"IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE"
- 1946 - CHRISTMAS FABLE...PG Rating...B&W/129 Minutes
- DIRECTOR: Frank Capra
- CAST: Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell, Henry Travers, Beulah Bondi, Frank Faylen, Ward Bond, Gloria Grahame, H.B. Warner, Frank Albertson, Todd Karns, Samuel S. Hinds, Mary Treen, Sheldon Leonard, Ellen Corby
- It is hard to believe that this Christmas classic was a box-office disaster! This is argueably the finest of the sub-genre. The only serious challenger I can think of, might be the original "MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET". Jimmy Stewart, once again plays the everyman, assailed from every angle, unable to accept his lot in life, and finally pushed into the deepest corner of despair. Fortunately in Capra's world, there is an all-knowing, all-loving and all-caring deity, who sends an angel to show "George Bailey", what influence his life has had upon his friends, family, and neighbors.
- Though filled with sentimentality, this picture renews one's faith in the human character. Despite the religious inferences, this movie is more rightly about Man and his acceptance of his place in society. Many of us are unhappy with our hum-drum lives and fail to see the impact, we have upon others. Part of becoming an adult is the realization that "Fantasy", is just that. The wondrous aspirations, we all have as children, are usually shattered by the time we are of college age. I have often felt that this is why many young people turn to drugs and alcohol, as a panacea for this unsatisfying discovery.
- It is a strange dichotomy, that we, as parents, fill our children with dreams of wonder, tell them they can be anything they want to;...and then, upon reaching their maturity; we pull the rug out from under their feet. Perhaps we would fare better, if we were truthful with our children. Perhaps then, when they achieve adulthood, the spirit of Christmas would mean something more, than a time to recieve more toys.
SEE ALSO: HARVEY
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For more about James Maitland Stewart, see: THE JIMMY STEWART MUSEUM HOMEPAGE
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Last Updated; 08/08/2005
