It's A Wonderful Life (1946) Pages: ( 1 ) ( 2 ) ( 3 ) Background It's A Wonderful Life (1946), originally made for Liberty Films, is one of the most popular and heartwarming films ever made by director Frank Capra. Frank Capra regarded this film as his own personal favorite - it was also James Stewart's favorite of all his feature films. It was actually a box-office flop at the time of its release, and only became the Christmas movie classic in the 1970s due to repeated television showings at Christmas-time when its copyright protection slipped and it fell into the public domain in 1974 and TV stations could air it for free. [Republic Pictures restored its copyright claim to the film in 1993, with exclusive video rights to it. Currently, it can be shown only on the NBC-TV network, and its distribution rights belong to Paramount Pictures.] The film's screenplay (credited as being written by Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, and Capra himself, with additional scenes by Jo Swerling) was based on "The Greatest Gift," an original short story first written on a Christmas card by Philip Van Doren Stern.

Uncredited for their work on the script were Dorothy Parker, Dalton Trumbo, and Clifford Odets. It is actually a dark, bittersweet post-war tale of a savings-and-loan manager who struggles against a greedy banker and his own self-doubting nature in a small town. Earnest do-gooder George Bailey (James Stewart) recognizes his life as wonderful and truly rich, even in its humdrum and bleak nature, only after suffering many hardships, mishaps and fateful trials (including compromised dreams of youth to leave the town and seek fame and fortune, other sacrifices, dismay, losses and the threat of financial ruin, and suicide). He is given encouragement by a whimsical, endearing, trainee-angel named Clarence (Henry Travers). The story turns Dickensian (similar to A Christmas Carol, although told from Bob Cratchit's point-of-view rather than from Scrooge's) when the hysterical, despairing, and melancholy family man is shown what the small town (Bedford Falls, now renamed Pottersville after the town's evil tycoon) would be like without him.

It's a frightening, nightmarish, noirish view of the world (at Christmas-time) that brings him back from self-destruction. He returns to the idyllic, small-town world that he left, with renewed faith and confidence in life itself. Hence, the film's title: It's a Wonderful Life. The plot of the film was copied in the rags-to-riches fantasy storyline (also with a guardian angel played by Michael Caine) of Disney's Mr. Destiny (1990), starring James Belushi, and in Brett Ratner's The Family Man (2000) with Nicolas Cage. The famous "Pottersville" alternate reality scenes were also referenced in Robert Zemeckis' Back to the Future Part II (1989), in which the small town of Hill Valley was transformed into a Las Vegas-like Babylon in 1985, with young Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) in the role of George Bailey. The picture earned five Academy Award nominations: Best Picture, Best Actor (James Stewart in his first film in almost six years), Best Director (Capra), Best Sound Recording and Best Film Editing, but won no Oscars.

(It was eclipsed by William Wyler's award-winning The Best Years of Our Lives .) The Story The film's credits are seen in an illustrated storybook of wintry scenes as the pages turn. As the film opens, the setting is the typical, but imaginary American small town of Bedford Falls, somewhere in New York State, identified by a snow-covered welcome sign. It is Christmas Eve. Prayers from friends in Bedford Falls are heard for a man named George Bailey on the verge of suicide. The camera pans over locations in town, identifying where the voices are coming from - Gower Drug Store, Martini's, the local church, one of the homes, Bedford Falls Garage, and George's own home, where his children's voices are heard. The camera shot dissolves slowly upward into the star-filled, dark night sky where two pulsating galaxies of light come into view. Two heavenly angels are conversing together in the film's otherworldly opening. They have heard the prayers for the film's hero, George Bailey (James Stewart), a man overwhelmed by his problems. Every time one of the heavenly voices speaks, the stars twinkle. In this cosmic fantasy sequence, Angel Joseph tells Angel Franklin that they will appoint a guardian angel for George.

But the only angel available is Clarence Oddbody (Henry Travers), Angel Second Class, a sweet but inept, child-like apprentice angel who hasn't yet earned his wings. The apprentice is summoned, and portrayed as a streaking star that appears before the brighter angelic stars. Before being dispatched, Clarence is told that George is despondent and considering suicide, "throwing away God's greatest gift," his life - he obviously needs angelic assistance. Clarence is promised that if he does a good job, he will earn his wings. Before Clarence is given a chance to become a full-fledged angel and sent to Earth, the heavenly powers show, in flashback, key events and background on George's life from his boyhood, to provide Clarence with important information about why George is so despairing. Bedford Falls comes slowly into focus. It is the year 1919 and young native George Bailey (Bobbie Anderson) is 12 years old - born, raised, and educated in Bedford Falls. George and a group of friends are sliding down an icy hill on shovels onto a frozen pond.

When his younger kid brother Harry (George Nokes) slides past the safe area and plunges into the freezing water at the end of the icy pond, George jumps in after him and saves him from drowning by forming a human chain, but his heroics cause him to catch a bad cold. From the resulting infection, he goes deaf in his left ear. In the afternoons, George works at the local drugstore owned by "old man" Mr. Gower (H. B. Warner). Walking to work with his friends, they stand in awe and watch a horse-driven, hearse-like carriage pass by, carrying Mr. Henry F. Potter (Lionel Barrymore), "the richest and meanest man" in the county. At the store, he talks with a flirtatious eight year old Violet Bick (Jeanine Anne Roose) who orders candy at the counter and vies for George's attention. Also there is young Mary Hatch (Jean Gale, or Jeanne Gail), the childhood sweetheart he will eventually marry. Mary orders a chocolate sundae, but rejects George's offer of coconuts on top.

