It’s a Wonderful Life, Even in 2020

Dec 20, 2020 | By Sharla Moody BK ‘22

Note: this review contains spoilers for It’s a Wonderful Life

Every December my family watches the Christmas classic It’s a Wonderful Life. [1] One year, we went to the single-screen retro cinema down the street from our house called The Colony Club, which has unfortunately permanently closed its doors. When we watch at home, my mother makes her famous hot cocoa (the Hershey’s box recipe, plus an entire can of sweetened condensed milk) and our dogs lay at our feet and the cat even comes out on occasion to watch with us. In short, we make It’s a Wonderful Life an event. This year in New Haven, I made my mom’s cocoa and my roommate and I huddled under blankets and watched it for ourselves. 

It’s a Wonderful Life is one of the most iconic movies in all of cinema. It features James Stewart’s most famous performance—though it was not recognized as such at the time of its release—and the film’s special effects team invented a new artificial snow that made production of winter-set movies significantly easier.[2] It was released in 1946, a year after the end of World War II, in which James Stewart saw combat as a bomber, and for which director Frank Capra produced propaganda, patriotic films, and documentaries. At the time of production, James Stewart was reportedly suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.[3] A year after the most devastating war in all of human history ended, a year after the horrors of the Holocaust and the depths of man’s wickedness and suffering were revealed in full grotesque detail, a year after thousands of civilians were killed by the most destructive weapon mankind has ever devised, Capra made what might be the most uplifting movie ever. 

For those who haven’t watched it, It’s a Wonderful Life follows George Bailey (played by James Stewart), a man who has sacrificed his dreams of traveling and adventure to maintain the Bailey Building and Loan after his father’s death. The Bailey company is the only institution in Bedford Falls that can prevent Mr. Potter (played by Lionel Barrymore), who has a monopoly on practically everything in town, from stripping the townspeople of domestic stability during the Depression. At first, George had remained in Bedford Falls to sort out matters after his father died, but ended up taking over to stop Potter from dissolving the Building and Loan.  Later, the stock market crashes on the day of George’s wedding to Mary (played by Donna Reed). George never leaves Bedford Falls, not during the Depression nor the war, but stays to improve the lives of its citizens. He creates affordable housing and gives fair loans in spite of his family’s relative poverty, and he is universally loved because he works for the real good of everyone in Bedford Falls.

The turning point of the movie comes when money is misplaced by a Building and Loan employee and a warrant is put out for George’s arrest. He blows up in front of his family, goes to a bar, gets drunk, and then goes to a bridge and contemplates jumping off it. He is rescued by Clarence (Henry Travers), an angel-in-training who hopes to “earn his wings” by showing George how meaningful his life has been. In a Dickensian manner, Clarence shows George what life would have been like had he never been born (Bedford Falls overrun with debauchery, everything owned by Potter, everyone unfriendly), and George returns to his family, celebrating life, while his concerned friends raise money to pay for that which was lost.

The movie  is fantastical—not all of us are visited by angels at our lowest points—but still rooted in reality. Life is painful. Life is hard. Dreams are forsaken. We toil, oftentimes with little recognition. During this season of Advent especially, we recognize the frailty of our existence, humanity’s need for a savior, waiting in the dark for a just and loving God to save us. Yet in all our despair and misery, grace shines forth and illuminates every shadow. It’s a Wonderful Life embodies Advent: the darkness of a fallen world illuminated by the redemption of a man who has lost dearly and acted horribly at his worst moments, saved for no other reason than that he is loved. 

In this time of illness and loneliness and financial crisis, it’s hard to hang on to the hope that things will get better. In 1946, the war was over, but many still suffered the wounds it inflicted. It’s a Wonderful Life reminds us that in all these things, there are still joys to be had, days worth living, grace to be given. Even during our lowest points, it’s a wonderful life. As we approach Christmas in what has surely been the worst year in decades, let us continue to wait for the hope promised to us.  

[1] It’s a Wonderful Life. Directed by Frank Capra, performances by James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, and Henry Travers, RKO Radio Pictures, 1946.

[2] Liszewski, Andrew. “Hollywood Invented a New Type of Fake Snow To Film It’s a Wonderful Life.” Gizmodo. 24 December 2011, https://gizmodo.com/hollywood-invented-a-new-type-of-fake-snow-to-film-its-5870771. 

[3] Metz, Nina. “How Jimmy Stewart’s war service affected ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’.” Chicago Tribune, 30 November 2016, https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/movies/ct-jimmy-stewart-book-mov-1202-20161201-column.html. 

---