Have you ever heard the phrase "if it's too good to be true it probably is"? It turns out that the same idea may be applied to It's a Wonderful Life. And it was done in the name of publicity.
Several nationwide newspaper articles recalling interesting stories about the making of It’s a Wonderful Life were published prior to the film’s release to spark interest in the public. One of these stories was about the party held at the Bailey house to celebrate Harry’s homecoming and wedding.
In the scene, an intoxicated Uncle Billy walks away from the party singing “My Wild Irish Rose” (The lyrics for the song can be found at the end of this section). From off-screen, we hear what sounds like Uncle Billy walking full-force into a number of trash cans and knocking them over. Uncle Billy yells, “I’m alright, I’m alright!” News accounts from the set claim that as the scene was being filmed, a dozing electrician accidentally knocked over a stack of props, which sounded like trash cans being knocked over. The electrician expected to be fired, but Capra was so happy with the accidental result that he gave the electrician a ten dollar bonus for “improving sound and characterization.” This story appeared the following day in newspapers around the country, including the July 19, 1946 issue of the Toledo, Ohio Blade (Basinger 31).
There is debate about whether this story is true:
“Whether this really happened or simply was the product of a publicist’s imagination, it helped to keep people thinking about Frank Capra’s new film” (Basinger 31).
In her book, Basinger also allows that readers may find contradictory information in other texts about the film: “Other archives, other files, may contain contradictory material; like all the great Hollywood films, It’s a Wonderful Life is surrounded by press agentry and planted stories as well as by legendary tales that embellish the facts” (Basinger x).
One of these contradictory stories concerns what may be the most famous scene in the film. The phone scene, in which George and Mary realize their love for each other, carries with it a legendary story that has manifested into the truth. Several sources indicate that the scene was filmed in one take. In an interview, Jimmy Stewart said, “we did that scene. . .in one great, unrehearsed take’’ (Basinger 84). Even the "Making of It’s a Wonderful Life" segment on the 50th anniversary release of the film indicates that it was shot in one take. According to Tom Bosley, who narrates the segment, when the scene was shot, Capra was very excited about the result. However, the script girl said that Stewart and Donna Reed, who played Mary (Hatch) Bailey, had missed a whole page of dialogue. To this, Capra reportedly replied, “With technique like that, who needs dialogue! Print it!”
Here it is in the movie trailer. The portion in question begins around 1:20, if you don't want to watch the entire trailer:
It should be noted, however, that this scene was, in fact not filmed in one take. In the film, George says, “I want to do what I want to do,” placing emphasis on the second “I.” However, the film’s trailer depicts the same scene, in which George states “I want to do what I want to do,” placing emphasis on the repeated word “do.” The stress on words is different, the words muttered before the statement are muttered differently, and the camera angle is completely different.
While the first take may have been used in the film, there is no documentation of that. However, the scene could not have been shot in one take as many sources, including Stewart himself, have claimed.
Even Capra’s claims about very early work on both Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and It’s a Wonderful Life, have come under scrutiny.
Journalist and author Jonathan Coe questions Capra’s report of his own actions upon reading the script for It’s a Wonderful Life, (still under the title The Greatest Gift at the time) which Capra described as “the story I had been looking for all my life.” Coe, who comes down hard on Capra throughout his book, comments parenthetically of Capra’s recollection, “(again, if his own account of events is to be believed)” (Coe 79).
Sources:
Basinger, Jeanine (in Collaboration with the trustees of the Frank Capra Archives), Interviews by
Leonard Maltin. The It’s a Wonderful Life Book. New York: Alfred A Knopf, 1996.
Coe, Jonathan. Jimmy Stewart: A Wonderful Life. New York: Arcade Publishing, 1994.
In my movie reviews, I give my brief thoughts on what I watched. Sometimes I will expound on those thoughts, but more often than not, I will just give a brief opinion. You can read plot descriptions on Internet Movie Database or on Amazon.
Jefferson Smith is the head of the Boy Rangers, a thinly-veiled revision of Cub Scouts.
This is a classic "little guy" film.
Stewart's performance is tops. It's a very emotional experience to watch him fall apart during the culmination of the film.
And of course, Beulah Bondi plays his mother. Again. And they sing "Auld Lang Syne". Again. And the same actors appear. Again, including Thomas Mitchell. And H.B. Warner. And Bondi. And those are only actors from It's a Wonderful Life. That doesn't take into consideration actors from other Capra and Capra/Stewart films.
Watch the trailer here:
This film is amazing, and my second-favorite Stewart film. And my second-favorite Capra film, too.
Frank Capra and James Stewart worked together on three film projects: You Can’t Take it With You (1938); Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939); and It’s a Wonderful Life (1947).
In You Can’t Take it With You, which was Capra’s and Stewart’s first film in the “trilogy,” Capra began examining the idea of the happiness money brings — or fails to bring — to an individual, and by extension, to his family. The main struggle in the film is between the happy-go-lucky Vanderhof family and the Kirby clan. The Kirbys want to purchase and raze the Vanderhof home, along with other surrounding homes, in order to build build a munitions factory.
Early in the film, one of the main characters, Grandpa Vanderhof, portrayed by Lionel Barrymore, talks about “Ism-mania.” Here, we begin to see Capra’s feelings toward America, its government, and its people through Grandpa Vanderhof: “Communism, Fascism, voodooism. Everybody’s got an ‘ism’ these days. When things go a little bad nowadays, you go out and get yourself an ism and you’re in business.”
His daughter, Penny, wonders aloud if the character in the book she is writing should have an “ism.” Grandpa Vanderhof responds to her idea: “Give her Americanism. Let her know something about Americans: John Paul Jones, Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, Washington, Jefferson, Monroe, Lincoln, Grant, Lee, Edison, Mark Twain. When things got tough for those boys, they didn’t run around looking for ‘isms.’ Lincoln said, ‘with malice toward none and charity to all.’ Nowadays, they say ‘think the way I do or we’ll bomb the daylights out of you.’”