George tells "brainless" Mary that cocoanuts come from Tahiti, the Fiji Islands, and the Coral Sea. Obviously, he wants to explore and see the world, bragging about being nominated as a member of the National Geographic Society. When he bends down in front of her, she whispers into his deaf ear, vowing: "George Bailey - I'll love you till the day I die." She already knows that the boastful George is the only man she'll ever love, but he doesn't hear her. While finishing fixing her order, George discovers a recent telegram to druggist Mr. Gower informing him of the tragic death of his son Robert, due to influenza. Distraught over the news and drinking as a result, the despondent Mr. Gower mistakenly mixes a pill prescription containing poisonous cyanide. Gower gives the order to George for an emergency delivery. Although obedient and diligent, George realizes that the prescription is fatal, but he faces a dilemma - should he deliver it? As he leaves the store, Mary is still sitting at the soda fountain counter, watching him as he dashes off.

Not knowing what to do, young George spots a sign with the words: "Ask Dad - he knows." Young George runs to his dad Peter Bailey (Samuel Hinds) for advice. His father is busy in the Bailey Bros. Building and Loan Association building, confronting Potter in his office. George's lovable Uncle Billy (Thomas Mitchell), (Peter Bailey's brother), known for wearing strings around his fingers to prevent absent-mindedness, prevents George from interrupting, but is called away. George enters his father's office and listens to the conversation between his father and Potter. The contrast between Bailey and Potter is clear - Potter wears black, sits in a wheelchair, and is a "hard-skulled," villainous, miserly banker demanding immediate payments and whose consuming goal in life is to destroy the Building and Loan. And Bailey is a champion and defender of the rights of the little man, refusing to foreclose on the mortgages of families in town. Potter insults Bailey: "Are you running a business or a charity ward?" and young George stands up and comes to his father's defense when Potter calls him a failure. His father rushes him out of the office without giving him a chance to ask about the pills.

George returns to the store with the undelivered capsules. Before learning of the mistake, Mr. Gower angrily slaps George's sore ear for disobediently not delivering the order, although the boy describes the druggist's error: "You put something wrong in those capsules. It wasn't your fault, Mr. Gower." When the old man tests the pills and learns the truth, he breaks down and tearfully embraces George, profusely begging him for forgiveness. George promises never to tell anyone about the mistake. The film moves ahead to the summer of 1928. George has grown up into adulthood and as a young man, he finally has his chance to get out of tiny Bedford Falls before entering college. He is about to leave for Europe on an exotic trip aboard an ocean freighter to see the world. He is in a local luggage and bags store purchasing a suitcase. With his hands outstretched, the moving image of George is suddenly stopped on the screen by the angels, as they inspect and comment upon it.

When the flashback continues, George insists that his suitcase must be big enough "for a thousand and one nights with plenty of room here for labels from Italy and Baghdad...." He is presented with a second-hand bag with his name inscribed on it, a present from his ex-boss Mr. Gower. On the streets of town, townspeople kid with him about his upcoming trip. With friends Ernie (Frank Faylen), the taxi driver, and Bert (Ward Bond), the cop [it has been hypothesized that the names for the Bert and Ernie characters on Sesame Street were taken from this film], he calls himself "a rich tourist" and asks to be driven home in style. Just then, George sees another childhood friend, Violet (Gloria Grahame), the town flirt. He compliments her on her summer dress, but she shrugs coquettishly and walks away wiggling her hips, stopping traffic and getting them all to crank their gaze in her direction. George spends his last night - the evening of brother Harry's (Todd Karns) high school graduation, with his parents for "his last meal" at the Bailey home. Behind his father on the wall are George's framed butterfly collection.

His father tells him that Potter, on the board of directors, continues to harrass them. George calls Potter a "money-grubbing buzzard," although Mr. Bailey excuses Potter's miserliness as a sickness of his mind and soul. George has spent four years since his high school graduation working for his father at the Bailey Bros. Building and Loan Association. George has "it all figured out." His younger brother Harry is to take his place at the Bailey Company for four years while he goes off to college. Mr. Bailey sounds out his "born older" son George about what he wants to do in his future. George boasts about his plans: "Oh well, you know what I've always talked about. Build things. Design new buildings. Plan modern cities." Mr. Bailey also asks about his son's feelings about taking over the Building and Loan. Exuberant about leaving Bedford Falls and traveling in his future, George declines his father's offer to return back home after college to take over the business: "I-I couldn't face being cooped up for the rest of my life in a shabby little office....I'd go crazy.

