The problem with seasonal films...

...is when you put them on a list to watch, and then watch them in the wrong season.

No matter.  I preferred this, because I watched this without the veil of sentimentality.  Yeah, sure I did.

Very familiar stop on the AFI Top 100 (10th Anniversary Edition)...one that I HAVE to believe you've seen before.

I'm hoping I can do justice to this...

Film 96

96.  "It's A Wonderful Life" (AFI Rank #20)

It would be easy for me to just go grab a bunch of trivia about this film, and wow you with all of that.  Except you might know a lot of that, and I'd be giving you information you already had.  You've seen this film, and you've probably seen it because there was a mistake made with renewing the copyright, and it fell into the public domain, and every television station showed it on Christmas Eve, because it was cheap programming.  There.  That's the trivia portion of this.

I was one of those who watched the movie over and over again on Christmas Eve.  Why?  Because of its overwhelming message of hope, in both humanity and an individual human being.  Something about George Bailey is so universally able to connect with our own lives that it's nigh impossible not to see ourselves in him.  Have we all become what we thought we would?  Not likely.  I don't recall sitting around dreaming about writing (for free) on a computer about steak, or films, or anything else.  I certainly didn't think that I'd wind up the father of two doing theatre/performance as a hobby.  And I wouldn't trade a lick of it for any other life.  That is the message of the film, that wonder and joy can be found anywhere.  Even in the shabby offices of a broken down building and loan.  Even those that realize their wildest dreams pine for things.  We see that expressed in films like "Citizen Kane."

And that's what makes this film's appeal.   Jimmy Stewart created one of the iconic roles in film history because somewhere, inside of him, he understood George Bailey's dilemma.  Here's a guy on top of the world, revered by all, the "All American" film star, just back from fighting in World War II, and he's nailing the portrayal of a guy who hasn't realized his dreams.  One can't imagine Stewart was wracked with regrets.  However, as this passage (one of my absolute favorites) so eloquently puts it in "My Favorite Year:"

Alan Swann: Those are movies, damn you! Look at me! I'm flesh and blood, life-size, no larger! I'm not that silly God-damned hero! I never was!

Benjy Stone: To *me* you were! Whoever you were in those movies, those silly goddamn heroes meant a lot to *me*! What does it matter if it was an illusion? It worked! So don't tell me this is you life-size. I can't use you life-size. I need Alan Swanns as big as I can get them! And let me tell you something: you couldn't have convinced me the way you did unless somewhere in you you *had* that courage! Nobody's that good an actor! You *are* that silly goddamn hero!

"Nobody's that good an actor."  Indeed.  Jimmy Stewart becomes George Bailey because George Bailey is in all of us.  His disappointments, his triumphs, his heroism, his rudeness, his grace, all of it.  It's all of us, all over. And I dast say that I cannot think of a character in film that so eloquently does it.  We need to look into characters to find ourselves in most films we watch, but George Bailey accomplishes the feat of making that search less about us, and more about our dreams, etc.  I once lived with a woman who viewed this film as a tragedy, as George Bailey never gets to do what he wants.  I'm still curious as to how we got along as well as we did for as long as we did, with that serious philosophical divide.  No, this is not a story of what is lost, but one of what is gained by gaining perspective.


I've prattled on and haven't discussed my particular experience with viewing this film this time.  Look, having watched so many great films in a short stretch has focused my vision a bit.  This time through, I watched the film as a piece of art.  Know something?  This silly, manipulative, sentimental story is the driving force behind an amazing film.  Frank Capra has a reputation for wild sentiment, and rightly so.  Watching this film again, however, I was entranced by the skill of the filmmaker.  Watch the background of every scene.  It's stuffed with details, with choices of background items, and how they relate to the scene.  Mr. Potter's manservant?  He dresses identical to his boss every time we see him.  Mr. Potter is in his home at one point, and there's a bust of Napoleon in the scene; later, we see the same bust in Potter's office, staring at George as Potter offers him a job.  Potter has an ornate metal skull on his desk.  Newspaper headlines flash occasionally, and relate to the period, and usually discuss political events.  Cousin Tilly in George's office?  That's Matilda Bailey, and so says the name plate we see in one shot.  Details.  The film is stuffed with them.  That's art.  Even the opening sequence, before we get to the somewhat cheesy shot of some flashing galaxies, is a work of art.  We see establishing shots of Bedford Falls, and hear the plaintiff prayers for the man we are about to meet, our protagonist, George Bailey.  It's stellar filmmaking.  Just stellar.

I want to mention one other moment as testimony to the detail/not so necessarily subtle stuff.  There is a scene as George is about to leave for his trip around the world when we first meet him as an adult.  He is talking with Ernie, the cab driver, and Bert, the cop.  Violet Bick walks by, sumptuous to behold, and following dialogue takes place:

CLOSE SHOT – GEORGE AND BERT AT CAB

               Ernie sticks his head out form the driver's seat.

                                     ERNIE
                         How would you like...

                                     GEORGE
                              (as he enters cab)
                         Yes...

                                     ERNIE
                         Want to come along, Bert?  We'll 
                         show you the town!

               Bert looks at his watch, then takes another look at Violet's 
               retreating figure.

                                     BERT
                         No, thanks. Think I'll go home and 
                         see what the wife's doing.

                                     ERNIE
                         Family man.

                                                               DISSOLVE TO:

               INT. BAILEY DINING ROOM – NIGHT

This scene is not "takes another look at Violet's retreating figure."  It's a salacious, long look at Violet's overt sexuality, and a lingering shot of her ass as she walks away.  It's effective, to say the least.  Further, the next shot is not a simple dissolve to the interior of the Bailey dining room.  It's a dissolve to the interior of the Bailey dining room, except the lamp is shaking because of activity in the bedroom upstairs.  Not so subtle there, Mr. Capra, and I caught it.  Yup. We're meant to believe that Bert's home getting some.  In the middle of the afternoon.  Grown up stuff.

