It's a Wonderful Life Review

It's a Wonderful Life

Release Date: 16th October 1947 - Australia

Production Companies

Liberty Films

Distribution

Paramount Pictures Australia

Genre: Drama/Fantasy

Rating: G

Runtime: 130 minutes


Budget: $3,180,000

Box Office Gross: $11,875,055 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

After spending his entire

life giving to the people

of Bedford Falls, George

Bailey's troubles are just

beginning when his

business loses its $8,000

on Christmas Eve. George

is about to take his own

life by jumping off the

bridge when, instead,

he rescues his guardian

angel, Clarence. Clarence

then shows George a world

where he had never been

born and what his town

would have been like if

it hadn't been for all of

his good deeds over the

years. Will Clarence

convince George to

return to his family and

forget suicide?

Cast

James Stewart - George Bailey

Donna Reed - Mary Hatch

Henry Travers - Clarence

Lionel Barrymore - Mr. Potter

Thomas Mitchell - Uncle Billy

Beulah Bondi - Ma Bailey

Frank Faylen - Ernie

Ward Bond - Bert

Gloria Grahame - Violet

H.B. Warner - Mr. Gower

Todd Karns - Harry Bailey

Samuel S. Hinds - Pa Bailey

Mary Treen - Cousin Billy

Frank Albertson - Sam Wainwright

Virginia Patton - Ruth Dakin

Charles Williams - Cousin Eustace

Sarah Edwards - Mrs. Hatch

William Edmunds - Mr. Martini

Lillian Randolph - Annie

Argentina Brunetti - Mrs. Martini

Robert J. Anderson - Little George

Ronnie Ralph - Little Sam

Jean Gale - Little Mary

Jeanine Anne Rose - Little Violet

Danny Murmett - Little Marty Hatch

Georgie Nokes - Little Harry Bailey

Sheldon Leonard - Nick

Frank Hagney - Potter's Bodyguard

Ray Walker - Joe (Luggage Shop)

Charles Lane - Real Estate Salesman

Edward Keane - Tom (Bldg. & Loan)

Carol Coombs - The Bailey Child - Janie

Karolyn Grimes - The Bailey Child - Zuzu

Larry Simms - The Bailey Child - Pete

Jimmy Hawkins - The Bailey Child - Tommy

Stanley Andrews - Mr. Welch (Uncredited)

Al Bridge - Sheriff (Uncredited)

Adriana Caselotti - Singer at Martini's (Uncredited)

Ellen Corby - Mrs. Davis (Uncredited)

Jimmy the Crow - Crow in Bank (Uncredited)

Dick Elliot - Man on Porch (Uncredited)

Tom Fadden - Tollhouse Keeper (Uncredited)

Joseph Grandby - Elderly Man (Voice) (Uncredited)

Charles Halton - Carter (Uncredited)

Harry Holman - Mr. Partridge (Uncredited)

Arthur Stuart Hull - Mr. Randall (Uncredited)

J. Farrell MacDonald - Man Whose

Great-Grandfather Planted Tree (Uncredited)

Moroni Olsen - Senior Angel (Voice) (Uncredited)

Almira Sessions - Potter's Secretary (Uncredited)

Carl Switzer - Freddie Othello (Cameo)
(Uncredited)

Crew

Screenplay/Producer/Director - Frank Capra

Based on a Story - Phillip Van Doren Stern

Screenplay - Frances Goodrich and
Albert Hackett

Additional Scenes - Jo Swerling

Contributor to Screenplay - Michael Wilson (Uncredited)

Art Director - Jack Okey

Set Decorator - Emile Kuri
Costumes - Edward Stevenson
Directors of Photography - Joseph F. Biroc,
Joseph Walker and Victor Milner (Uncredited)

Special Photographic Effects - Russell A. Calley
Film Editor - William Hornbeck

Sound - Richard Van Hessen,

Clem Portman and John Aalberg (Uncredited)

Music - Dimitri Tiomkin

Awards

1947 Academy Awards

Best Picture (Nominated)

Best Director - Frank Capra (Nominated)

Best Actor in a Leading Role - James Stewart (Nominated)

Best Sound, Recording - John Aalberg (Nominated)

Best Film Editing - William Hornbeck (Nominated)

Review

Season's greetings, everyone! If there is one movie I want to review before the end of Christmas, it'll have to be IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE. It is said to be one of the greatest holiday movies by many critics. Sadly, this wasn't always the case. The picture was unsuccessful at its release but became a Christmas classic after its copyright lapsed in 1974 and fell into the public domain. Since then, the film has gone to be considered by anyone who has seen it as a timeless classic.

I have never been anxious to watch this golden oldie as I have been dying to see this original film, not unlike those television episodes and other movies that parodied its conception. I would classify IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE as a melodrama just because the film isn't that endearing, but it has its special meaning and value that we've all learned from our experiences that gift is life. The late Frank Capra was a fabulous director who used his creative philosophies to convey this point. Capra said it was his favourite, and this is his last great picture to date. It's a shame that we didn't get more of his work.

Fortunately, the acting didn't hurt the film with names such as James Stewart, Donna Reed and Lionel Barrymore. I heard so much about James and his versatility. I never knew he could act like his character, which started as an optimist into a troubled soul at his wit's end. I knew this was too good to be true. James Stewart is the movie's best actor and good luck charm.

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE may remain in our hearts as a cultural heritage and a holiday classic that most young people wouldn't have remembered; many tend to be unaware of its existence. Furthermore, it is an entertaining, heartfelt and well-made movie. Eventually, I'll be watching it again next Christmas, and you should too when the twelve months have passed.

Star rating: (8/10) Very Good Movie 

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