I -, I want to do something big, something important." His father defends the importance of their business, sacrificing his entire life to altruistically help depositors in his bank and his family: "It's deep in the race for a man to want his own roof, walls, and fireplace. And we're helping him get those things in our 'shabby little office.'" George doesn't wish to demean his father's work, but explains that he wants to get away and achieve financial/worldly success: "I just feel like if I didn't get away, I'd bust." His empathic father demonstrates his understanding. At Harry's 1928 high-school graduation party, George is heartily greeted by old friends including Sam Wainwright (Frank Albertson), a recent college graduate. Sam is known for prefacing conversations with "Hee Haw" and pretending to have floppy donkey ears. Violet approaches and offers her dance card to George: "What am I bid?" But George slights Violet when he is interrupted by Mary Hatch's brother Marty Hatch (Harold Landon) - they are all together again for old home week.

Marty suggests that George dance with his "kid sister Mary" to give her "the thrill of her life." Violet reacts with mock surprise as George turns to look for Mary. His tall figure makes its way through the crowd to find her. When he sees the grown-up 18 year-old Mary (Donna Reed), the first time they have met since they were childhood friends, she looks exquisitely beautiful in a close-up and he is visibly impressed with her. Although Mary is listening to an obnoxious suitor named Freddie (Carl Switzer, Our Gang's 'Alfalfa') tell her a boring story about an experience he has had, she immediately turns away and shows an interest and fondness for George. He takes her away from her partner and they go off dancing together after George tells Freddie off. Beginning a heart-warming set of dreamlike sequences, George courts his childhood sweetheart and their love grows. At the party, they enter a Charleston dance contest, while unbeknownst to them, the jealous rival Freddie plots his revenge with a prank. With the turn of a key and the push of a button, the gym dance floor is opened up, revealing a swimming pool underneath.

When the floor separates beneath them, they are so carried away with their hectic Charleston dancing that they don't notice - and they plunge backwards into the pool. Soon, everyone joins them in the water, including the school principal. George and Mary walk home together, returning from the high school dance after falling in the pool and soaking their party clothes. They wear a hastily-thrown together weird assortment of borrowed clothes - George a tight #3 football jersey and Mary a long, loose-fitting bathrobe. They sing an off-key duet of "Buffalo Gals" under the light of a new moon. Then, he sweet-talks her, calling his eighteen year-old date "the prettiest girl in town" while distancing himself slightly. On their way home while strolling along the street, they pause in front of the old deserted Granville house, and the gawky George accidentally steps on her bathrobe belt, the pretended "train" of her dress. She stops so that they can pretend a chivalrous encounter in a dramatic game. As a courtly lady, she extends her hand for a kiss from her courtier. He approaches closer to her, intending to give her a real kiss, but she coyly and slowly turns away from him.

Playful, she walks away and continues to sing "Buffalo Gals." George threatens to hurl a rock through one of the Granville house windows. He wants to make a wish - one that will only come true if he breaks a window. Mary wishes he wouldn't and confesses that she'd like to live in that old abandoned house - a prophetic wish: "I love that old house...It's full of romance, that old place. I'd like to live in it." He throws a rock and his aim is accurate - he breaks a window on the second floor. But then, he loudly describes his "whole hatful" of wishes to see the world and build magnificent buildings: I'm shakin' the dust of this crummy little town off my feet and I'm gonna see the world. Italy, Greece, the Parthenon, the Coliseum. Then, I'm comin' back here to go to college and see what they know. And then I'm gonna build things. I'm gonna build airfields, I'm gonna build skyscrapers a hundred stories high, I'm gonna build bridges a mile long...

Mary interrupts George by picking up a rock (unnoticed at first by self-centered George) and silently makes a wish of her own. [Her wish, learned later, is to live with George someday in the Granville house.] Following George's example, she throws it through another window - and seals their fate. George curiously asks about her wish. For a second time, she replies with a sly smile as her answer, and then turns and continues down the street singing "Buffalo Gals." She explains that if she tells him her wish for the future, it wouldn't come true. George asks about her deepest wishes and then offers her a poetic, imaginative fantasy about lasso-ing the moon and bringing it down to Earth so that she can eat it - it's almost a marriage proposal: What is it you want, Mary? What do you want? You-you want the moon? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Hey, that's a pretty good idea. I'll give you the moon...Well, then you could swallow it. And it'll all dissolve, see.

And the moon beams that shoot out of your fingers and your toes and the ends of your hair...Am I talking too much? A bald, overweight neighbor (Dick Elliott) on a nearby back porch hears their romantic, non-sensical conversation and challenges George to do less talking and try more romantic action: "Why don't you kiss her instead of talking her to death?" Just then, George inadvertently steps on Mary's bathrobe again and she accidentally loses it. She jumps into the hydrangea bushes to hide. Aroused by her predicament, he hesitates to throw her robe to her and teases her in a good-natured way, calling it "a very interesting situation." Mary begs for her robe back as he circles the bush with the bathrobe in his hands. George's imaginative and harmonious contemplation of possibilities with Mary is interrupted when a car roars up the street with Harry and Uncle Billy. He abruptly leaves after receiving the tragic news that his father has had a stroke. The beautiful harmony of their mutual attraction is shattered. The last shot of the scene is a long, sustained close-up of Mary (with a mixed expression of sadness, concern and disappointment). She watches the car drive off. Mr.