Listen to the exchange here:
Already in You Can’t Take it With You, we see not only Capra’s strong American sentiment, but also a strong aversion to aggression by the strong against the weak. Capra also establishes his overarching “umbrella” theme for all three films (You Can't Take it With You, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and It's a Wonderful Life) by quoting Lincoln. Boiled down, this theme is Biblical in nature: “love thy neighbor.”
Another repeating Capra/Stewart theme we see for the first time in You Can’t Take it With You is the value of friendship. The Vanderhof family has many friends throughout the community. They are disarming and charming, and we are able to see that through Mr. DiPinna (Halliwell Hobbes) and Mr. Poppins (Donald Meek), who are brought into the family first as visitors intrigued with the Vanderhof family’s philosophy for life. These characters never leave, but instead become part of the extended Vanderhof/Sycamore family.
This idea of following dreams is combined with the idea of capitalism within You Can’t Take it With You. Grandpa Vanderhof at one time had a good-paying job, but quit because he was not having fun doing it. Instead, he decided to spend his time collecting stamps and attending graduation ceremonies. He made his living as a stamp appraiser and taught his family to follow their dreams — to do what they enjoy doing — regardless of whether or not it is profitable. This echoes what George told Mary during the phone scene in It’s a Wonderful Life, when he said, “I want to do what I want to do.”
Money is not important to the Vanderhof/Sycamore family. Instead, they focus on family, community and the freedom of self-expression. Grandpa Vanderhof does not even care about birthdays and does not believe in paying taxes. Instead, he lives in the moment, filling his time with whatever activity happens to interest him at that exact moment.
We also are able to see the importance of friends on several occasions throughout the course of the film. During his trips to town, Grandpa Vanderhof is stopped on the street many times by a person or a group of people who want to talk to him. Often, they are looking for advice, or hoping he will provide a calming word when they are worried. Like many of the residents of Bedford Falls in It’s a Wonderful Life, Grandpa Vanderhof’s neighbors are renters who are subjected to the whims and decisions of their landlords. Grandpa Vanderhof and George Bailey serve the same role in their respective films: The residents in their town turn to them for guidance and help when their lifestyle is threatened. The irony is that Barrymore played both the calming Grandpa Vanderhof and the Scrooge-like Mr. Potter, who was harming the renters of Bedford Falls.
The importance of friends is further illustrate after the granddaughter, Alice Sycamore, leaves home, humiliated after a failed courtship with carefree mogul/heir-apparent Tony Kirby (James Stewart). The family decides to move closer to her, and enlists the aid of their friends, who help them pack their lives, memories and belongings.
In another scene, the Vanderhof family has to go to court, where they face several charges, including manufacturing fireworks. Their friends fill the courthouse in order to show their support. “I didn’t know anybody had that many friends anymore,” a judge says to a crowded courtroom. Later in this scene, those friends pool their money to pay the Vanderhof family’s fine. It is a variation of the final scene in It’s a Wonderful Life.
Friendship and self-expression are key themes in You Can’t Take it With You. They are two of the tools Grandpa Vanderhof uses to rally against the monopolistic capitalism of Anthony P. Kirby (Edward Arnold). While in jail facing the fireworks charge, the Vanderhof men and the rest of the inmates show that they can make the best of bad circumstances as they sing and dance in the jail cell. Mr. Kirby, on the other hand, sits alone and sulks.
At one point during their jail stay, Grandpa Vanderhof tries to convince the senior Kirby to enjoy life instead of concentrating on making money: “You can’t take it with you, Mr. Kirby. So what good is it? As near as I can see, the only thing you can take with you is the love of your friends.”
When the elder Kirby begins berating the criminals in the cell, Grandpa Vanderhof makes a surprisingly vehement speech that is out of character for him, considering his outlook toward life. The speech, in fact, is almost a re-write of what the ghost of Marley tells Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. However, speech still reflects Grandpa Vanderhof's moral values, illustrating that anger and morality can co-exist:
What makes you think you are such a superior human being?
Your money? If you do, you’re a dull-witted fool, Mr. Kirby,
and a poor one at that. Poorer than any of these people that
you call scum because I’ll guarantee at least they’ve got some
friends, but you with your jungle and your long claws as you
call them, you’ll wind up your miserable existence without
anything you can call a friend. You may be a high mogul to
yourself, Mr. Kirby, but to me you’re a failure. Failure as a
man. Failure as a human being. Even a failure as a father.
When your time comes, I doubt if a single tear will be shed
over you. The world will probably cry, ‘good riddance.’
That’s a nice prospect, Mr. Kirby. I hope you’ll enjoy it. I
hope you’ll get some comfort out of all this coin you’ve
been sweating over then!”
Mr. Kirby (left) and Grandpa Vanderhof (right, with crutches)
Source: http://goo.gl/toCf5o
This scene contains irony: Stewart’s character, Tony Kirby is in jail as well, listening to this speech, given by an actor to whom Stewart’s character will make a similar speech in It’s a Wonderful Life. Instead of a jungle cat, Stewart’s George Bailey will call Barrymore’s Potter character a “scurvy little spider.”
Yet another theme set in celluloid that we will find repeating in Capra’s and Stewart’s films is the importance of family. When Alice Sycamore (Jean Arthur) moves away from home in shame, her previously happy family becomes gloomy. This is best illustrated by the dejected Grandpa Vanderhof, who used to cheerfully return home from his trips to town. After Alice leaves, his returns home are quiet and low-key. Capra emphasizes the family’s gloom with rainy weather. Even some leftover fireworks no longer provide their formerly cheerful explosions. As we will see in It’s a Wonderful Life, the theme that every person’s life touches so many other lives began its Capra/Stewart connection here.
