The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
IT’ S A WONDERFUL FILM
Seventy-five years ago, Frank Capra’s classic Christmas feel-good film “It’s a Wonderful Life” starring James Stewart, Donna Reed, Henry Travers and Lionel Barrymore premiered in New York City. It’s now regarded as a classic, and one of the greatest films ever made. At the time, however, not quite so much.
“It’s a Wonderful Life” is the story of a small-town family man — George Bailey, played by Stewart — who works hard to help his community and selflessly makes sacrifice after sacrifice for his loved ones and friends. When his forgetful uncle, who helps him run the town’s savings and loan, misplaces that day’s deposits — $8,000, which was a lot of money back in 1946 — George despairs, contemplates suicide and wishes he had never been born.
At this point, the story takes a supernatural turn. Clarence — an angel hoping to earn his wings and played by Travers — takes George on a tour of an alternate future in which he had never lived. Horrified at what he sees, George decides to face his fate but then finds his predicament solved in the most heartwarming, reaffirming way possible.
The film was based on a short story self-published in 1939 by Philip Van Doren Stern. RKO pictures bought the rights to the story intending to turn it into a Cary Grant movie. Once famed director Frank Capra got involved, the story was rewritten extensively and Stewart was brought in to play the lead.
While “It’s a Wonderful Life” is closely associated with Christmas, it was filmed not in northern New York but in sunny Encino, California. And in the middle of a heat wave. If you look closely, you can see Stewart sweating profusely in several scenes. Capra even shut down filming one day because of high temperatures. And speaking of snow: Capra and his special effects supervisor didn’t like the way movies simulated snow at the time, which was to use cornflakes painted white. The problem: The crunchy concoction interfered with recording of dialogue. This bugged Capra, who preferred to record all his dialogue live, without the after-the-fact “looping” that most moviemakers used (and still use now.) Capra relied on his engineering background to come up with a new way of generating movie magic snow, using foamite — the white stuff you find in fire extinguishers — mixed with sugar and water. The result was so impressive that Capra and his effects guy won an Academy Award for their creation.
As you can see in the chart at left, the film was a major box-office disappointment, reportedly losing more than a half-million dollars for RKO Studios. The following May, the FBI criticized the film for its disfavorable depiction of bankers — specifically, Mr. Potter, played by Barrymore — as “a common trick used by Communists.” The film would be nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Actor, Best Director and Best Picture. It would win only the Technical Achievement Award.
In 1974, a clerical goof on the part of National Telefilm Associates — which owned the film at the time — resulted in “It’s a Wonderful Life” lapsing into the public domain. For two decades, the film could be found on multiple local TV stations multiple times each holiday season and in discount bins on VHS. In 1993, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on copyright ownership of another film — “Rear Window,” which also starred Stewart — and that ruling was applied to “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
Today, NBC owns the copyright to “It’s a Wonderful Life.”