{"id":15461,"date":"2011-01-28T13:33:46","date_gmt":"2011-01-28T20:33:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=15461"},"modified":"2022-02-21T23:25:18","modified_gmt":"2022-02-22T06:25:18","slug":"its-a-wonderful-life-1946","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=15461","title":{"rendered":"It&#8217;s a Wonderful Life (1946)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;No man is a failure who has friends.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Poster-202x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"202\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-56839\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Poster-202x300.jpg 202w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Poster-86x128.jpg 86w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Poster-182x270.jpg 182w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Poster.jpg 470w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 202px) 100vw, 202px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nAn angel (Henry Travers) helps a suicidal man (Jimmy Stewart) recognize the importance of his life.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Angels<\/li>\n<li>Beulah Bondi Films<\/li>\n<li>Corruption<\/li>\n<li>Do-Gooders<\/li>\n<li>Donna Reed Films<\/li>\n<li>Fantasy<\/li>\n<li>Flashback Films<\/li>\n<li>Frank Capra Films<\/li>\n<li>Gloria Grahame Films<\/li>\n<li>Jimmy Stewart Films<\/li>\n<li>Lionel Barrymore Films<\/li>\n<li>Living Nightmare<\/li>\n<li>Small Town America<\/li>\n<li>Suicide<\/li>\n<li>Thomas Mitchell Films<\/li>\n<li>Ward Bond Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nI was pleasantly surprised to revisit this &#8220;once neglected&#8221; &#8220;masterpiece&#8221; by Frank Capra, a &#8220;Christmas perennial and one of [America&#8217;s] most popular films&#8221;. It&#8217;s become so entrenched in our collective cultural consciousness as <u>the<\/u> movie to see on television over the holidays (along with <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=15317\"><em>Miracle on 34th Street<\/em><\/a> and, more recently, <em>A Christmas Story<\/em>) that it&#8217;s easy to dismiss it out of hand as merely feel-good populist fare. This couldn&#8217;t be farther from the truth. While it&#8217;s true that the film is ultimately &#8220;reassuring&#8221; &#8212; the protagonist has &#8220;a family who adores [him], a hometown sweetheart who loves and marries [him], a guardian angel&#8230; who loves and protects [him], [and] an entire town of people who love [him] and come to [his] aid when [he&#8217;s] in trouble&#8221; &#8212; it&#8217;s also surprisingly hard-hitting in its portrayal of a suicidal, embittered man (Stewart yells at his own kids and lashes out physically at neighbors) who&#8217;s &#8220;at the brink of giving up&#8221;. <\/p>\n<p>To that end, as Peary notes, this was the film that finally allowed &#8220;Stewart to show how great an actor he was, as his character ranges from optimistic hick philosopher to the pessimistic postwar figure he&#8217;d play in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=28420\"><em>Vertigo<\/em><\/a> and [various] Anthony Mann westerns&#8221;. Stewart (who Peary names Best Actor of the Year in his <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em> book) never shies away from portraying George Bailey as a complex man with unmet needs. He &#8220;has sacrificed all his life for others&#8217; happiness and security&#8221;, but not selflessly &#8212; rather, he fully recognizes that he&#8217;s had to give up on his own goal of traveling the world and living a life of adventure and discovery. We find our shoulders drooping in empathy as George is foiled time and again from actually leaving Bedford Falls; and yet each time, we understand why he makes the (sacrificial) choice he does. <\/p>\n<p>Indeed, as much of a <u>fantasy<\/u> as <em>It&#8217;s a Wonderful Life<\/em> is, it actually presents a very <u>realistic<\/u> view of the curveballs life throws out: who among us can&#8217;t remember a time when we&#8217;ve been forced by circumstances beyond our control (whether money, family, or something else entirely) to make a decision other than the one we most want for ourselves? And while it&#8217;s true that the &#8220;nightmarish sequence&#8221; in which George is shown &#8220;what a dreadful place Bedford Falls would have been without him&#8221; probably <u>isn&#8217;t<\/u> very realistic, it doesn&#8217;t need to be: it&#8217;s meant simply to help George realize &#8220;that every man makes a profound difference, and that a good man&#8230; can benefit countless people&#8221; in unimaginable ways.  <\/p>\n<p>Stewart&#8217;s performance isn&#8217;t the only memorable one on display. Donna Reed takes the incredibly tricky role of Mary &#8212; someone who could easily be portrayed as merely a small-town &#8220;anchor&#8221; weighing George down &#8212; and turns her into someone we can&#8217;t help falling for ourselves; no wonder George decides to settle down and have a family with her. Travers is also &#8220;great&#8221; in another challenging role; he somehow manages to make us believe that guardian angels might actually exist. Meanwhile, there really are countless well-written (by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett) scenes and sequences scattered throughout the film, too many to name &#8212; though I must call out one early scene in particular (in which young George [Bobbie Anderson] prevents his employer [H.B. Warner] from making a fatal mistake while preparing a prescription for a family) as an emotionally loaded favorite. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Gower-Scene.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Gower-Scene.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-15470\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Gower-Scene.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Gower-Scene-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Gower-Scene-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The story neatly builds to its celebrated finale, which is guaranteed to have you all choked up. Indeed, you&#8217;ll be surprised by how sincerely effective this notorious &#8220;Capra-corn&#8221; really is. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Stewart.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Stewart.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-15465\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Stewart.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Stewart-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Stewart-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Donna Reed as Mary (nominated by Peary as Best Actress of the Year in <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em>)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Reed.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Reed.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-15466\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Reed.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Reed-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Reed-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Henry Travers as Clarence<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Travers.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Travers.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-15467\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Travers.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Travers-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Travers-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Fine supporting performances across the board<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Supporting.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Supporting.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-15475\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Supporting.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Supporting-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Supporting-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Many memorable scenes<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Dancing.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Dancing.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-15468\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Dancing.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Dancing-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Dancing-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Post-Pool.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Post-Pool.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-15469\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Post-Pool.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Post-Pool-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Post-Pool-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Money.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Money.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-15471\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Money.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Money-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Money-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Hugging.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Hugging.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-15472\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Hugging.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Hugging-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Hugging-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett&#8217;s screenplay<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Praying.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Praying.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-15473\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Praying.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Praying-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-Praying-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a delightfully enduring classic and a cult favorite. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cult Movie<\/li>\n<li>Genuine Classic<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/1001Movies.htm\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0038650\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s2453life.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1946\/12\/23\/archives\/the-screen-in-review-at-three-theatres-its-a-wonderful-life-with.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2008\/12\/19\/movies\/19wond.html\">NY Times Essay<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.reelviews.net\/php_review_template.php?identifier=294\">Reelviews Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.filmsite.org\/itsa.html\">FilmSite Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.moria.co.nz\/fantasy\/itsawonderfullife.htm\">Moria Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.qnetwork.com\/review\/4334\">Q Network Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;No man is a failure who has friends.&#8221; Synopsis: An angel (Henry Travers) helps a suicidal man (Jimmy Stewart) recognize the importance of his life. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Angels Beulah Bondi Films Corruption Do-Gooders Donna Reed Films Fantasy Flashback Films Frank Capra Films Gloria Grahame Films Jimmy Stewart Films Lionel Barrymore Films Living Nightmare Small Town America Suicide Thomas Mitchell Films Ward Bond Films Response to Peary\u2019s Review: I was pleasantly surprised to revisit this &#8220;once neglected&#8221; &#8220;masterpiece&#8221;&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=15461\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15461"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15461\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81612,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15461\/revisions\/81612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}