After Alice leaves, she begins writing letters home. In the one letter that is read on screen, she writes, “Mrs. Kirby was right. I should have stayed in my own back yard.” While used in a different context – that she should have stayed in her middle-class setting instead of falling in love with a man from a higher class – her statement is the exact opposite of George Bailey’s dream to see the world. Although she left her hometown because she was ashamed, she failed to realize that running from her problems will not solve them. Capra must have realized this error, and attempted to fix it in It’s a Wonderful Life. Instead of running from his problems, George Bailey faces them head-on. As a result he is “trapped” in Bedford Falls. However, the trap is of his own making, and he eventually comes to realize that no matter where you are in life, you will always have problems. He also realizes that it is easier to face those problems when you are surrounded by family, and that life is as good as you choose to make it.
Although Alice comes to the wrong conclusion, her dedication to her family still shows in the letters, she writes daily. Previously in You Can’t Take it With You, Capra had explored the idea of angels, when Grandpa Vanderhof tells Alice that he will not sell the family home because he thinks it will be like moving out on Grandma Vanderhof. Angels are revisited in It’s a Wonderful Life.
Because of her letter, Grandpa Vanderhof decides to sell the house and leave the memory of his wife. He has always lived for the moment, and is continuing to do so. What has changed is that part of him had continued to live in the past, for the sake of the memory of his wife. Grandpa Vanderhof comes to understand the message of the speech he gave Anthony Kirby while they were in jail. His memory of his wife is one of the things he can take with him.
He realizes that what is more important is to experience life with his family who is living. It is part of living in the moment. Alice continues to have an effect on him, shown by his unhappiness, and they all continue to have an effect on her, as she tells in her letter. Grandpa Vanderhof decides that if they are going to have that effect on each other, they might as well do it in person. Family is so important that he even accepts a low offer of $25,000 for his house, even though he had previously declined an offer of $100,000.
In the final scene of You Can’t Take it With You, we see the importance of both family and friends. In this scene, Tony Kirby is reunited with his father. Alice has returned home, upset that Grandpa Vanderhof has decided to sell the family home. In true “Capracorn” style, Tony Kirby and Alice make up, and Anthony Kirby accepts her into the Kirby family, as friends dance around them while singing “Polly Wolly Doodle.”
The scene is reminiscent of the gathering of George Bailey’s family and friends at the end of It’s a Wonderful Life, and “Polly Wolly Doodle” has the same effect as “Auld Lang Syne” has in the final scene of It’s a Wonderful Life, bringing all of the characters together as one large, extended family.
Throughout You Can’t Take it With You, a sign that reads “home sweet home” becomes a symbol. At the beginning of the film, the sign is constantly knocked off its hook by a variety of exploding fireworks. One family member or another dutifully hangs the sign back up every time it falls. When the family is packing to move, the sign gets knocked off its hook and Alice’s mother, Penny, begins to sob. The sign comes to symbolize the destruction and displacement of the family and the homestead. However, that family unit is reestablished and the sign is re-hung in its traditional location, never to move again…unless it is knocked down by more fireworks.
As we saw in You Can’t Take it With You, Grandpa Vanderhof's friends show up in court to support him and pay his family's bail. It is a scene we also see in It’s a Wonderful Life when the residents of Bedford Falls band together to raise money to save the Bailey Brothers Building and Loan, and to keep George out of prison.
I'm back. I'm sorry. It wasn't intentional. I have been ill. Perhaps one day, I will blog about my experience. For now, suffice it to say that migraine headaches suck and attempting to hunt down the cause and make them stop leads you to places you never knew you would go. I assure you that my passion for this film and dedication to this blog has not waned. I was just laid up in bed for a week. That's all. Now, two IV's, one spinal tap, a blood patch, and lots of Percocet, headaches and back pain later, I have returned.
In my book reviews, I give my brief thoughts on what I read. Sometimes I will expound on those thoughts, but more often than not, I will just give a brief opinion. I could go into detail about what the book is about, but a lot of people have already done that. You can read their descriptions of the book, plus the official description on Amazon.
Review of American Vision: The Films of Frank Capra by Ray Carney.
I have one confession to make: I didn't read this entire book. I only read about the films that impacted my research. Specifically, I read the portions about American Madness, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Meet John Doe, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, You Can't Take it With You, and It's a Wonderful Life.
The thing about this book is that the research and the insights are fantastic. There are considerations here that I have never thought of before. The problem is that there were several simple errors. For example, Carney:
Talks about Henry C. Potter (pg. 379). His name is actually Henry F. Potter.
Repeatedly refers to Violet Bicks (pg. 384 and many others). Her name is Violet Bick.
Repeatedly refers to one of the characters in American Madness as Dixon. (pg. 117). His name is spelled Dickson.
Misquotes George Bailey as saying "sounds of trains, anchor chains, and boat whistles" (pg. 422). George's actual quote is "anchor chains, plane motors, train whistles."
Incorrectly states that after the phone scene, there is a "following scene showing George and Mary leaving the church after their wedding." This is wrong. They may or may not have been married in a church. We have no proof of this. However, they leave the Bailey home, not a church, as they climb into Ernie's taxi. The proof is the picture of Annie the maid hanging below the steps as George and Mary run down them.
These missed facts do not take away from the scholarship and depth that this book goes into. The research and dedication to studying the facts of the films instead of the dreams and metaphors is admirable.
American Vision: The Films of Frank Capra is dense. It's thick and scholarly, and requires patience and a great degree of concentration. That being said, it is also required reading for fans of Capra and his films.
