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RETRO Classic movie
It’s A
Wonderful
Life
75
ANNIVERSARY
FILM FACTS
As Frank Capra’s classic tale of despair
and salvation turns 75, Retro uncovers
fascinating facts about a cherished
movie that flopped in 1946 before being
rescued by TV audiences decades later…
FILM GEM
At one stage the film
was titled The Greatest
Gift and Cary Grant was
slated to play George. When
Capra bought the rights,
he replaced Grant with
James Stewart.
4 PEOPLE BEHIND THE SCENES
COSTUMES WERE DESIGNED
by RKO’s costume head Edward
Stevenson who, early in his
career designed for Greta Garbo,
and whose later years were
spent dressing Lucille Ball for
TV. He didn’t try to make the
costumes period authentic…
Mary’s Charleston dress had
a fitted Forties style rather than
the Twenties boyish look.
COMPOSER DIMITRI TIOMKIN,
who received a phenomenal 22
Oscar nominations for the likes
of High Noon (1952) and Giant
(1956), is credited as writing the
musical score but he tried to have
his name removed. When RKO
moved the film’s release date
from spring to make it a more
festive release, Tiomkin’s score
was judged as too sombre so was
heavily cut and moved around,
much to his disdain.
SET DECORATOR EMILE KURI,
responsible for making the Bailey
set look just like a home, went
on to work for Disney and was
one of the leading imagineers
of Disneyland.
IN THE FAMOUS swimming pool
scene, it’s not Donna Reed you
see toppling in but pioneering
stuntwoman Lila Finn. Lila also
rode in a horse-drawn carriage
through the burning warehouses
in the escape from Atlanta scene
in Gone With the Wind (1939)
(as Vivien Leigh’s double) and
doubled for Dorothy Lamour
and Olivia de Havilland.
She was also a
world-class athlete,
representing the
US women’s
volleyball team.
FILM GEM
Joseph and Franklin,
the two angels we hear at
the beginning of the film, were
voiced by actors Joseph Granby
and Moroni Olsen. The latter
voiced the Magic Mirror
in Snow White and the
Seven Dwarfs (1937).
8 SUPPORT CAST
Jimmy the Raven
James Stewart wasn’t the only
Jimmy on set – Jimmy the
Raven hung out with Uncle Billy
at mortgage lender Building
and Loan. The bird belonged to
animal trainer Curly Twiford.
Jimmy’s career started in You
Can’t Take It with You (1938),
and he starred in hundreds of
movies, including The Wizard of
Oz (1939), where he landed on
Scarecrow’s shoulder.
Lionel Barrymore (Mr Potter)
Best actor Oscar winner
for A Free Soul (1931),
Barrymore acted in a
wheelchair from 1938,
aged 50, due to a hip
injury and arthritis.
He’s the great uncle of
Drew Barrymore of ET
(1982) fame.
Lillian Randolph (Annie)
Randolph was the original
voice of Mammy Two-Shoes in
MGM’s Tom and Jerry cartoons.
Robert J. Anderson (young
George)
Anderson and Karolyn Grimes
(Zuzu) later starred together in
The Bishop’s Wife (1947).
Gloria Grahame (Violet)
Won Best Supporting Oscar for
1952’s The Bad and the Beautiful.
Beulah Bondi (Ma Bailey)
She also played Stewart’s
mother in Mr Smith Goes
to Washington (1939), Of
Human Hearts (1938) and
Vivacious Lady (1938).
Ellen Corby
She had an uncredited role as
Ms Davis (who George helps with
$17.50 during the bank run).
She would become best known as
Grandma Walton in the TV show.
Carl ‘Alfalfa’ Switzer
The kid who opened the dance
floor that covered the swimming
pool was child star Switzer,
who had appeared in dozens
of Our Gang shorts between
1935 and 1940. He later
became a hunting guide
but was killed, age 31,
in what was judged
‘justifiable homicide’
after an argument
over $50.
42 RETRO
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Classic movie
4 STELLAR PLAYERS
5Academy
Awards
nominations
38
James Stewart’s
age (he plays
George from the
age of 21 to 38).
25
Donna Reed’s age
(she plays Mary
from 18 to 35)
HENRY TRAVERS (CLARENCE) had a successful Broadway
career, starred in seven Oscar Best Picture nominees,
including Mrs Miniver (which won), but didn’t live to see
the late success of It’s a Wonderful Life (he died in 1965).
