It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

It’s a Wonderful Life
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I have a confession to make. I have never seen “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Now I know what you’re thinking: How? It’s aired every Christmas (multiple times) and is easily considered to be a classic holiday film. The answer is: I don’t know. I’ve seen parts of it, bits of scenes here and there, but never the whole thing. When one of my housemates watched it for a class and I was left behind in the “Haven’t seen It’s a Wonderful Life” corner, I decided to see it. I’m glad I did.

As you may know, the movie is about an angel named Clarence trying to earn his wings. He needs to save George Bailey, a man at the end of his rope. To do this, Clarence shows George what life would be like if he had never been born. Most people know this. I knew that was the general idea when I sat down to watch it. What fascinated me was that Clarence’s encounter with George only covers the second half of the movie. There was much more going on in the film than I had originally anticipated there would be.

The movie is divided into two parts. In the beginning, we overhear prayers going out to a man named George Bailey, and there’s quite a few of them from all over the town of Bedford Falls. This is enough to get the attention of some spiritual entities, one of which is named Joseph. He decides that “this George Bailey” is considering suicide and needs an angel, and decides to send Clarence. Clarence makes them promise that if he can save George Bailey, he’ll get his wings. They agree and Clarence starts to head off. Joseph says that Clarence needs to see how George Bailey got to such a depressing point before he has any chance of saving him. The first half of the movie takes us on the journey of George Bailey’s life (the Reader’s Digest condensed version of it, anyway).

George Bailey has had a rough life. I don’t want to spoil details if you haven’t seen the film, but if you have, you know that every time he works and succeeds in getting something, something else is threatened or taken away. All George wants to do is see the world and travel, but death, love, tragedy and guilt seem to keep him in the small town of Bedford Falls. George sacrifices a great deal, and always seems to be fighting against the current. A last straw finally breaks him, and so enters Clarence, the kindly old angel who comes down to help.

Clarence (Henry Travers) and George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart)

The film is directed by Frank Capra, who is in many ways the film version of Charles Dickens, had a keen sense of what the everyday man went through during the time period in which the film is set. Political and economic issues play a major role in the film, but do so without dragging down the story, which is essentially about a man who continues to give up his life for those around him, and making do with what he’s left with the best he can.

I found the film to be one of those that needs to be watched from beginning to end. The parts I’d caught on television didn’t really make sense alone. After seeing the flow and progression of the story and how everything intertwines, the story of this struggling man becomes more heartfelt and understandable. Anyone who has ever been trapped into doing something they didn’t want to can relate to George.

If you haven’t seen it, watch it. If nothing else, you’ve watched one of the greatest holiday movies ever made. If you have seen it, then you’ll understand when I say that I’ve found myself keeping track of how many bell rings I’ve heard over the last few days. The angel wing count is now ten.