In my movie reviews, I give my brief thoughts on what I watched. Sometimes I will expound on those thoughts, but more often than not, I will just give a brief opinion. You can read plot descriptions on Internet Movie Database or on Amazon.
Watch one of the funniest scenes in Mr. Deeds Goes to town right here:
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), stars Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur. Arthur is a Capra staple, having appeared in several of his film. She was even considered for the role of Mary in It's a Wonderful Life.
In Mr. Deeds, Arthur plays a newspaper reporter. The newspaper was a theme, topic, and tool that occurred repeatedly in Capra’s films, including The Power of the Press (1928), Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), It Happened One Night (1934), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Meet John Doe (1941), and Arsenic and Old Lace (1944).
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town was Capra’s first “Mr.” movie. It was followed in 1939 by Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, starring Jimmy Stewart. Stewart later went on to star other non-Capra "Mr." films, including Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962) and Mr. Krueger’s Christmas (1988).
In Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, the main character, Longfellow Deeds, portrayed by Gary Cooper, lives in Mandrake Falls, invoking the word “Falls” in a town name, which will be repeated in Bedford Falls. The name Longfellow Deeds is similar to “Long” John Willoughby in Meet John Doe, which also starred Cooper in the title role. Deeds is a little eccentric, like the Sycamore family in You Can’t Take it With You. He plays the tuba for entertainment, and to help him think. While not rich, he also has a housekeeper, a character who also appears in You Can’t Take it With You and It’s a Wonderful Life.
As the recipient of a $20 million inheritance, Deeds in unfazed when he receives the news, replying, “I wonder why he left me all that money. I don’t need it.” Deeds is a simple man, though the employees of the law firm of Cedar, Cedar, Cedar and Buddington, along with the people who he meets in the big city, are not. Before he leaves for a new, fancy lifestyle, the residents of Mandrake Falls hold a parade for Deeds. During that parade, the band plays “Auld Lang Syne,” which Capra will reprise for use in the final scene of It’s a Wonderful Life. Despite the fact that the parade is intended to honor him, Deeds grabs his tuba and joins in the performance, showing that he is a common man, no different than the other residents of Mandrake Falls. When the train pulls away, taking Deeds to his new life, he looks out at the throng of people celebrating his good fortune and comments, “Gosh, I’ve got a lot of friends.”
Longfellow Deeds’ foil is Louise “Babe” Bennett (Jean Arthur), a reporter for a newspaper focused more on the bottom line than the truth of the stories it prints. In order to get the story on Deeds, Bennett takes on the persona on Mary Dawson (Capra has many characters named Mary), who befriends Deeds.
Bennett/Dawson takes Deeds on a tour of New York City. Just as Mr. Smith traveled around Washington, D.C. and reflected on the meaning of the sights he saw, Mr. Deeds does the same in New York City after visiting General Grant’s tomb. Deeds reflects on the Civil War, and how it was “the beginning of a new nation like Abraham Lincoln said. And I can see that Ohio boy (Grant) being inaugurated as president. Things like that can only happen in a country like America.”
As Deeds and Bennett get to know each other, they begin to fall in love, even though Bennett continues to use her false identity and writes sensational news stories about Deeds. Eventually, he tries to propose to “Mary,” in a scene that is different from, but carries the same sentiment as the phone scene in It’s a Wonderful Life. Deeds runs away and trips over garbage cans in a scene that will be re-used in It’s a Wonderful Life when Uncle Billy takes a similar trip off-camera.
Another borrowed element that will show up during the bank run in It’s a Wonderful Life occurs when Deeds meets with an opera group. During the meeting, a fire truck passes the building where they are meeting, and Deeds runs to a window to watch it pass. The customers of the Bailey Brothers Building and Loan will do this in It’s a Wonderful Life in a scene filmed eleven years later. Something similar also happened in another Capra film, American Madness.
There are many quotes, phrases and themes that are carried over between Mr. Deeds Goes to Town and Capra’s other films. In Mr. Deeds, the title character asks, “What puzzles me is why people seem to get so much pleasure out of…hurting each other. Why don’t they try liking each other once in awhile?” He later says, “People here are funny. They work so hard at living, they forgot how to live.”
At one point in the film, Mr. Deeds is berated by a poor farmer for feeding donuts to a horse and holding a party while other people are starving. The farmer reminds Mr. Deeds that he can’t take it with him, which is a theme that showed up as a Capra movie title in 1938, and also on a plaque in George Bailey's office in It's a Wonderful Life.
Deeds is taken to court by his attorneys in an attempt to prove his incompetence and take over control of his money. However, the people in the courtroom stand up for Mr. Deeds, which is another element we later see in You Can’t Take it With You, It’s a Wonderful Life, and Meet John Doe, in which groups of people come together to support a downtrodden main character who is at his breaking point.
Capra's creativity seems not to come from his ability to create something new. His creativity is his ability to take multiple themes, phrases, concepts, feelings, and make an entire list of films that look at those ideas from different angles.
In my movie reviews, I give my brief thoughts on what I watched. Sometimes I will expound on those thoughts, but more often than not, I will just give a brief opinion. You can read plot descriptions on Internet Movie Database or on Amazon.
Meet John Doe, starring Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, and Walter Brennan. 1941.
During the course of It's a Wonderful Life, a desperate George Bailey is saved by one crisis by an angel, and later saved from a second crisis by family and friends.
Director Frank Capra originally examined the idea of a desperate man saved by his friends and family in his 1941, in his film Meet John Doe.
The film is about Ann Mitchell (Barbara Stanwyck), who, in protest over being fired from the newspaper where she works, writes a letter from “John Doe,” who threatens to commit suicide on Christmas Eve due to perceived social ills. Mitchell gets her job back and hires “Long” John Willoughby (Gary Cooper) to portray the fictional John Doe, so the newspaper can profit from the support Mitchell’s fake letter received when it was printed.