JAMES STEWART (GEORGE BAILEY) The movie was Stewart’s
first picture after 20 months fighting in Europe during the
Second World War. Stewart recalled “Frank really saved
my career... It was over four and a half years that I’d been
completely away from anything that had to do with the
movies.” When filming started and Stewart began to have
doubts over the importance of acting, Capra asked Lionel
Barrymore to give Stewart a pep talk. Barrymore asked
Stewart if he thought it was more decent to drop bombs
on people than to bring rays of sunshine into their lives
with his acting talent, and Stewart’s resolve was restored!
THOMAS MITCHELL (UNCLE BILLY) had starred in
Gone with the Wind, High Noon and Mr Smith Goes
to Washington, and won a Best Supporting Oscar for
Stagecoach (1939). He was considered for the role of Mr
Potter, but Lionel Barrymore’s popularity from his radio
versions of A Christmas Carol secured the part.
DONNA REED (MARY BAILEY) As homemaker Mary, Donna
Reed shot to fame but her TV show (1958-1966) made
her a cultural icon. She again played a housewife, but
used her role as producer (and sometime writer) to create
an interesting character, saying: “My TV series certainly
aggravated men. Hollywood producers were infuriated
that Mom was equal and capable.”
42 the
number of angels
who got their
wings during the
film, as we hear
42 bell rings
9
the number of
screenwriters
involved. Only
four were credited
131
$156,000
$2,362,427
budget for the film
$3.3
HEAD TO HEAD
They started filming on the same day, and
were released in the same month…
Oscars won
Domestic rentals
$3.78m
production and
distribution cost
IAWL
0
length of the film
in minutes
vs
vs
Capra’s salary for the
film, which he put
into the production
of the movie
The Best Years
of Our Lives
8
$3.3 $11.3
million
box office takings
FILM GEM
Special effects technician
Russell Shearman won a
Technical Achievement Oscar for
developing a method to simulate
falling snow. He was also part of
the team that won a Special
Effects Oscar for Portrait
of Jennie (1948).
It’s A Wonderful Life
VERSUS
The Best Years of
Our Lives
Capra was inspired to make It’s A Wonderful Life after his wartime
experiences. He said “There’s nothing glamorous about war. I didn’t want to
be a war hero, nothing. That’s why I made a movie about an ordinary guy.”
3 MISHAPS
DURING FILMING THE scene where
Mr Gower beats young George’s
ear, H.B. Warner drew blood.
“My ear was beat up, and my face
was red and I was in tears... H.B. was
perfect. He reached the crescendo.
At the end, when it was all over, he
was very lovable. He grabbed me
and hugged me, and he meant it.”
ROBERT J. ANDERSON
WHEN A DRUNK Uncle Billy walks
home, you hear a loud crashing
noise. A crew member had dropped
a tray of props but Thomas Mitchell
improvised by ad-libbing “I’m
alright. I’m alright”. The clumsy crew
member was rewarded with
a $10 bonus by Capra.
DURING THE BRIDGE scene, George
Bailey is sweating as he grapples
with the biggest decision of his life.
While James Stewart was fearful,
his sweat was real – it was 90°
during shooting. The cast and crew
were given a day off during filming
to recover from heat exhaustion.
44 RETRO
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3
Classic movie
CAPRA SCENE NOTES
ONE OF CAPRA’S favourite scenes is
the long-distance phone call between
George, Mary and Sam Wainwright,
when George realises he’s in love with
Mary. “I think that’s one of the best
scenes I’ve ever put on the screen. I love
that scene. It’s an offhand and offbeat
way of playing a love scene. Scenes
like that are just great when you can
find them, because love scenes are so
difficult to stage. It’s very difficult to get
a real emotion out of them, you can’t
play them straight.”
THE LOOSE KNOB on the banister
of George’s home was meant to be
symbolic – the imperfection angers
him, but he embraces it at the end of
the film when he knows he’s saved. “You
can explain the inner feelings of the
man through an inanimate object. It’s
a very difficult thing to know how to
use a sight gag.”
THE HIGH SCHOOL dance sequence
where George and Mary fall into the
swimming pool hadn’t been written
into the script. Capra recalled: “That
was on the first day of shooting… I
didn’t know there was any pool there.
