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IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE Almost Wasn’t a Christmas Classic

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IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE Almost Wasn’t a Christmas Classic

By Movieguide® Contributor

Jimmy Stewart’s IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE almost didn’t become the Christmas staple it is today.

When the film premiered in 1947, it barely broke even at the box office and was quickly forgotten.

However, in 1974, after Republic Pictures failed to renew its copyright, the movie resurfaced and went into the public domain. Cinema Blend reported, “The movie was truly everywhere, and because distributors could virtually air it for free, it moved from a forgotten film to a staple of the Christmastime conversation.”

Since then, IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE has become a Christmas tradition and is considered one of the greatest holiday films ever.

Movieguide® praised the movie’s redemptive themes:

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE is arguably the most beloved movie of all time. It’s certainly the most uplifting, rewarding and redemptive movie. It’s also funny, emotionally powerful, psychologically enriching, and beautifully made. IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE is a pro-life masterpiece by Director Frank Capra, with brilliant performances by Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed, and a cast of terrific character actors. Slight caution is advised for some false angelology, but the movie honors God in a whimsical, profound, powerful way.

The movie also helped relaunch Stewart’s career. After returning from his three-year deployment during World War Two, the actor realized how much his life changed. His contract with MGM had ended, his agent was gone and he had PTSD.

When director Frank Capra approached Stewart about IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, the actor was initially hesitant, per CNN.

“You play a fella in a small town. You get married, you have all these kids, and your father dies, and you have to take over the building and loans,” Capra pitched. “And finally, you’re going to kill yourself, you’re going to jump off a bridge, and an angel, by the name of Clarence, comes in to help you, but he can’t swim, so you go down and save the…This doesn’t sound very good, does it?”

However, the movie was Stewart’s only offer at the time. “When do we start?” he responded.

The story deeply impacted Stewart following his military service.

“IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE was a result of Jim’s war experiences because it unlocked this depth of soul in Jimmy…He had to learn to act again and that’s what you’re seeing on screen. It’s like lightning that just got captured in a bottle,” biographer Robert Matzen explained.

“In one early scene, his character finds himself in a roadside bar, praying, with an almost unwatchable desperation, to a god he only half believes in. ‘I’m not a praying man,’ he says, ‘but if you’re up there and you can hear me, show me the way. I’m at the end of my rope. Show me the way, god…’ As he rubs a clenched, trembling hand against his mouth, he starts to cry. That moment, which actor Carol Burnett later described as ‘one of the finest pieces of acting anyone has ever done on the screen,’ wasn’t in the script,” the Independent wrote.

Stewart remembered that moment in 1987: “As I said those words. I felt the loneliness, the hopelessness of people who had nowhere to turn, and my eyes filled with tears. I broke down sobbing. That was not planned at all.”

“But the power of that prayer,” he continued, “the realization that our Father in heaven is there to help the hopeless, had reduced me to tears.”

Movieguide® previously reported on Stewart:

After filming wrapped, Stewart and Capra anticipated Academy Award wins for the movie and the actors.

“But life doesn’t always work out the way we want it to,” and IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE didn’t receive any awards.

“By the end of 1947 the film was quietly put on the shelf,” Stewart added.

Despite the initial disappointment, the story behind IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE didn’t end there, and viewers’ love for the movie continued to grow, making it the beloved classic it is today.

While some label the movie as “an American cultural phenomenon,” for Stewart, “it seems to me there is nothing phenomenal about the movie itself.”

“It’s simply about an ordinary man who discovers that living each ordinary day honorably, with faith in God and a selfless concern for others, can make for a truly wonderful life.”


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