Bailey death means that George's dream of traveling abroad to Europe for the summer before college is short-circuited. He must handle the affairs of his father's business in the few months following his father's death. In a meeting of the board of the Bailey Building and Loan Company that gathers to vote on its future and to choose a successor to Mr. Bailey, George listens to Mr. Potter (one of the board members) present a motion to dissolve the Building and Loan Association in a bold-faced attempt to shut it down. Although Potter calls George's father "a man of high ideals," he criticizes Peter Bailey's business sense - he's "not a business man - that's what killed him," maintaining that the company was always a losing proposition. The crotchety old Potter believes that the loan policies of the company only produce: "a discontented, lazy rabble instead of a thrifty working class." Potter complains about a few idealistic, "starry-eyed dreamers like Peter Bailey (who) stir 'em up and fill their head with a lot of impossible ideas." George delivers an inspired address in defense of his father's character, fighting selfishness and deceitfulness with honesty and decency.

He speaks for the hard-working people of the town, and the way his father made them all better citizens and customers: Do you know how long it takes a working man to save five thousand dollars? Just remember this, Mr. Potter, that this rabble you're talking about. They do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community. Well, is it too much to have them work and pay and live and die in a couple of decent rooms and a bath? Anyway, my father didn't think so. People were human beings to him, but to you, a warped, frustrated old man, they're cattle. Well, in my book, he died a much richer man than you'll ever be. George is committed to keeping alive the company as the only alternative to allowing Bedford Falls to fall completely under the ownership of greedy and unscrupulous Mr. Potter - the only source for borrowing money.

"This town needs this measly, one-horse institution if only to have someplace where people can come without crawling to Potter." Potter calls George's ideals "sentimental hogwash." The board votes not to sell out to Potter but to keep the Bailey Building and Loan Company under one condition - if George is kept in charge as Executive Secretary to succeed his father. When they suggest that absent-minded Uncle Billy run the company - an unworkable alternative, George realizes his opportunities to go to college and study architecture are closing down, crying: "This is my last chance." But then, he again agrees to sacrifice and sidetrack his personal dreams as a victim of circumstance. He will remain in Bedford Falls to operate the company, inherit the responsibilities of running the loan company, and instead send his younger brother to college, using his own college savings. Over the next four years, George manages the company while his brother attends college in his place. When Harry graduates from college in 1932, he is to come back to Bedford Falls and run the family business.

At the train station, George waits with Uncle Billy for his brother to return from college for the last time - while eagerly clutching travel brochures to Venezuela and the Yukon in his hands. He believes that he can finally be replaced at the company by his brother and turn over the management to Harry - he can, at last, leave Bedford Falls. As the approaching train whistle sounds, George explains the three most exciting sounds in the world: Anchor chains, plane motors, and train whistles. The two brothers greet each other with overlapping lines when Harry bounds off the train. Unexpectedly, Harry is accompanied by his new bride Ruth (Virginia Patton), and George learns of Harry's promise of profitable work (out of town) in the research business for his father-in-law's glass factory in Buffalo. In a close-up of George's despairing, frustrated and dispirited face, he suddenly falls silent, realizing that he is doomed to stay in town. George is left alone as Harry returns to the train for his luggage. His dreams of escape and adventure are dashed, but he keeps his bitterness and discouragement to himself.

It's a Wonderful Life - Wikiquote It's a Wonderful Life Donna Reed and James Stewart in It's a Wonderful Life It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 film about an angel-in-training who gives a despondent man a look at what the world would be like if he had never been born. George Bailey[ edit ] Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he? [as everyone inside was about to go to Potter's bank for money] Now wait...now listen...now listen to me. I beg of you not to do this thing. If Potter gets hold of this Building and Loan, there'll never be another decent house built in this town. He's already got charge of the bank. He's got the bus line. He got the department stores. And now he's after us. Why? Well, it's very simple. Because we're cutting in on his business, that's why. And because he wants to keep you living in his slums and paying the kind of rent he decides. Joe, you had one of those Potter houses, didn't you? Well, have you forgotten?

Have you forgotten what he charged you for that broken-down shack? Here, Ed. You know, you remember last year when things weren't going so well, and you couldn't make your payments? You didn't lose your house, did you? Do you think Potter would have let you keep it? Can't you understand what's happening here? Don't you see what's happening? Potter isn't selling. Potter's buying! And why? Because we're panicking and he's not. That's why. He's picking up some bargains. Now, we can get through this thing all right. We've got to stick together, though. We've got to have faith in each other. [to Mr. Potter, after he tries to hire George] I don't need 24 hours. I don't have to talk to anybody. I know right now, and the answer's no. No! Doggone it! You sit around here and you spin your little webs and you think the whole world revolves around you and your money! Well, it doesn't, Mr. Potter! In the, in the whole vast configuration of things, I'd say you were nothing but a scurvy little spider! And...

[turning to his aide] And that goes for you, too! Dear Father in heaven, I'm not a praying man, but if you're up there and you can hear me, show me the way... show me the way. Clarence! Clarence! Help me, Clarence! Get me back! Get me back, I don't care what happens to me! Get me back to my wife and kids! Help me, Clarence, please! Please! I wanna live again. I wanna live again. I want to live again. Please, God, let me live again. Clarence Oddbody[ edit ] Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he? [Inscribed in a copy of Tom Sawyer ] "Dear George, remember no man is a failure who has friends. Thanks for the wings, Love Clarence." Mr. Henry F. Potter[ edit ] Lionel Barrymore as Mr. Henry F. Potter [to George] Look at you. You used to be so cocky. You were going to go out and conquer the world! You once called me a warped, frustrated, old man.