We were out at Beverly Hills High. So
we knew we were going to do this
Charleston contest, the sequence was
all laid out. And someone said, did you
know there’s a swimming pool under
here? I said, a swimming pool? Let’s see
it. So somebody went and opened it,
and I said, Jesus, we’ve gotta use this,
that’s all. We just ran into it and I just
took advantage of it!”
WONDERFUL LEGACY
IT’S A WONDERFUL Life
continually shows up in other
films and TV programmes –
in clips, quotes, references
and nods to, including
Home Alone (1990), Cheers
(1987), Gremlins (1984),
Scrooged (1988) and National
Lampoon’s Christmas
Vacation (1989).
BEDFORD FALLS WAS part
of a four-acre set built at RKO
Encino Ranch – when it was
sold to developers in 1954,
the set was demolished but
the Martinis’ house in Bailey
Park survived. The three-bed
home at 4587 Viro Road, La
Canada Flintridge, sold for
a cool $1.6m in 2020.
GEORGE BAILEY DRIVES a
1919 Dodge Brothers Touring
Car, and crashes it into a
tree before he contemplates
taking his own life. The car
was driven with such force
that the bumper needed to be
repaired, and the left front
fender and wheel were both
replaced so that it could go on
to star in other films. The car
now has a private owner.
Bedford Falls was a fictional town but it’s thought Capra was inspired by
Seneca Falls, northwest of New York, which he visited while writing the film’s
screenplay. The town has a bridge with a plaque honouring a 17-year-old canal
worker who, in 1917, sacrificed his life by jumping into the Barge Canal to save
the life of a young woman who’d attempted suicide by leaping in.
4
RKO rushed IAWL into theatres on December 20, 1946, to replace
Sinbad the Sailor whose Technicolor prints were not ready. It went
into general release January 1947, during a record blizzard in the east,
which may have contributed to its poor ticket sales. It also went headto-head
with powerful post-war drama The Best Years of Our Lives.
THE BAILEY BUNCH
JIMMY HAWKINS PLAYED Tommy,
who had to be excused for
burping. Hawkins was reunited
with his screen mum in 1958 in
The Donna Reed Show where he
played the boyfriend of Donna’s
TV daughter. He also starred again
with his screen dad James Stewart
in Winchester ’73 (1950).
AGED SIX, KAROLYN Grimes played
Zuzu, whose flower lost its petals.
Although she starred in 16 movies,
Grimes’ film career ended when
both her parents died when she
FILM GEM
Capra couldn’t get his first
choice of leading lady, Jean
Arthur, as she was rehearsing the
role of Billie Dawn in Born Yesterday
for the stage. Capra also asked
Ginger Rogers who said no as
“the woman’s role was such
a bland character”.
was a teenager and she was sent
to live with her aunt.
CAROL COOMBS PLAYED Janie
and was set to reprise her role,
alongside Karolyn Grimes, in
the sequel It’s A Wonderful Life:
The Rest of the Story, which was
abandoned before filming started
in 2014.
KNOWN AS BABY Dumpling in the
Blondie films (1938-1950), Larry
Simms, a child model and actor
from the age of two, played Pete,
and later served in the US Navy.
Timeline
1938 Writer Philip Van Doren
Stern awakes with an idea for
a story, inspired by A Christmas
Carol
1943 Unable to sell his
story, The Greatest Gift, Stern
prints 200 copies as a 21-page
Christmas card for his friends
1944 In April RKO Pictures buys
the story rights for $10,000
1946 IAWL was shot in the
summer during a recordbreaking
heatwave
1946 December 20, the movie
was released
1947 The FBI flagged the
film as ‘communist’ as it
“represented rather obvious
attempts to discredit bankers”
and “deliberately maligned the
upper class”.
1974 The film lost its copyright
protection, which meant it
was regularly played during
the holidays throughout the
Seventies. This lasted for 20
years and contributed to its
huge popularity.
1980 The first time Karolyn
Grimes (Zuzu) saw the movie.
1990 Congress national film
registry added the film to their
library.
RETRO
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Classic movie
“QUOTE UNQUOTE”
“If you want to see the real Jimmy Stewart, you can find
him in It’s A Wonderful Life. Everything is magnified,
but that’s the closest you can come to the real Jim.”
