Attaboy, Clarence!

Rating: 5/10 (1 May 2004)

One of the all-time Christmas classics, this excellent piece of work from Frank Capra focuses on George Bailey (James Stewart, in one of his career-best roles) who is stopped from jumping into the river in despair by a friendly angel called Clarence (Henry Travers). We then see in flashback what has brought George to the brink of suicide and key events from his life - saving his brother from drowning when the ice breaks; alerting his chemist boss to a fatal mix of drugs; courting and marrying his childhood sweetheart (the winsome Donna Reed); and dealing with the film's token bad guy, Mr Potter (brilliantly played by the crusty Lionel Barrymore). Clarence then shows George what the sleepy town of Bedford Falls would have been like without him and proves that you're never alone if you have friends around you and if you make a difference.
Interestingly, two direct influences from this film were on the poetry e-zine 'Zuzu's Petals' (George Bailey's little daughter, who leaves some flower petals in his jacket); and, so it is said, on the children's TV programme, Sesame Street (Bert and Ernie, the mad puppets, who are the names of the cop and the taxi driver in this).
And let us not forget, when you hear a bell ring, it means an angel has got its wings!