Given my age (a young, ripe 24), most people may assume that Home Alone, Elf, and The Nightmare Before Christmas compete for my personal favorite Christmas film of all time. But you would be wrong. As of right now, that honor is occupied by a film I only watched in the last year or so: the 1946 classic from director Frank Capra, It’s a Wonderful Life.
Why does a 24-year-old love this old-school, cheesy, black-and-white flick? Let me explain why. The History Frank Capra, considered by many film critics to be one of the great directors of Hollywood’s “Golden Age” (alongside William Wyler, Howard Hawks, and others), was directed to Philip Van Doren’s short story, entitled The Greatest Gift, by the studio chief of RKO Pictures Charles Koerner. After spending the wartime years making documentaries and propaganda films for the U.S. government, Capra looked to this short story to be the basis for his return to Hollywood filmmaking. Much of what is known about the behind-the-scenes for this film points to extensive tensions between Capra and the many writers that he brought on rewrite the screenplay. For example, husband-and-wife duo Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett were given the impression that Capra, once giving them the power over drafting the film, wanted nothing more than for them to finish it so that he could write it himself. Similar to Capra’s seeming desire to control the writing process, he also had definitive choices in mind for his actors. Specifically, Capra wanted no one else but James Stewart to play the lead role of George Bailey. He also went through several actresses to play George’s sweetheart and wife Mary, from his first choice Jean Arthur (Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Only Angels Have Wings) to Olivia de Havilland (Gone with the Wind), before Donna Reed (From Here to Eternity) landed the role. Filming in Los Angeles took exactly ninety days, and brought about a new innovation in filmmaking. Russell Shearman, the head of special effects for RKO Pictures, developed a new formula for making “chemical snow,” replacing the then-common method to make movie snow which involved untoasted cornflakes (an impractical method because the crunching sound emitted from the actors stepping on them often resulted in the re-dubbing of dialogue). This innovation from Shearman won It’s a Wonderful Life its only Academy Award (despite being nominated for five of them): a Technical Achievement Award. The film premiered in late December of 1946, moving up from its original release in early January in order to be competitive in that year’s Academy Awards. Despite making 3.3 million dollars (slightly exceeding its 3.18-million-dollar budget), It’s a Wonderful Life lost RKO Pictures more than half a million dollars. Furthermore, its lukewarm reception in comparison to other post-World War II movies of that year (notably William Wyler’s The Best Years of Our Lives) made it somewhat fade into the crevices of film history for over a decade. Many critics at the time deemed the story and Capra’s direction oversentimental, but praised the lead performances of Stewart and Reed. The film was even officially investigated by the FBI for supposedly deriding the wealthy (specifically the banking class), a no-no in the years leading up to the Second Red Scare and the McCarthy era. While It’s a Wonderful Life was deemed the beginning of the end of Capra’s career upon release, the film (and Capra’s postwar career) was re-evaluated starting in the 1960s. In 1990, the film was preserved by the Library of Congress and has since been acknowledged on several film polls and lists among some of the best movies of cinema history. The Pros Having just re-watched the film last night, I am confident that It’s a Wonderful Life is my favorite Christmas movie. To begin with the performances. The two standouts in my mind, without a doubt, are the film’s leads. James Stewart offers up an incredibly flawed George Bailey with an admirable moral character whose search for purpose in life leads him down a dark, destructive path without realizing just how great life is until it’s almost too late. Perhaps more so than any other leading role in his career, Stewart embraces the best of Capra’s signature “everyman” protagonists with his notorious drawl, manner of speech, and matter-of-fact demeanor to make even the most cynical and skeptical of viewers (including myself) sympathize with and root for him. Also, Donna Reed portrays George’s sweetheart Mary Bailey (née Hatch) as both an empowered and charming woman whose love for her husband surprisingly does the impossible: she both conforms to and transcends the stereotypes of the time in which the film was made. While her story is largely defined by the young woman coming home to find the man of her dreams, her resilience in the face of adversity in relation to Bailey’s family bank shows a different kind of love beyond the excessive romance of other films of that era. Now, to address the biggest contemporary critique of It’s a Wonderful Life: is it truly oversentimental? Well, yes, but what Christmas movie isn’t? I think it goes without saying that this film gets something of a pass for its age, thus transcending a criticism as time-bound as being “too sentimental” in lieu of reaching the cinematic pinnacle of being “timeless.” But, perhaps it’s more complicated than that. Certainly, there are plenty of movies made prior to 1980 that has problems significant enough to override any defense of it as “good for its time.” However, I think that It’s a Wonderful Life does succeed at both embracing the best of its time and transcending it with a message that applies to anyone having a rough go at life regardless of when and where you were born. Ultimately, the message from It’s a Wonderful Life that I most resonate with is the idea that someone’s life is worth more to those who they affect greatly than to even themselves. As a proud cynic myself, I deeply empathize with George Bailey’s burning desire to escape what he sees as a burdensome town and also relish the journey he goes on with his guardian angel realizing how much his life means to others and the town itself. More importantly, however, is the lesson that George Bailey learns about himself. For not only has his existence brought joy and love to others, but what happiness surrounds his own life comes from others. As George’s guardian angel Clarence Odbody (Henry Travers) reminds him at the end of the film: “No man is a failure who has friends.” The Cons Aside from what some viewers interpret as the lack of “timeless quality” that I outlined above, I think that the biggest enemy to It’s a Wonderful Life is its runtime. As with most films over two hours long, editing can (and should) be the director’s best friend. I can certainly justify its runtime as being necessary to making George Bailey’s relationships with the various townsfolk of Bedford Falls meaningful. However, I can also understand some viewers struggling after the first ninety minutes with caring much about George’s fate. But, my re-watch on Christmas Eve this year reassured me that the runtime is ultimately necessary because each scene adds something to the overarching narrative. So, I guess the questions is should this kind of flick be made for a modern audience? Probably not, but that’s why we call it a “classic”! I could say much more about this film, but I think I’ll leave it at that. Simply put, these are just some of the reasons why It’s a Wonderful Life is my favorite Christmas movie of all time. If you and your family plan to spend some time indoors this Christmas, check it out! I guarantee you will enjoy the time spent together bonding over a classic piece of holiday viewing. What is your favorite Christmas film? Do you think It’s a Wonderful Life deserves the praise that it receives? What opinions of mine do you find absolutely ridiculous? Let me know in the comments below. Until next time, this has been… Yours Truly, Amateur Analyst
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Austin McManusI have no academic or professional background in film production or criticism; I simply love watching and talking about movies. Archives
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