HENRY FONDA
“As much as I liked Donna Reed… the sad fact is
that on It’s A Wonderful Life we just didn’t have any
chemistry… on screen or off. We just didn’t hit it off. And
I think the film suffered.” JAMES STEWART, explaining why he asked for co-star
Donna Reed to be replaced in The Stratton Story (1949)
“It’s only a classic now because of television. I always hated the
idea of television, but it’s the one thing that found an audience
for It’s A Wonderful Life. Now everyone thinks it’s a smash hit.”
JAMES STEWART
“I was forever playing straight woman to the hero.” DONNA REED.
Her goody-goody image changed when she was cast as a prostitute in From Here to
Eternity (1953), a role she won an Oscar for.
“Every year, it gets to be more and more important
because people need that message. They don’t feel
like they’re doing anything, and then by watching
this movie they see that we’re all important. Each
life touches so many others. That’s what people need
now.” JIMMY HAWKINS (TOMMY)$$
Money talks
$
$$$$ “I wish I had a million dollars,” says a young George (in 1919).
No wonder – that’s more than $16.5m today.
$$$$ Uncle Billy loses $8,000 (1946), equivalent to $120,000.
$
$$$$ Ms Davis asks for $17.50 from the Building
and Loan to tide her over during the bank run
of 1930 – that’s $291.
$$$$ George’s weekly salary in
1936 is $880 – no wonder he’s
tempted by the $20,000 annual
salary that Mr Potter offers ($390k).
FIRST
& LAST
$ $
It was Donna Reed’s first
starring role.
The first voice heard in the film is
Mr Gower, who is praying: “I owe
everything to George Bailey. Help
him, dear Father.”
The very last line spoken in the
film is “Attaboy, Clarence”.
This was the first and last time
Capra produced, financed,
directed and co-wrote one
of his films.
GETTING IT RIGHT
RKO HAD THREE scripts
written for IAWL – by Clifford
Odets, Philip Van Doren Stern
and Dalton Trumbo. Capra read
all three scripts and kept a
couple of scenes from Odet’s
version – the relationship
between Mr Gower and George
– but wrote an entirely new
script. “I had some awfully
good writers working with me,
but somehow they couldn’t
see what I could see in the
thing. I finally just sat down
and wrote the script the way
I wanted it to be. So that’s
why it is a very personal
statement.”
CAPRA REJECTED DALTON
Trumbo’s screenplay. According
to film historian Joseph
McBride: “The harsh, explicit
social criticisms of Trumbo’s
script cut too close to the bone
for Capra.” He didn’t want a
political film, rather one that
demonstrated the value of
the individual, and one that
exposed the dangers of atheism.
THREE CAMERAMEN WERE
involved in shooting IAWL but
only two were credited. Capra
fired veteran cameraman Victor
Milner (who’d won an Oscar
for Cecil B. DeMille’s Cleopatra,
1934) and replaced him with
Joe Walker, who was on loan
from Columbia. Walker joined
the set during the shooting of
the run on the bank and reshot
all the big street scenes. He had
to return to Columbia to shoot
The Guilt of Janet Ames (1947)
so trained Joseph F. Biroc, who
finished up.
*
PS
It’s great to think Sesame Street characters Bert and Ernie were
named after pals Bert the policeman and Ernie the taxi driver,
but it’s a coincidence. Jim Henson and producer Jon Stone
thought the prototype puppets looked like those two names.
FILM GEM
After the school prom,
George and Mary sing Buffalo
Gals – a song that dates back to the
19th century. It was sung at minstrel
shows and, as the performers toured, the
name of the New York city of Buffalo
was adapted to local audiences
– so could be changed to
Boston, Alabama…
FILM GEM
Capra, Stewart, Barrymore,
H.B. Warner (Mr Gower) and
Samuel S. Hinds (Pa Bailey) were all in
You Can’t Take It With You (1938). In total,
12 actors appear in both films but not
Henry Travers (Clarence), who’d played
Grandpa Vanderhof on Broadway
but was beaten to the film role
by Barrymore.
WE GOT SO EXCITED WE COULDN’T STOP AT 75, SO HERE’S AN EXTRA ONE!
It took two months to build Bedford Falls while dance
rehearsals for the film lasted 10 days, from April 3 to April 13.*