendary Alfred Hitchock several times often going against type. Most of the calibrations between Hitch and Stewart was his Hitch at his best as it was for Capra. The films included Rear Window, Vertigo, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and the under appreciated Rope. He returned to sentimental comedies/dramas with the wonderful film Harvey. Eventually like everyone else he moved in to Western films for the better half of a decade and towards the end of his career he coasted on his persona in stuff that from what I understand was beneath him. He showed up in a few note worthy roles in the taking on the supporting roles mainly. I plan to check out the Shootist with Stewart playing the doctor of long time friend John Wayne who as his character in the film was dying of cancer at the time. Stewart’s final theatrical film was a Lassie movie ( live action), and than he pretty much retired. He surfaced in the mini series North and South, and provided a voice in Fivel Goes West for his final role. He claimed towards the end of the year it was better to just retire since people weren’t interested in seeing his kind of movies anymore. How wrong he was.