What are you but a warped, frustrated young man? A miserable little clerk, crawling in here on your hands and knees and begging for help. Uncle Billy[ edit ] [after Potter says George was unfit for military service] After all, Potter, some people like George HAD to stay at home. Not every heel was in Germany and Japan. Look, Daddy. Teacher says, every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings. Pop: I know it's soon to talk about it. George: Oh, now Pop, I couldn't. I couldn't face being cooped up for the rest of my life in a shabby little office...Oh, I'm sorry Pop, I didn't mean that, but this business of nickels and dimes and spending all your life trying to figure out how to save three cents on a length of pipe...I'd go crazy. I want to do something big and something important. Pop: You know, George, I feel that in a small way we are doing something important. Satisfying a fundamental urge. It's deep in the race for a man to want his own roof and walls and fireplace, and we're helping him get those things in our shabby little office.

George: I know, Dad. I wish I felt...But I've been hoarding pennies like a miser in order to...Most of my friends have already finished college. I just feel like if I don't get away, I'd bust. Pop: Yes...yes...You're right son. George: You see what I mean, don't you, Pop? Pop: This town is no place for any man unless he's willing to crawl to Potter. You've got talent, son. I've seen it. You get yourself an education. Then get out of here. George: Pop, you want a shock? I think you're a great guy. [to Annie, listening through the door] Oh, did you hear that, Annie? Annie: I heard it. About time one of you lunkheads said it. George: I'm going to miss old Annie. Pop, I think I'll get dressed and go over to Harry's party. Pop: Have a good time son. Mary: What'd you wish, George? George: Well, not just one wish. A whole hatful, Mary. I know what I'm gonna do tomorrow, and the next day, and the next year, and the year after that.

I'm shakin' the dust of this crummy little town off my feet and I'm gonna see the world. Italy, Greece, the Parthenon, the Colosseum. Then, I'm comin' back here and go to college and see what they know... And then I'm gonna build things. I'm gonna build airfields, I'm gonna build skyscrapers a hundred stories high, I'm gonna build bridges a mile long... George: What is it you want, Mary? What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Hey. That's a pretty good idea. I'll give you the moon, Mary. Mary: I'll take it. Then what? George: Well, then you could swallow it, and it'd all dissolve, see? And the moonbeams'd shoot out of your fingers and your toes, and the ends of your hair... Am I talking too much? Old Man: Yes! Why don't you kiss her instead of talking her to death? George: How's that? Old Man: Why don't you kiss her instead of talking her to death? George: Want me to kiss her, huh?

Old Man: Ah, youth is wasted on the wrong people! The first line of this dialogue is sampled in the McFly song " Love is Easy " (2012) George: Mary... [picks up Mary's robe, which is lying on the ground] Okay, I give up. Where are you? Mary: Over here in the hydrangea bushes. George: Here you are. Catch. [He is about to throw her the robe, but reconsiders mischeviously] Wait a minute. What am I doing? This is a very interesting situation. Mary: Please give me my robe. George: Hmmm...A man doesn't get in a situation like this every day. Mary: [Getting annoyed] I'd like to have my robe. George: Not in Bedford Falls, anyway. Mary: [thrashing around in the bushes] Ouch! George: Gesundheit. This requires a little thought here. Mary: George Bailey! Give me my robe! George: I've heard about things like this, but I've never... Mary: Shame on you. I'm going to tell your mother on you. George: Oh, my mother's way up the corner there. Mary: I'll call the police!

George: They're way downtown. They'd be on my side, too. Mary: Then I'm going to scream! George: Maybe I could sell tickets. No, no... Let's see. No, the point is, in order to get this robe...I've got it! I'll make a deal with you, Mary. Dr. Campbell: I'm sure the whole board wishes to express its deep sorrow at the passing of Peter Bailey. George: Thank you very much. Dr. Campbell: It was his faith and devotion that are responsible for this organization. Potter: I'll go further than that. I'll say that to the public Peter Bailey was the Building and Loan. Billy: Oh, that's fine, Potter, coming from you, considering that you probably drove him to his grave! Potter: Peter Bailey was not a business man. That's what killed him. Oh, I don't mean any disrespect to him, God rest his soul. He was a man of high ideals, so called, but ideals without common sense can ruin this town. Now, you take this loan here to Ernie Bishop...You know, that fellow that sits around all day on his brains in his taxi.

You know...I happen to know the bank turned down this loan, but he comes here and we're building him a house worth five thousand dollars. Why? George: Well, I handled that, Mr. Potter. You have all the papers there. His salary, insurance. I can personally vouch for his character. Potter: A friend of yours? George: Yes, sir. Potter: You see, if you shoot pool with some employee here, you can come and borrow money. What does that get us? A discontented, lazy rabble instead of a thrifty, working class. And all because a few starry-eyed dreamers like Peter Bailey stir them up and fill their heads with a lot of impossible ideas. Now, I say... George: Just a minute, just a minute. Now, hold on, Mr. Potter. You're right when you say my father was no business man. I know that. Why he ever started this cheap, penny-ante Building and Loan, I'll never know. But neither you nor anybody else can say anything against his character, because his whole life was...Why, in the twenty-five years since he and Uncle Billy started this thing, he never once thought of himself.

