It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

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Director: Frank Capra

Writers: Frances Goodrich & Albert Hackett and Frank Capra

Stars: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell, Henry Travers, Beulah Bondi, Frank Faylen, Ward Bond, Gloria Grahame



George Bailey (James Stewart) gives up his dreams of world travel to run the family business, a little bank that just manages to survive by making home loans to the poor.

 


When catastrophe strikes and it seems that he will lose everything, he despairs, only to have divine providence step in to show him how valuable his life and struggle have been for so many people. 



This film has an innocence and exuberance that transcends any charges of schmaltz, sentimentality, or cheesiness that may understandably be leveled against it.

 


We follow the trajectory of George's life through his youth, his marriage to his high school sweetheart (Donna Reed), and his position as a community leader who is the only buffer between the people and the rapacious Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore), the richest man in town. 



James Stewart gives a truly great performance, believably portraying George Bailey both as a man who inspires the affection of his community and one whose disillusionment and fear drive him into a personal hell from which suicide seems the only escape.

 


The term "heart-warming" was probably coined just to describe the finale of this film.









































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