It’s a Wonderful Life is one of the most beloved Christmas movies ever made, and you can stream it or watch it on TV this holiday season.
If ever there was a movie that could make generations cry with tears of happiness, it’s the Frank Capra holiday classic It’s a Wonderful Life. Films like A Christmas Story and A Charlie Brown Christmas are also popular Christmas movies, but It’s a Wonderful Life is on another level. This is one of the greatest movies ever made, and it’s a genuinely moving story about George Bailey, as played by Hollywood icon Jimmy Stewart.
It’s a Wonderful Life arrived in theaters in 1946, just a year after World War II ended. And for most of the movie, it paints a pretty bleak picture of George’s life. He had dreams and ambitions beyond his small town, but George sacrificed them all for the sake of his family’s Building and Loan business, and for the town of Bedford Falls. On Christmas Eve in 1945, George faces financial ruin and likely prison time through no fault of his own. That’s when an angel named Clarence (Henry Travers) intervenes and prevents George from committing suicide by showing him a world where he had never been born at all.
“Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings” may be the most famous line from the movie, but in my opinion, the most impactful statement is the written message that Clarence leaves for George at the conclusion: “Remember, no man is a failure who has friends.” That sentiment, and the story behind it, are the reasons why this film has endured for nearly eight decades.