My take when it was all said and done this time is that I have short-changed this film for decades because I was so wrapped up in the story.  It's so fantastical, so amazing, that it's easy to do, but I missed so much looking for details in that story that I missed what was happening around the story.

Acting is amazing in this film top to bottom.  I'm just going to name characters, and I want you to think about them, and think about how rich the portrayals are.  Clarence Oddbody, Mary Hatch, Uncle Billy, Henry Potter, Peter Bailey, Violet Bick, Ma Bailey, Mr. Gower, Bert, Ernie, Harry Bailey, Annie, Young George Bailey, and of course, Jimmy Stewart's tour de force with adult George.  Here are some scenes to watch, if you want to see masterful acting.  First, I'll mention the wonderful work Henry Travers does as Clarence in Nick's bar when he is ordering a drink.  His ease of manner, his patter with George, it's acting at its finest.  Next we have the work Donna Reed did in the scene where she and George are walking home from the school dance.  It's a wonderfully natural moment, and most importantly...it feels REAL.  If George is our Everyman, Mary is his perfect partner, and Reed infuses that into her entire performance.  Thomas Mitchell played Uncle Billy, and this is the 4th film he's appeared in on the list.  Again, wonderful.  Lionel Barrymore created a man of no sympathy in Henry Potter, yet we see so much in him, so much held back at times...again...wow.  Potter is an iconic bad guy.  By the way, name one thing that Potter says that isn't arguably true.  Except for the bit about stealing the $8K from Uncle Billy, everything Potter does is honest, and true to his beliefs, no matter how twisted they may seem at times.  Samuel Hinds and Beulah Bondi are earnest in their roles as the Bailey parents.  Gloria Grahame oozes sexual desirability from every pore whenever she is on the screen, even in defeat.  I could go on.  I suppose I have to, if briefly.

Jimmy Stewart is nothing short of magnificent in his performance.  His scene where he prays to God for help is just one example of the commitment he makes.  My personal favorite moment is when he lets inhibition go away during the walk home, and he's left with Mary's robe.  "This is a very interesting situation!" he yells, but it's his wonderful face in that moment that seals it.  He's not afraid to be a fool at that moment, and it works so damned well because he lets us see him vulnerable.  Stewart appears on the list 5 times, all of them in leading roles.  Why?  Because he's America's ideal leading man.  Strong when he needs to be, confused when he needs to be, but always...always honest and accessible.  He was an amazingly vulnerable actor, and this film is his masterpiece.  If I wanted to teach an acting course on how a male actor can carry a play/film, and I wasn't teaching so much as showing how to do things based on other performances, I'd grab this film, "Yankee Doodle Dandy," "It Happened One Night," "The Apartment," "Raging Bull," "City Lights," "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," and "The Godfather."  I don't think I'd miss a trick by doing that.  Then, when I was done with that, I'd grab any Meryl Streep film and show my class the best actor I've ever seen.


I want to mention something else.  Like "Forrest Gump," this film takes great care in establishing an arc between young George Bailey and his adult version.  Bobbie Anderson is barely in the film, but a couple of things stand out.  Of course we get the wishing on the lighter bit later, which is great, but what I caught this time was the "Help you down?!" that George hits young Violet with in the drug store.  It, and the attitude with which it is presented, is repeated throughout the film.  It's character arc, and it's just perfect.  Again, this is a film taking great care to be great.

Finally, let's talk about the sequence that really makes this film...the penultimate portion of the film, when George Bailey is given the gift of seeing what life would be like if he never existed.  I don't think we truly grasp how short a portion of the film this is, but without it, this film is not the masterpiece it is.  I do find it odd that George is actually affecting the weather pattern, and that his presence on the Earth is causing snow on Christmas Eve.  The sequence for me, this time, was a challenge to try and find errors.  I couldn't.  Pottersville, overrun with bars, is right on.  Don't buy it?  Go to Wedron, IL, a depressed area, and check out the downtown.  Know what they have lots of?  Bars.  Like that's the only business in town kinda lots of.  I suppose that's what happens when an area falters.  We see it in Pottersville.

Couple of other things.  I watched this with Julie, and we delighted in checking the composition of all the shots.  We also cringed at the casual racism, and sexual harrassment present in the Bailey household and their treatment of Annie.

And...

...Julie and I had a long argument once where I mostly lost my damned mind because I couldn't get her to see that no matter what we think of the fantasy of the moment, Toto still has a pending death sentence at the end of "The Wizard of Oz."

As we watched the conclusion of this film, when the sherriff tore up the warrant for George's arrest, Julie joked, "Oh yeah, like that doesn't exist any more..."  Things get a might odd, the longer you live.  That's all I have to say.

And yes, no matter how many times I see this, I always cry when Harry makes his toast.  Every single time.  This viewing was no exception.

Ebert's take on this is decidedly factual.  I skipped that.  I'm more concerned this time on what I feel...and what I notice.  Roger didn't do that as much.  His review is here.

Four left to go.  Next up...a battle with a big shark.  Or is it?  Thanks again so much for reading.  I'm almost home.

EDIT:  Dammit.  I forgot to mention something.  I hate the ending of the "lassoing of the moon" speech after Mary asks, "Then what?"  I hate that swallowing/moonbeam crap.  It was perfect at "I'll give you the moon, Mary."  "I'll take it."  End moment.  That's beautiful.  Swallowing the moon and magical moonbeams gets a little, nay, a LOT weird.  You had the moment, and you took it one step too far.  There.  Something I don't like in the film.