The newspaper is a theme, topic and tool that occurs repeatedly in Capra’s films, including The Power of the Press (1928), Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), It Happened One Night (1934), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Meet John Doe (1941), and Arsenic and Old Lace (1944).
While a newspaper played a role in telling the story of George's brother Harry, It’s a Wonderful Life draws a great deal of direction and other inspiration from Meet John Doe.
As the film progresses, people across the country create chapters of the John Doe Club, which supports the ideals purportedly created by “Long” John Willoughby. While he does believe in those ideals, there is a problem: He did not create the initial push for the support of them. Instead, being down on his luck, Willoughby was paid to become the character of John Doe and to claim the thoughts and ideals as his own. Payment for that acting job came in the form of money and a posh place to stay.
His friend, The Colonel (Walter Brennan), warned Willoughby that he was becoming a “Helot” – someone who is more concerned with money and comfort than the truth – but Willoughby ignores the warnings. Eventually, he realizes that The Colonel was correct, and becomes despondent over the lie he is living, and that people are falling for it and coming in droves (in mobs?) to see him, as if he were a movie star. It is an interesting exercise to watch this happen and compare it to the modern American craze to idolize people who are not stars, but famous "personalities" and stalk them through "reality" TV shows.
Distraught over the lie, Willoughby decides that he really will commit suicide on Christmas Eve, and threatens to jump off of the high rise that houses the newspaper office. He writes his own letter addressed to “All John Does.”
While standing on the ledge, he pulls the letter out of his trench coat pocket. It is a combination of scenes that we will see a few years later in It’s a Wonderful Life. Capra will have George Bailey pull his life insurance policy out of his overcoat, and later in the film, George will stand on the bridge, on Christmas Eve, with snow falling around him, on the brink of suicide.
While Ann cannot convince Willoughby not to jump, Capra invokes the It’s a Wonderful Life image of the “whole town” coming to support him. It is similar to when seemingly all of the residents of Bedford Falls (except Potter) cram into the Bailey home and give George money to save the building and loan.
There are many other connections between Meet John Doe and It’s a Wonderful Life. The antagonist in Meet John Doe is D.B. Norton (Edward Arnold), whose name is somewhat similar in form to Henry F. Potter due to the constant presence of the initials. The same is true of Arnold’s other Capra film character, Anthony P. Kirby, in You Can’t Take it With You. Speaking of Potter, Willoughby is told that if he jumps, he will be stripped of identification and buried in a Potter’s Field. A reference to Potter’s Field, along with the character of Potter, also appear in It’s a Wonderful Life.
Near the end of Meet John Doe, one character apologizes for the actions of the club members, saying, “We just lost our heads and acted like a mob.” This mob mentality has been seen before in American Madness and will be seen again in It’s a Wonderful Life. In both of those cases, the mob action takes place during bank runs.
To cap off the comparison of these two films, both of them end with the image of bells ringing.
In my movie reviews, I give my brief thoughts on what I watched. Sometimes I will expound on those thoughts, but more often than not, I will just give a brief opinion. You can read plot descriptions on Internet Movie Database or on Amazon.
It Happened One Night. Starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. 1934.
An out-of-work journalist (Gable) and a runaway heiress (Colbert) agree to disagree. He learns her secret and promises not to tell in exchange for her exclusive story. It's your classic story of blackmail.
There is chivalry and hate and contempt and friendship and love and every extreme you can imagine. It is extremely risque, especially at the motor lodge, considering its age.
The Wall of Jericho stands tall until it falters. It's not my favorite Capra film, but it holds its own. Watching the cast belt out "The Man on the Flying Trapeze" like they are teenagers singing a modern Top 40 hit at the Homecoming dance is entertaining, as well. :)
In my book reviews, I give my brief thoughts on what I read. Sometimes I will expound on those thoughts, but more often than not, I will just give a brief opinion. I could go into detail about what the book is about, but a lot of people have already done that. You can read their descriptions of the book, plus the official description on Amazon.
This book affirmed what I suspected in my review of The Name Above the Title(see Monday's blog entry).
McBride seems to take pleasure in and take pains to identify every false bit of information that can be found in The Name Above the Title.
I read this book because it came highly recommended to me. When it arrived in the mail (I purchased it online), I read the back cover, and read some online reviews, and I wondered to myself, “why write a book about someone you hate?”
This book isn’t like that, despite my first impression. This is a careful examination of Capra the man and Capra the myth. It is a very, very long book, but Stephen King has written longer. If you are going to read The Name Above the Title, then you MUST read The Catastrophe of Success, and they really ought to be read in that order.
In my book reviews, I give my brief thoughts on what I read. Sometimes I will expound on those thoughts, but more often than not, I will just give a brief opinion. I could go into detail about what the book is about, but a lot of people have already done that. You can read their descriptions of the book, plus the official description on Amazon. Frank Capra: The Name Above the Title, by Frank Capra, 1971.
I have mixed feelings about this book, and I’m going to lay them open here.
The bad news is that Capra’s ego is so huge, it smacks you in the face on darn near every page. Half of what I read, I found myself shaking my head literally not believing what he was telling me.
Even Jeanine Basinger, a Capra scholar, who wrote an introduction to the edition I read (printed in 1997) tells readers that Capra combines conversations and punches up his actions and speeches, along with the reactions of others in order to make himself look better. Capra goes on to admit it himself.
Not only that, but Capra tells a heck of an entertaining story. It was written before the modern push for political correctness, so it reflects his honest opinions.
