By India McCarty
You might think you know everything about IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, but cast member Jimmy Hawkins recently revealed some behind-the-scenes secrets even the biggest fans of the movie might not know.
“This movie showed that we’re all important,” Hawkins, who played Tommy Bailey and has written six books about the movie, told Parade. “You don’t have to be the best looking guy in town or the wealthiest. You can make a difference.”
Over the years, Hawkins has shared plenty of behind-the-scenes secrets about IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE’s production, including the fact that star Jimmy Stewart didn’t want to kiss Donna Reed.
“[He] didn’t want to film that scene,” Hawkins wrote in his book The Heart of It’s a Wonderful Life, adding, “He had been putting it off for a while. He hadn’t shared a kiss on-screen in a long time.”
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He continued, “Finally, [director Frank] Capra said enough is enough,” telling Stewart, “‘Jimmy, it’s just two lips coming together. Let’s do it.’”
In an interview with Remind Magazine, Hawkins actually named that scene as his favorite from the movie, sharing, “I think it’s one of the great movie love scenes. You can actually see and feel the electricity when they are kissing. Funny thing is, when the scene was over and Frank Capra yelled ‘Cut! Print,’ the script girl said, ‘Mr. Capra, they left out a page of dialogue.’ Capra said, ‘With technique like that, who needs dialogue? Print it!’”
Another story about Stewart on set? Hawkins revealed he didn’t want to shoot a second take of the famous scene where his character, George Bailey, breaks down and prays at the bar. According to Hawkins, Stewart wasn’t meant to cry in the scene, but was so overcome by emotion that he couldn’t help himself.
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When Capra asked for a second take, Stewart told him, “I said I can’t!” according to Hawkins.
When it came to his own experiences on set, Hawkins only has fond memories — even though Capra once told him all the scenes involving the child actors were “the most challenging” to shoot, as there were so many moving parts involved.
In a separate interview with Parade, Hawkins weighed in on JIMMY, the upcoming Stewart biopic, starring KJ Apa as the iconic actor.
“I’m interested in seeing it, of course,” he said. “Seeing how they — did they capture this character or what have you. It’s like anything. I would very much like to see it and see how they treated his life…What is Jimmy Stewart’s arc? How different was he on page one than he is on page 120? What did [they] pick to be his thing to overcome in his life? I mean, you look at it, you go, this guy’s had a wonderful life. But along the way…he had downs and things.”
Hawkins’ stories about his set memories of IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE give new dimension to many of fans’ favorite scenes from this beloved Christmas classic.
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