It Happened One Christmas Revisited

For years I have bashed the film It Happened One Christmas. And by bashed, I mean BASHED.  And for the most part, I stand by my position.

* It's a Wonderful Life should never be remade. Ever.

* If a director or a writer wants to make a film and make the female the hero of the film, I'm absolutely fine with that. Captain Marvel, Wonder Woman, and Hidden Figures are just three examples of films that focus on the female hero. Why remake an old film when you can create a whole new story in which the female is the hero? It's ridiculous to recast something old to make something new.

THAT BEING SAID......

I have bashed this movie in the past after only one viewing (https://risefallriseagain.blogspot.com/search?q=It+Happened+One+Christmas). After a second and third viewing, I have to admit I don't hate it as much as I have in the past.

I watched it again in January, 2020, and I have to admit that I find *some* value in it. While it replicates the dialogue of the original film, and simply tries to make women equal to men through role reversal, I still find some value.

Let me clarify right here and now that my issue is not gender equality. My wife is a badass. I'm 46. My wife is 43. We had a baby a week before Christmas. My wife and my daughter can do whatever they want. We just elected our first female woman of color as Vice President. I learned a long time ago to trust a mother's instinct and not question it, which was why we were in the hospital on New Year's Day 2020 through Jan 3, 2020 for the baby, even though I thought the doctor would just tell us that it was a virus and needed to work itself out. It wasn't. The wife was right.

The town of Seneca Falls, NY is the inspiration for Bedford Falls. It is also home to the National Women's Hall of Fame. I have visited this town, and I must say that for me it is inspirational on several fronts. I'm a very liberal Democrat. I don't hide it. I'm proud of it. Empowered women make me happy. That's why I married one....a very vocal one.

It Happened One Christmas is a decent remake. It isn't great, but it isn't as crappy as the movie Clarence (1990) https://risefallriseagain.blogspot.com/2015/09/movie-review-clarence.html

Here are my issues with IHOC:

• Remakes suck. Period. If you want to make a film about a female hero, WRITE ONE. That is perfectly legitimate and adds to the creativity of film.
• Mary Bailey WAS the hero of It's a Wonderful Life. Why are we making her the victim in the remake?? Mary Bailey was a strong Psalms 31 wife who kept the family together in its toughest moments. Why are we changing this narrative and taking the power away from her???

Mary Bailey is an amazing, powerful woman as portrayed by Donna Reed. Why are we challenging this? From one perspective, I can understand it: Seneca Falls is the site of the first women's rights convention and the birthplace of the women's suffrage movement. So from that point of view, I give It Happened One Christmas credit. It has the balls to stand up where other movies don't dare to speak their names. And for that, I give it HUGE kudos for making Mary Baily the focus of the film instead of a secondary character.

It Happened One Christmas is available for streaming on Amazon Prime.

Movie Review - It Happened One Christmas

In 2014, there was discussion about the potential for a sequel to It's a Wonderful Life. But way before that ever happened, there was the remake. Today, remakes are a dime a dozen. Disney is making a fortune right now remaking their animated classics into live action films.

Source: http://bit.ly/1FnkUhB

In 1977, It's a Wonderful Life was remade as the made-for-TV movie It Happened One Christmas, starring Marlo Thomas, Orson Welles, Wayne Rogers, and Cloris Leachman.

It is basically the same film with most of the dialogue intact.

The largest difference is that It Happened One Christmas focuses on Mary Bailey instead of George. In fact, George's last name is Hatch, and Mary is a Bailey by birth.

Some minor changes include:

• Angels are summoned with the "Hallelujah Chorus" instead of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."
• Uncle Billy is renamed Uncle Willie.
• Zuzu is renamed Susie.
• The film occurs in 1944 instead of 1947.
• George goes to war. Mary is a military wife.

Otherwise, this is practically the same film. So when I first watched it in the late 1990s, I blew it off. I viewed it as a weak attempt to ride the coattails of a popular film in a weak remake for the sole purpose of promoting a women's rights agenda. To a degree, I wasn't wrong. It does do that. But my degree of resentment has decreased greatly. Part of that is due to age and maturity. But there is another really good reason for it.

According to the Texas State Historical Association, "The National Women's Conference of November 18-21, 1977, held in Houston, was the first meeting of its type in the United States since the Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848. It provided an opportunity to evaluate and make recommendations on the role of women in this country through a discussion of specific issues and ideas. (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/pwngq).

So what, you ask? The connection here is of great importance. It Happened One Christmas was released in 1977. That was the same year that the National Women's Conference was held in Houston, TX. The last time the National Women's Conference was held prior to that was in 1848, in Seneca Falls, NY. That was 129 years prior.

Not only that, but it was held in Seneca Falls, NY, which was the town that was the inspiration for Bedford Falls. Check out The Real Bedford Falls at http://www.therealbedfordfalls.com/. Learn more about the movement and the historical locations found in Seneca Falls here: http://www.nps.gov/wori/index.htm

I find that to be more than just a coincidence.

Learn more about It Happened One Christmas here: http://imdb.to/1Ein7XC.

This film is not available on DVD. But you can watch it on YouTube (for right now) at the links below. I did not post them. I searched for and found them, and simply provide the links below.

It Happened One Christmas Part 1

It Happened One Christmas Part 2

It Happened One Christmas Part 3

It Happened One Christmas Part 4