The enduring classic for all time.

Rating: 10/10 (1 January 2010)

I once read that It's A Wonderful Life is the holiday gift for all time. Never a truer statement has been made about one of the most popular films to have ever been made.
The Plot is a simple one that has since been regurgitated and trundled out almost yearly it feels like. James Stewart plays George Bailey, an all round swell fella, who because of a number of life's circumstances finds himself forever a resident of Bedford Falls. Here he is the principal guy in the running of the family Building & Loan business. When a substantial amount of money goes missing during the run up to Christmas, Bailey finds himself at the mercy of family nemesis, and nefarious town banker, Mr. Potter {Lionel Barrymore}. But George, tipped over the edge by an incident involving the bank funds, has an idea that taking his own life would greatly improve the fortunes of his family and the family business. But as he stands at the precipice of death by suicide, George is saved by his guardian angel Clarence {Henry Travers} and given the chance to see what Bedford Falls would be like having not had George Bailey's influence.
Few, if any, directors have rivalled Frank Capra when it comes to successfully portraying the human heart on screen. It's A Wonderful Life is Capra's masterpiece. Rightly so, it is unashamedly sentimental, but also it's rich with the directors faith in community spirit and a belief in the strong bond of family love. The story is loosely worked from "The Greatest Gift," a Phillip Van Doren Stern story that he had sent to his friends as a Christmas card. Aided on screen writing duties by Frances Goodrich & Albert Hackett {Dalton Trumbo is in there sometimes too}, Capra fashioned an ultimate feel good movie that is flecked by sheer darkness and disconcerting "life is tough" undertones. It's most likely that the more dark side of the film, and the wait for Christmas cheer, is what made It's A Wonderful Life a flop on its release. The film made a huge loss, tho not quite as gargantuan as many today believe, and was quickly consigned to the forgotten bin. But annual yuletide repeats on television over the following decades garnered it a cult following. A cult following that eventually swelled to a near universal one, to the point that now Christmas just wouldn't be the same without it. It is by definition, the ultimate comeback movie.
Tho all the cast are superb {special mention to Donna Reed as George's wife, Mary} it's Stewart who leads the way in the class stakes. As he drifts from homely, lovable dreamer, a man sacrificing those dreams for others to benefit. To his descent into despair and the undertaking of a nightmarish odyssey, Stewart captivates in every frame, and more telling is that he is believable with each transformation of George's state of mind. However, when all is said and done, it's with the ending that basically the film rewards those who have trusted in Capra and Jimmy. It's an ending warm enough to melt the coldest of hearts. So see it with someone you love {always nice to have someone else to cry with} or introduce it to the poor souls who haven't seen it yet. Either way, it's here to stay forever the timeless classic that it so most certainly is. 10/10