Isn't that right, Uncle Billy? He didn't save enough money to send Harry to school, let alone me. But he did help a few people get out of your slums, Mr. Potter. And what's wrong with that? Why...Here, you're all businessmen here. Doesn't it make them better citizens? Doesn't it make them better customers? You...you said...What'd you say just a minute ago?...They had to wait and save their money before they even ought to think of a decent home. Wait! Wait for what? Until their children grow up and leave them? Until they're so old and broken-down that they...Do you know how long it takes a working man to save five thousand dollars? Just remember this, Mr. Potter, that this rabble you're talking about...they do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community. Well, is it too much to have them work and pay and live and die in a couple of decent rooms and a bath? Anyway, my father didn't think so. People were human beings to him, but to you, a warped frustrated old man, they're cattle.

Well, in my book he died a much richer man than you'll ever be! Potter: I'm not interested in your book. I'm talking about the Building and Loan. George: I know very well what you're talking about. You're talking about something you can't get your fingers on, and it's galling you. That's what you're talking about, I know...Well, I've said too much. I...You're the Board here. You do what you want with this thing. Just one more thing, though. This town needs this measly one-horse institution if only to have some place where people can come without crawling to Potter. George: Do you know the three most exciting sounds in the world? Billy: Sure, "Breakfast is served, "Lunch is served, "Dinner is served." George: No. Anchor chains, plane motors, and train whistles. Sam: I may have a job for you, that is, unless you're still married to that broken-down building and loan. Ha, ha, ha. It's the biggest thing since radio and I'm lettin' you in on the ground floor.

[to Mary] Will you tell that guy I'm giving him the chance of a lifetime? You hear - the chance of a lifetime. Mary: He says it's the chance of a lifetime. [the phone suddenly drops to the floor as George grabs Mary] George: Now, you listen to me! I don't want any plastics, and I don't want any ground floors, and I don't want to get married - ever - to anyone! You understand that? I want to do what I want to do. And you're...and you're... [suddenly starts kissing Mary] Oh Mary, Mary. Mary: George, George, George. George: It's this old house. I don't know why we don't all have pneumonia. Drafty old barn of a place. It's like growing up living in a refrigerator. Why do we have to live here in the first place, and stay around this measly, crummy old town? Mary: George, what's wrong? George: Wrong? Everything. Why, you call this a happy family? Why do we have to have all these kids? George: Look, who are you? Clarence: I told you, George. I'm your guardian angel.

George: Yeah, yeah, I know. You told me that. What else are you? What...are you a hypnotist? Clarence: No, of course not. George: Well, then, why am I seeing all these strange things? Clarence: Don't you understand, George? It's because you were not born. George: Then if I wasn't born, who am I? Clarence: You're nobody. You have no identity. George: What do you mean, no identity? My name's George Bailey. Clarence: There is no George Bailey. You have no papers, no cards, no driver's license, no 4-F card, no insurance policy...They're not there, either. George: What? Clarence: Zuzu's petals. You've been given a great gift, George. A chance to see what the world would be like without you. Clarence: Your brother, Harry Bailey, broke through the ice and was drowned at the age of nine. George: That's a lie! Harry Bailey went to war! He got the Congressional Medal of Honor! He saved the lives of every man on that transport. Clarence: Every man on that transport died!

Harry wasn't there to save them, because you weren't there to save Harry. You see, George, you've really had a wonderful life. Don't you see what a mistake it would be to throw it away? George: Hello, Bedford Falls! Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas, movie house! Merry Christmas, Emporium! Merry Christmas, you wonderful old Building and Loan! Hey! Merry Christmas, Mr. Potter! Potter: Happy New Year to you, in jail. Go on home, they're waiting for you! Zuzu: [after a bell on the tree rings] Look, Daddy. Teacher says, every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings. George: That's right, that's right. Attaboy, Clarence! It's a Wonderful Life (1946) - Quotes - IMDb Share this quote Mr. Potter : [to George Bailey] Look at you. You used to be so cocky. You were going to go out and conquer the world. You once called me "a warped, frustrated, old man"! What are you but a warped, frustrated young man? A miserable little clerk crawling in here on your hands and knees and begging for help.

No securities, no stocks, no bonds, nothin' but a miserable little $500 equity in a life insurance policy. [Potter chuckles] Mr. Potter : You're worth more dead than alive! Why don't you go to the riffraff you love so much and ask them to let you have $8,000? You know why? Because they'd run you out of town on a rail. But I'll tell you what I'm going to do for you, George. Since the state examiner is still here, as a stockholder of the Building and Loan, I'm going to swear out a warrant for your arrest. Misappropriation of funds, manipulation, malfeasance... [sees George runs off] Share this quote Nick : Hey look, mister. We serve hard drinks in here for men who want to get drunk fast, and we don't need any characters around to give the joint "atmosphere". Is that clear, or do I have to slip you my left for a convincer? George Bailey : [intervening] Nick, hold on. Just give him the same as mine. He's no trouble. Nick : Okay.