He calls a spade a spade (and an Italian a Dago). He does it in a disarming way that won’t get you all huffy if you’re a believer in all that is PC. That is, unless he uses that language to invoke pity for himself. After all, he does have a complex and a need to be noticed, and to be the center of attention, and to have his name precede the names of the actors in his films, the names of his films, and even the title of his book).
Just keep that in mind and read it with a healthy dose of skepticism.
In my movie reviews, I give my brief thoughts on what I watched. Sometimes I will expound on those thoughts, but more often than not, I will just give a brief opinion. You can read plot descriptions on Internet Movie Database or on Amazon.
Lost Horizon. Starring Ronald Coleman, Jane Wyatt, Thomas Mitchell and H.B. Warner. Directed by Frank Capra. (1937).
An airplane full of escaping Americans crash-land and are saved by people who live in what seems like a utopia. However, things are not as they appear.
It is supposed to be a very good movie, but I found it confusing. However, I admit I was distracted.
There are several comparisons to It's a Wonderful Life, including the following:
It's a Wonderful Life begins with pages showing film credits being turned. Lost Horizon starts with opening credits, followed by turning pages.
Both films star Thomas Mitchell and H.B. Warner.
Mitchell's character in Lost Horizon tells another "don't take any wooden nickels." In It's a Wonderful Life, his character tells another "don't take any punk nickels."
Both films have bells ringing in them.
I watched a restored version of the film. At the beginning, they explained that over the years, the film has been shortened and many parts have gone missing or have deteriorated. During the restoration process, the entire soundtrack was located, along with some of the lost footage. That footage was re-inserted into the restored film in order to make it as complete as possible. In order to fill the blank areas where there was no film to match the soundtrack, still photos were used to fill the gaps. The method was distracting but understandable and appreciated. It was done in an effort to restore the film to as close to Capra's original vision as possible.
In my movie reviews, I give my brief thoughts on what I watched. Sometimes I will expound on those thoughts, but more often than not, I will just give a brief opinion. You can read plot descriptions on Internet Movie Database or on Amazon.
American Madness. 1932. Starring Walter Huston and Pat O'Brien.
Watch it here:
It was released on DVD for the first time on Dec. 5, 2006. It is only 76 minutes long, but very, very good.
American Madness (1932) is a Depression
Era story about Matt Brown (Pat O’Brien), an ex-convict who is given a new
chance in life as the chief teller of the Union National Bank, which is managed
by Thomas Dickson (Walter Huston). The bank is robbed, and Brown becomes the main
suspect.
Brown has a solid alibi, but will not reveal it because of his
dedication to Mr. Dickson. Brown faces a problem: Should he be selfish and save
his own reputation, and possibly prevent serving time in prison, or should he
tell the truth and destroy Mr. Dickson’s life?
This
film is distinctly American in its message. It is about loyalty to people and
to a job, about second chances, power and the little man, and the struggle to
survive. In short, it is about the American Dream. The time period in which
this film is set was a time of insecurity, change and suspicion of business and
of others.
Looking
at this film, we see many items that Capra later reused later in It’s a Wonderful Life, including themes and dialogue that was
either taken word-for-word, or re-worked to find its way into It’s a Wonderful Life and other Capra
films, such as You Can’t Take it With You.
Just
as Potter wants to liquidate the Bailey Building and Loan in It’s Wonderful Life, the Board of
Directors of Union National Bank wants to merge with the New York Trust. Dixon
fights against this merger, as George Bailey fights against the liquidation of
the building and Loan. Their meeting about the merger and the bank’s practices
sounds very similar to the meeting of the Bailey Brothers Building and Loan
board in It’s a Wonderful Life.
Just
as Peter and George Bailey give loans to friends and people whom they trust,
Thomas Dickson gives loans based on hunches and first impressions. Both films
have mob scenes and crowds, which the main character must wade through in order
to unlock the front door of the banking establishment. Each film also has
sirens that draw the attention of the mob away from the main character. In both
films, the main character attempts to calm the mob with a speech, and they both
must keep their respective establishments open until 4 p.m. in order to remain
in business.
At the same time, both establishments experience a money shortage
and must find a way to survive, which appears in the form of donations from
within the organization. If the Union National Bank (an intentional name
focusing both on the union of the nation and the need for union of its
customers and employees) cannot stay open until 4 p.m., the bank examiner will
arrive. This theme will re-appear in It’s a Wonderful Life, in which the
bank examiner seems to always be around…typically at the most inopportune
times.
When
things seem to be at their worst, the employees of Union National Bank begin
calling Dickson's friends to ask them for help. This is later revisited when Mary and
Uncle Billy rally the residents of Bedford Falls to come to George’s aid in It’s a Wonderful Life. Meanwhile, in
both films, the main characters are contemplating suicide, albeit by very
different methods.
When
scenes and episodes are not being used, phrases and dialogue are being tested –
intentionally or unintentionally – on movie-goers. One woman uses the phrase
“holy mackerel,” which will be one of George Bailey’s catch phrases. Another
phrase that makes its way into both films is the reference to both of the main
characters having a “red letter day.” Both characters are facing similar
issues, and the connection can be nothing less than intentional.
When Dickson addresses the board of directors about the proposed merger with the New
York Trust, he tells them, “I’m not interested in profit. I’m interested in the
bank and the depositors. They’re my friends. They’re looking to me for
protection and I’m not walking out on them.”
Ironically,
this speech in support of his friends and customers is exactly opposite of a
similar statement Mr. Potter makes during a meeting with the board of directors
of the Bailey Brothers Building and Loan. During that meeting, George makes a
speech about the importance of the establishment, and Potter interrupts him,
saying, “I’m not interested in your book. I’m talking about the Building and
Loan.”
