Film Review: It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Frank Capra is among the greatest American film makers of 20th Century. His works had great influence on American and world cinema. Ironically, the crowning achievement of Capra’s career, his best known work and one of the most beloved films of all times, 1946 fantasy drama It’s a Wonderful Life, was originally considered to be a failure.
The film is based on The Greatest Gift, 1943 short story by Phillip Van Doren Stern, loosely based on Charles Dickens’ classic story A Christmas Carol. The plot is set on 1945 Christmas Eve in small town of Bedford Falls. It is a time of joy, but not for the protagonist George Bailey (played by James Stewart). Years of frustrations combined with catastrophic set of events that brought him to edge of financial ruin, public disgrace and prison make George contemplate ending his life. Unbeknownst to him, number of his fellow citizens pray for him and those prayers are answered. Heaven sends Clarence Odbody (played by Henry Travers), a second class angel, to save George. Clarence is first familiarised with George’s life through flashbacks that show how George dreamed of travelling the world and building skyscrapers, but remained in small town bound by duty towards people around him – younger brother Harry (played by Tom Karns), father (played by Samuel S. Hinds) whose small bank he inherited after the stroke and, finally, bank’s clients whom he managed to save during the ordeals of Great Depression, protecting them from greedy predatory businessman Henry F. Potter (played by Lionel Barrymore) who controlled almost whole town. All those sacrifices left George with almost nothing except loving wife Mary (played by Donna Reed) and four children.
Fate of It’s a Wonderful Life represents one of those fascinating examples of ironic games history can play with films. When he produced and directed this film, Capra was at the zenith of his career, established with the series commercially successful 1930s populist comedies which earned him Oscars and confirmed in 1940s with classic propaganda series Why We Fight. This film, the most expensive in his career to that date, was rejected by public and barely made money at the box office. This and mostly mixed reviews by contemporary critics turned into failure. Capra had another minor hit with 1948 political drama State of the Union, but not enough to stave off collapse of his new film studio Liberty Films and his own relegation into Hollywood Has Beens. Its copyright in 1970s wasn’t extended, apparently because of clerical error, but it proved to be blessing in disguise. Plenty of television stations all over America found it as cheap way to fill Christmas programming and the film, unlike three decades earlier, found the way to connect to audience, becoming part of Christmas tradition. Its reputation grew with each passing year, even surviving controversies over 1980s colourisation.
The late success of It’s a Wonderful Life is quite deserving, at least from strictly technical point. It is superbly directed film that puts all creative resources of Classic Hollywood to excellent use. The script, written by a team led by Capra, Frances Goodrich and Alfred Hackett, creates memorable characters and ingenious ways to use them in exposition that mixes flashbacks and narration. Capra keeps perfect pace, making the audience know and like George Bailey and later become emotionally involved in his plight. More than two hours of running time pass quickly, helped by diverse but immensely talented cast, good music soundtrack by Dimitri Tiomkin and large set that stands for Bedford Falls, covered with what represented ingenious new methods of presenting artificial snow on camera. But it is film’s positive life-affirming message that justifies spending two hours in front of screen, regardless whether it is the original black-and-white version (which James Stewart and film purists like) or colourised version (which Capra originally supported, before denouncing it over intellectual property issues).
Popularity of It’s a Wonderful Life in 1970s after initial fiasco might be explained by providing viewers, old and new alike, with the world didn’t know or didn’t appreciate when they could three decades earlier. The film promotes traditional values of family and community and presents the ideal vision of America as a small town, where anyone in trouble could rely on the loved ones. This idealised vision of picket fences and perfect housewives, like the one Donna Reed would later play in Donna Reed Show, is something that generation later be rejected by Boomers, but in retrospect represented something that many viewers, regardless of their age or ideological affiliation, would instinctively strive for. Yet, this isn’t simple propaganda, despite scenes “rah rah” patriotism of Bailey and his fellow citizens during recently ended Second World War and sentimentality which made some critics use term “Capra-corn”. Although sometimes seen as comedy, mostly thanks to few delightful scenes showing George’s romance with Mary or brilliant performance of Henry Travers as heavenly comic relief, It’s a Wonderful Life is actually quite serious film. It admits America’s imperfection and social divisions with Capra, a son of immigrants, clearly standing on the side of Have Not against Haves, represented by evil capitalist archetype brilliantly played by Lionel Barrymore. This social dimension almost got Capra into trouble because FBI analysts in 1947 used it as proof of Communist influence in Hollywood, a very absurd charge considering that George Bailey represents one of the very few film protagonists who is actually a banker by profession.
Some of the critics characterised It’s a Wonderful Life as “film blanc” (“white film”), a term used to describe anti-thesis of film noir (“black film”), a trend usually associated with that period of Hollywood history. This is due to its fairytale sentimentality and optimism, so different from dark cynicism of film noir. But, it would be unfair to day that there isn’t any darkness in this film. There are dark moments in the script – people suffer and die, but the darkest moments come near the end. The famous Nightmare Alternate Reality, in which George visits Bedford Falls as it would exist without him born born, is one such example, although vision of city being completely bought by Potter and turned into “Pottersville” might not be as dark for someone today as it would have been for “proper” conservative viewers in 1940s. Endless bars and “dime a dance” establishments in which character like city’s “bad girl” Violet Bick (played by Gloria Grahame) might practice certain unsavoury profession might not look that dystopic to rebellious libertine Boomers nor it would matter much today’s generations who own nothing but are supposed to be happy.
The darkest scene actually comes shortly before it, when George suffers a nervous breakdown and vents this frustration at his family, only slowly realising damage he had done. This disturbing scene probably helped so many viewers connect with the film, but it was, in many ways, aftermath of Second World War, an event that has cast a long shadow not only on audience but anyone involved in the production. That included James Stewart who, unlike the George, wasn’t exempted from service and actually took part in combat as Army Air Force officer in bomber over Germany. His experiences took a very heavy toll on Stewart who, like so many servicemen returning to war, experienced symptoms of what would nowadays be called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. In a way, It’s a Wonderful Life was Stewart’s way of exercising his demons, but also for showing his ability to play slightly dark characters, something he would later be recognised by directors like Anthony Mann and Alfred Hitchcock. Despite its initial failure, Stewart, just like Capra, considered It’s a Wonderful Life his favourite film and it is quite difficult not to agree with his assessment. And, in, the end, It’s a Wonderful Life is a story with happy end. It helped not only George Bailey come to terms with life priorities or Stewart to deal with his wartime traumas. It also helped and would continue to help many viewers finding hope and something right when everything else seems wrong. When there aren’t guardian angels around, films like these will do.
RATING: 9/10 (++++)
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