[Nick walks away to tend to the bar] George Bailey : [to Clarence] What's the matter with him? I never saw Nick act like that before. Clarence : You'll see a lot of strange things from now on. Share this quote [George has discovered his brother Harry's tombstone] Clarence : [explaining] Your brother, Harry Bailey, broke through the ice and was drowned at the age of nine. George Bailey : That's a lie! Harry Bailey went to war! He got the Congressional Medal of Honor! He saved the lives of every man on that transport! Clarence : Every man on that transport died. Harry wasn't there to save them, because you weren't there to save Harry. Share this quote George Bailey : What is it you want, Mary? What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Hey. That's a pretty good idea. I'll give you the moon, Mary. Mary : I'll take it. Then what? George Bailey : Well, then you can swallow it, and it'll all dissolve, see...

and the moonbeams would shoot out of your fingers and your toes and the ends of your hair... am I talking too much? Share this quote [George returns to the bridge where his nightmare began, hoping to bring back his old life] George Bailey : [praying] Clarence! Clarence! Help me, Clarence! Get me back! Get me back, I don't care what happens to me! Get me back to my wife and kids! Help me Clarence, please! Please! I wanna live again. I wanna live again. Please, God, let me live again. [it begins to snow again] Bert : [shouts] Hey, George! George! You all right? Hey, what's the matter? George Bailey : Now get outta here, Bert, or I'll hit you again! Get outta here! Bert : What the sam hill you yellin' for, George? [suddenly stunned] George Bailey : George... Bert? Do you know me? Bert : Know you? Huh. You kiddin'? I've been looking all over town trying to find you. I saw your car plowed into that tree down there and I thought maybe you - hey, your mouth's bleeding.

Are you sure you're all right? George Bailey : What the... [licks the corner of his lip and checks his mouth with his hand] George Bailey : Ha, ha, ha, ha! My mouth's bleeding, Bert! My mouth's bleeding! Zuzu's petals... Zuzu... George Bailey : [checking his pocket] There they are! Bert, what do you know about that! Merry Christmas! George Bailey : Look, who are you? Who are you really? Clarence : I told you, George. I'm your guardian angel. George Bailey : Yeah, well what else are you? Are you a hypnotist? Clarence : No, of course not. George Bailey : Then why am I seeing all these strange things? Clarence : Don't you understand, George? It's because you were never born. George Bailey : Well, if I was never born... who am I? Clarence : You're nobody. You have no identity. George Bailey : What do you mean no identity? My name is George Bailey! Clarence : There is no George Bailey.

[George searches his pockets for identification, finds none] Clarence : You have no papers, no cards, no driver's license, no 4F card, no insurance policy. [George finally searches his watch pocket for the rose petals from Zuzu] Clarence : They're not there either. Clarence : Yes, George? George Bailey : Where's Mary? If this is all real and I was never born, what became of Mary? Clarence : [hesitates] Well... I don't... I can't... George Bailey : [grabs Clarence by his collar] Look, I don't know how you know these things, but if you know where my wife is, you'll tell me. Clarence : I... I'm not supposed to tell. George Bailey : Please, Clarence, where's my wife? Tell me where my wife is. Clarence : You're not going to like it, George. George Bailey : Where is she? What happened to her? Clarence : She became an old maid. She never married... George Bailey : [desperate] Where is she? WHERE IS SHE? Clarence : She's... she's just about to close up the library!

[George throws Clarence to the ground and runs off] Clarence : [more frustrated] Ohh... there must be some easier way for me to get my wings. Share this quote George Bailey : I'm shakin' the dust of this crummy little town off my feet and I'm gonna see the world. Italy, Greece, the Parthenon, the Colosseum. Then, I'm comin' back here to go to college and see what they know. And then I'm gonna build things. I'm gonna build airfields, I'm gonna build skyscrapers a hundred stories high, I'm gonna build bridges a mile long... Share this quote George Bailey : Now, you listen to me! I don't want any plastics, and I don't want any ground floors, and I don't want to get married - ever - to anyone! You understand that? I want to do what I want to do. And you're... and you're... [runs out of words, sees her crying] Share this quote Pa Bailey : I know it's soon to talk about it. George Bailey : Oh, now Pop, I couldn't.

I couldn't face being cooped up for the rest of my life in a shabby little office... Oh, I'm sorry Pop, I didn't mean that, but this business of nickels and dimes and spending all your life trying to figure out how to save three cents on a length of pipe... I'd go crazy. I want to do something big and something important. Pa Bailey : You know, George, I feel that in a small way we are doing something important. Satisfying a fundamental urge. It's deep in the race for a man to want his own roof and walls and fireplace, and we're helping him get those things in our shabby little office. George Bailey : I know, Dad. I wish I felt... But I've been hoarding pennies like a miser in order to... Most of my friends have already finished college. I just feel like if I don't get away, I'd bust. Pa Bailey : Yes... yes... You're right son. George Bailey : You see what I mean, don't you, Pop? Pa Bailey : This town is no place for any man unless he's willing to crawl to Potter. You've got talent, son. I've seen it.