Another
line in American Madness appears to be an early version of a statement
Potter will go on to make. In the earlier film, one of the board members tells Dickson, “The depositors you were protecting were the first ones to pounce on
you. You thought they were your friends. Why don’t you go out there now and…get
some help from them.” At
the time this statement is made, the crowd is in an uproar and obtaining help
from them is highly unlikely.
Potter
will later say in It’s a Wonderful Life, “Why don’t you go to the
riff-raff you love so much and ask them to let you have eight thousand dollars?
You know why? Because they’d run you out of town on a rail.”
Another connection to It's a Wonderful Life that I stumbled across on May 11, 2015, is that both films starred Sarah Edwards. She portrayed Mrs. Hatch in It's a Wonderful Life, and a phone gossip in American Madness (uncredited). According to Internet Movie Database, Edwards is also known for her roles in The Shop Around the Corner (starring Jimmy Stewart), and The Bishop's Wife (starting Karolyn Grimes and Bobby Anderson).
In my movie reviews, I give my brief thoughts on what I watched. Sometimes I will expound on those thoughts, but more often than not, I will just give a brief opinion. You can read plot descriptions on Internet Movie Database or on Amazon.
A Hole in the Head. Starring Frank Sinatra. Directed by Frank Capra (1959).
Notice the repeated use of the word "Wonderful" in the trailer above.
This film features great use of music, which makes sense, because it is a vehicle for Sinatra.
But beyond the great music, I just couldn't do it. I tried. But I couldn't stay awake. I tried watching it three different times, and I fell asleep each time. Sometimes multiple times.
I'm pretty sure it has everything to do with the fact that:
1) I hate musicals. Synonyms include loathe and despise.
2) After It's a Wonderful Life, Capra's films lost their allure...at least for me they did. And that makes me sad.
The following is an excerpt from my book about It's a Wonderful Life, which is currently looking for a home with a publisher:
An Italian immigrant, Frank Capra discovered at a young age “what would later become one of the most important themes of his movies: ‘One nation. . .with liberty and justice for all’” (Stewart 82). Capra often made movies about the little man doing great things, representing ideals and qualities that made the little man great. Those qualities included, common sense, family values, a religious (though not overt) dedication, fidelity, family values, and Americanism.
Capra’s films have been referred to as “Capracorn” because of their perceived “corny,” unbelievable, or over-the top endings. The crowning example of this is the closing scene of It’s a Wonderful Life, because it can be misconstrued as being sappy and too-happy of an ending for such a dark film.
Initially, this characterization hurt Capra’s feelings because he felt strongly about his films and the messages they carried. However, he later took this critical jab and turned it into a positive by calling most of his films “Capracorn” himself. To him, Capracorn came to mean
… a brew of the comic, the sentimental, the rhetorical, the
idealistic, and the melodramatic in which the values of the
man on the street were raised above those of official authority
in which, even at the cost of gliding over specific plot points,
there was inevitably a happy ending. (Dewey 268).
Capra has 58 film directing credits to his name, which reads like an American Film Institute Top 100 list.
Capra was born May 18, 1897 in Italy. He died Sept. 3, 1991, at age 94, but not before the Mayor of Los Angeles and the city council declared May 12, 1962 to be Frank Capra Day (Capra 488).
He is buried in Coachella Valley Public Cemetery, Riverside County, CA. If he was still alive, he would be 118 years old.
Frank Capra loved to name his film's characters Marie, Maria and Mary. That's an entirely separate blog entry that I need to remember to do one of these days.
It's a Wonderful Life contains both a Mary and a Marie. There is Mary Bailey, of course. There is also Marie Martini, Mr. Martini's wife. She is the one who takes the bread and salt from Mary during the Martini home dedication.
Marie was portrayed by Argentina Brunetti, who has 165 acting credits to her name. She was also known for her roles as Filomena Soltini on the television series General Hospital in the 1960s; and Sarah Benedict in 7 Faces of Doctor Lao in 1964. She was also in an episode of The Lone Ranger in 1955.
Brunetti's first acting job was an uncredited role in the film Gilda, in 1946. Her final role was as Neighbor Woman in the film The 4th Nenor in 2002, just three years prior to her death. She was also in The Man From U.N.C.L.E., a television series that was turned into a movie and is in theaters now.
It's a Wonderful Life was only her third acting role, completed at the age of 38.
Today, we celebrate Brunetti's birthday. She was born Aug. 31, 1907, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She traveled America with the Bailey children to celebrate the 50th anniversary of It's a Wonderful Life.
She died Dec. 20, 2005, in Rome, Italy, at age 98. She was the last living adult actress from It's a Wonderful Life. If she were alive today, she would be 108. She was laid to rest in a mausoleum at Holy Cross Cemetery and Mausoleum in Culver City, CA.
In my movie reviews, I give my brief thoughts on what I watched. Sometimes I will expound on those thoughts, but more often than not, I will just give a brief opinion. You can read plot descriptions on Internet Movie Database or on Amazon.
Pocketful of Miracles, starring Glenn Ford and Bette Davis (1961).
This is a sandwich movie. By that, I mean in was a remake that was also remade.
In 1933, Frank Capra made the film Lady for a Day. In 1961, he remade the film as Pocketful of Miracles. It was later remade in 1989 as Miracles - Mr. Canton and Lady Rose, directed by Jackie Chan.
The good news is that in my opinion, Pocketful is better than Lady. The bad news is that this is one of two of Capra's own films that he remade himself. The other is Broadway Bill (1934) remade as Riding High (1950).
In true form, Capra taps into his list of regular actors, including Wonderful Life stars Sheldon Leonard, Thomas Mitchell, and Ellen Corby.
Pocketful is seedier than Lady, getting deeper into the gangland activity. Lady seemed to focus more on the seedy side of street life and homelessness.
