It's A Wonderful Life

[1946, Movie]

It's A Wonderful Life: Review

Larry Simms, Jimmy Hawkins, James Stewart, Donna Reed and Karolyn Grimes

1 photos

Look closer: Frank Capra's heartwarming holiday perennial is really a pretty dark tale of stifling small-town life, deferred dreams and attempted suicide. James Stewart gives a remarkable performance as a man whose big plans for his own life are constantly thwarted by family responsibilities. Not a big success at the time of its release, it's gone on to become one of the most popular movies ever made. Read the complete review for It's A Wonderful Life

It's A Wonderful Life: Cast & Details

Year: 1946
Rated NR

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Cast
James Stewart: George Bailey
Donna Reed: Mary Hatch
Lionel Barrymore: Mr. Potter
Thomas Mitchell: Uncle Billy
Henry Travers: Clarence
Beulah Bondi: Mrs. Bailey

more It's A Wonderful Life cast & details

It's A Wonderful Life: TV Guide News

DVD Tuesday: It's a Wonderful Life — Why It's Really Wonderful | Ask FlickChick | 12/10/2007
DVD Tuesday: It's a Wonderful Life — wonderful, not sappy! Don't groan! I'm recommending holiday perennial It's a Wonderful Life because I think a lot of people refuse to see it because it's picked up a reputation for sentimental uncoolness that it in no way deserves. Far from being the epitome of Capra-corn, It's a Wonderful Life has an edge that never fails to surprise the unsuspecting. In case you don't know the story: Born and raised in small-town Bedford Falls, George Bailey (James Stewart) always dreamed of traveling the world, but his dream kept taking second place to family responsibilities, especially to the savings-and-loan association his father established — without Bailey Savings and Loan, heartless banker Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore) would be the only game in town. George married his high-school sweetheart, Mary (Donna Reed); they have more children than they can comfortably afford and a handsome old house that needs repairs beyond their finances. Out of... read more
All About It's a Wonderful Life | Ask FlickChick | 12/29/2006
Send your movie questions to FlickChick.Questions: What's the name of the movie theater in It's a Wonderful Life? — WilliamWhat's the name of the house where George Bailey throws a rock? — SueWhat book is Clarence reading when he falls into the river? — Ed Is Bedford Falls a real place? — BarryFlickChick: I'm a huge fan of It's a Wonderful Life (1946), which is not the sentimental piece of Capra-corn so many people imagine it to be. So before the holiday season is definitively over, I'm taking this opportunity to answer some queries about the classic holiday film that have trickled into my Ask FlickChick mailbox. The movie theater is called The Bijou (and though you didn't ask, it's playing 1945's The Bells of St. Mary's). The deserted house, which George Bailey (James Stewart) and his wife, Mary (Donna Reed), eventually move into, is the Old Granville place. Clarence (Henry Travers) the apprentice angel is reading Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.And... read more
TV Guide Interviews & Features | 12/24/2006
"Six Months Ago," unlike his time-teleporting alter ego Hiro Nakamura on Heroes, the more down-to-earth Masi Oka couldn' read more
Ask FlickChick: Holiday Movies and More... | Ask FlickChick | 11/15/2006
Send your movie questions to FlickChick.Question: I know how much you love holiday movies – joke, joke – so I'm wondering which one you object to least? And don't say Bad Santa – that's not a Christmas movie! CopperFlickChick: You may laugh, but I actually like It's a Wonderful Life (1946), the original Miracle on 34th Street (1947) and Christmas in Connecticut (1945). And I like them all for the same reason: They're not cute and saccharine – if you've never seen any or all of them, you'd probably be surprised by their sharpness. It's a Wonderful Life, especially, goes to some very dark places. And Christmas in Connecticut is a blast: Barbara Stanwyck plays a magazine columnist who made her reputation writing about how to maintain a perfect household – she's basically the Martha Stewart of her day, and she's always writing about the wonderful meals she makes for her husband and their small child on the family's Connecticut farm. But she's making it all up:... read more
TV Guide Interviews & Features | 6/5/2006
What is the deal with the Banker on NBC's read more