This truly is a wonderful movie. And timeless. A true Christmas classic.
Here, the viewer enjoys watching George Bailey (James Stewart, robbed of an Oscar) growing up in the small town Bedford Falls. Though he aimed high from a young age, he was unable to make any of his dreams come true. Thanks to his father's sudden death, he was unable to attend college because he had to take over his father's business so it doesn't fall into the hands of the nasty wealthy business owner Potter (Lionel Barrymore). Upon his brother Harry's (Todd Karns) return, he still can't leave because his brother has been offered an excellent opportunity that he shouldn't pass up. George remains in Bedford Falls and marries the attractive and intelligent, but only cares about the simple things Mary Hatch (Donna Reed). Instead of going on their honeymoon, the Great Depression arrives and George needs the money to keep his building and loan office open. They settle down into the old house that they had thrown rocks in when they were younger, still with hopes and dreams and have four children. World War II comes and goes. Harry does great, saving many lives.
But then tragedy hits. The kind, but simple-minded Uncle Billy (Thomas Mitchell) is set to deposit some money in the bank, but then Potter arrives and Uncle Billy decides to show him the article where Harry wins the Medal of Honor. Upon giving the newspaper back to Potter, the money is also lost. All 8,000 dollars. Because of this, George is ruined and will face jail time. This depresses him. He even gravels to Potter asking him for a loan, but Potter, who knows the truth, refuses to help him. George begins to contemplate suicide. Luckily, his guardian angel, Clarence (Henry Travers), desperate to get his wings, arrives. Clarence shows George his life as though he had never been born. The life is a miserable one. His former boss, Mr. Gower spent many years in jail over accidentally put poison in some pills, which in reality George had saved him from giving the sick boy the pills. His younger brother drowned when they were children, meaning he never saved the lives of many during the war. His wife is the town librarian and a spinster. Their children were never born. Potter has also taken over the town. People will never have a way out from under him. Life is truly awful. Only one person affected the lives of so many.
George prays that he never wished his life away and everything is restored. His wife managed to gather the town who present him with the extra money that they have because he was always there to help them earlier. In a book that Clarence presents to him, he writes to George that a man is never poor with friends. And George has many friends.
Here a man is shown the value of his life in a way that most people should never have to see, but it was the only way for George to realize how precious his life was. After all, Potter even told him that he was worth more dead than alive.
Now, there are a few problems with the film, namely when Clarence and George arrive at Harry's grave in the alternate world. Clarence states that Harry was nine, but the grave has the years 1911-1919, meaning he could have only been eight. This is only a minor problem, but a noticeable one. I do wish at the end, with George surrounded by his family and friends that they could have shown Potter, alone in his room, to further drive home the point of the film. The films also ends happily, and bells ring, meaning Clarence has finally gotten his wings.
This film deserves to be watched again and again. It's a crying shame that this film was not a success upon it's initial release. It lost money and entered into public domain, which is how it became the success that it is. James Stewart should have won an Oscar for this film, as he was better than the winner, Frederic March, and Donna Reed should have been nominated for her vital performance. Grade: A
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