In my movie reviews, I give my brief thoughts on what I watched. Sometimes I will expound on those thoughts, but more often than not, I will just give a brief opinion. You can read plot descriptions on Internet Movie Database or on Amazon.
Lady for a Day, starring Warren William, May Robson, Guy Kibbee. Directed by Frank Capra (1933)
To what lengths will you go for family? How big of a lie will you tell? Who will help you? All of these questions are answered and more, in a fashion, in this Frank Capra classic.
It was nominated for Oscars in the categories of Best Picture, Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Director, and Best Writing, Adaptation. It didn't win any, but it set the stage for Capra's next film, It Happened One Night (1934), which won five Oscars.
Once again, Capra digs into his stable of regulars, enlisting:
Guy Kibbee, who also appeared in Capra's Power of the Press and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and appeared with Stewart, Bondi and Ward in Of Human Hearts.
Joseph Walker, cinematographer who worked on It's a Wonderful Life and many other Capra films.
Robert Risken - Screenwriter who also worked on It's a Wonderful Life and many other Capra films.
Capra later remade this film as Pocketful of Miracles.
An Italian immigrant, Frank Capra discovered at a young age “what would later become one of the most important themes of his movies: ‘One nation. . .with liberty and justice for all’” (Stewart 82). Capra often made movies about the little man doing great things, representing ideals and qualities that made the little man great. Those qualities included, common sense, family values, a religious (though not overt) dedication, fidelity, family values, and Americanism.
Capra’s films have been referred to as “Capracorn” because of their perceived “corny,” unbelievable, or over-the top endings. The crowning example of this is the closing scene of It’s a Wonderful Life, because it can be misconstrued as being sappy and too-happy of an ending for such a dark film.
Initially, this hurt Capra’s feelings because he felt strongly about his films and the messages they carried. However, he later took this critical jab and turned it into a positive by calling most of his films “Capracorn” himself. To him, Capracorn came to mean "a brew of the comic, the sentimental, the rhetorical, the idealistic, and the melodramatic in which the values of the man on the street were raised above those of official authority in which, even at the cost of gliding over specific plot points, there was inevitably a happy ending. (Dewey 268).
Capra died Sept. 9, 1991, but not before the Mayor of Los Angeles and the city council declared May 12, 1962 to be Frank Capra Day (Capra 488).
If Capra were alive today, he would be 118 years old
Sources:
Dewey, Donald. James Stewart: A Biography. Atlanta: Turner Publishing, Inc., 1996.
Capra, Frank. Frank Capra: the Name Above the Title, an Autobiography.
Welcome to the It's A Wonderful Blog's Blogging From A to Z April (2015) Challenge. For this challenge, I will post every day in April (except for Sundays) about topics related to the Frank Capra/Jimmy Stewart film, It's a Wonderful Life. You Can't Take it With You:
You Can’t Take it With You was the first of three films made by the film team of Frank Capra and Jimmy Stewart.
While Capra borrowed several techniques, ideas and themes from many of his films, a great deal of them began in this film. There are so many connections that it will require one very long blog entry, or several shorter entries. I will work on those at some point.
One major connection to that You Can't Take it With You has with It’s a Wonderful Life is the list of talent.
Jimmy Stewart played George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life. He played Tony Kirby in You Can’t Take it With You.
Samuel S. Hinds played Pa Bailey in t’s a Wonderful Life. He played Paul Sycamore in You Can’t Take it With You.
H.B. Warner played Mr. Gower in t’s a Wonderful Life. He played Ramsey in You Can’t Take it With You.
Lionel Barrymore played the much-hated Henry F. Potter in t’s a Wonderful Life. He played the much-loved Martin Vanderhof in You Can’t Take it With You.
For now, I want to focus on Peter Bailey.
During the bank run, George takes a phone call from Potter. After that discussion, George turns to a framed picture of his father on the office wall. Three characters from You Can’t Take it With You are reunited in this scene.
As George turned to his father for advice as a child, he continues to do so as an adult, looking for the guidance and strength that Peter represented in life. It is the same picture that will hang on the wall at George and Mary’s future home. Both at home and at work, this picture can always be seen over George’s shoulder whenever he meets opposition or is faced with trouble.
At work, though, there is a quotation beneath the picture that says, “All you can take with you is that which you’ve given away.” In this way, Capra brings the message of You Can’t Take it With You into t’s a Wonderful Life, and makes a reference to his previous film at the same time. This quotation was not hanging under the photo when George took over the business, but it is there during the bank run.
This quotation is more than just Peter’s epitaph. Raymond Carney, author of American Vision: The Films of Frank Capra, points out that “George’s father represents a sense of responsibility and obligation to the larger community and a belief in the value of self-sacrifice for the common good that almost all of the earlier (Capra) films advocated” (386). George has gained his father’s values, and the audience is led to believe by the end of the film that these values will in turn be passed down to George and Mary’s children.
The quotation also helps to enforce the film’s message of civic-mindedness. It contradicts the ideology of the period that capitalism is about personal gain despite negative consequences for others, as Potter represents. By showing the Baileys as civic-minded capitalists, Capra has challenged America’s post-World War II ideology in t’s a Wonderful Life. He works to affirm an ideology of civic-minded capitalism throughout the film through the photograph of Peter, through George’s struggles, and in the contrast between the Baileys and Potter.
As author Greg Asimakoupoulos puts it, “When you make deposits in the lives of others, you aren’t always aware of the compounding interest that is taking place. But the bottom line reveals a wealth that exceeds your expectations.”
Sources:
Asimakoupoulos, Greg. “Finding God in It's A Wonderful Life.” iBooks. https://itun.es/us/d0e1H.l
Carney, Raymond. American Vision: The Films of Frank Capra. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986.