You get yourself an education. Then get out of here. George Bailey : Pop, you want a shock? I think you're a great guy. [to Annie, listening through the door] George Bailey : Oh, did you hear that, Annie? Annie : I heard it. About time one of you lunkheads said it. Share this quote Real Estate Salesman : Fifteen years ago, a half-dozen houses stuck here and there. There's the old cemetery, squirrels, buttercups, daisies. Dozens of the prettiest little homes you ever saw. Ninety per cent owned by suckers who used to pay rent to you. Your Potter's Field, my dear Mr. Employer, is becoming just that. And are the local yokels making with those David and Goliath wisecracks! Mr. Potter : Oh, they are, are they? Even thought they know the Baileys haven't made a dime out of it. Real Estate Salesman : You know very well why. The Baileys were all chumps. Every one of these homes is worth twice what it cost the Building and Loan to build. If I were you, Mr. Potter... Mr.

Potter : Well, you are not me. Real Estate Salesman : As I say, it's no skin off my nose. But one of these days this bright young man is going to be asking George Bailey for a job. George Bailey : Of course I do. Ma Bailey : When'd you see him last? George Bailey : Today, over at his house. Ma Bailey : That's a lie! He's been locked up in an insane asylum upstate every since he lost his business! And if you ask me, that's where you belong too! [Ma Bailey slams the door in George's face as he looks on with shock] Share this quote Clarence : So... you still think that killing yourself would make everyone feel happier, eh? George Bailey : Oh, I don't know. I guess you're right. I supposed it would have been better if I'd never been born at all. Clarence : What did you say? George Bailey : I said I wished I was never born! Clarence : Oh, you mustn't say things like that... Oh, now wait a minute. That's an idea now, isn't it? [looks upward] Clarence : What do you think? Ahhh... that will do it.

All right, George... you've got your wish: you've never been born. [Wind begins to blow violently outside the shack; Clarence yells out the door] Clarence : You don't need to make all THAT fuss about it! George Bailey : [George walks up to Ernie, who is on the phone, with a newspaper] Hey, Ernie, look at that. [Newspaper headline reads "PRESIDENT DECORATES HARRY BAILEY"] Ernie Bishop : It's going to snow again. [Ernie goes back to phone conversation] Share this quote Mr. Potter : George, I am an old man and most people hate me. But I don't like them either, so that makes it all even. You know just as well as I do that I run practically everything in this town but the Bailey Building and Loan. You know, also, that for a number of years I've been trying to get control of it. Or kill it. But I haven't been able to do it. You have been stopping me. In fact, you have beaten me, George, and as anyone in this county can tell you, that takes some doing. Now take during the depression, for instance.

You and I were the only ones that kept our heads. You saved the Building and Loan, I saved all the rest. George Bailey : Yes, well, most people say you stole all the rest. Mr. Potter : The envious ones say that, George. The suckers. Now, I have stated my side very frankly. Now let's look at your side. A young man, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, married, making, say, forty a week. Mr. Potter : [on the telephone] George, there is a rumor around town that you closed your doors. Is that true? [pause] Mr. Potter : Oh, well, I'm very glad to hear that. George, are you all right? Do you need any police? George Bailey : [into the phone] Police? What for? Mr. Potter : Well, mobs get pretty ugly sometimes, you know. George, I'm going all out to help in this crisis. I've just guaranteed the bank sufficient funds to meet their needs. They'll close up for a week and then reopen. George Bailey : [to Uncle Billy] He just took over the bank. Mr.

Potter : [into the phone] I may lose a fortune, but I'm willing to guarantee your people, too. Just tell them to bring their shares over here and I will pay fifty cents on the dollar. George Bailey : [into the phone] Aw, you never miss a trick, do you, Potter? Well, you're going to miss this one! Mr. Potter : [into the phone] If you close your doors before six p.m., you will never re-open! [there is a loud click as George hangs up] Mr. Potter : They're not my children. Pa Bailey : But they're somebody's children, Mr. Potter. Mr. Potter : Are you running a business or a charity ward? Not with my money! Pa Bailey : Mr. Potter, what makes you such a hard-skulled character? You have no family, no children. You can't begin to spend all the money you've got. Mr. Potter : Oh, I suppose I should give it to miserable failures like you and that idiot brother of yours to spend for me! Little George : He's not a failure! You can't say that about my father! Pa Bailey : George. George. Quiet, George.

Run along. Run along. Little George : You're not! You're the biggest man in town! [Pushes Mr. Potter] Little George : Bigger than him, bigger than everybody! [walks out] Share this quote Mr. Potter : Peter Bailey was not a businessman. That's what killed him. Oh, I don't mean any disrespect to him, God rest his soul. He was a man of high ideals. So called. But ideals without common sense can ruin this town. Now, you take this loan here to Ernie Bishop. You know, that fellow that sits around all day on his brains in his taxi, you know. I happen to know the bank turned down this loan, but he comes *here* and we're building him a house worth five thousand dollars. Why? George Bailey : Well, I handled that, Mr. Potter. You have all the papers there. His salary, insurance. I can personally vouch for his character. [Mr. Potter looks at his bodyguard] Mr. Potter : Have you notified the police? George Bailey : No, sir. I didn't want the publicity. Harry's homecoming tomorrow... [Mr. Potter chuckles] Mr.

Potter : They're going to believe that one. What've you been doing, George? Playing the market with the company's money? George Bailey : No sir. No sir, I haven't. Mr. Potter : Is it a woman, then? You know, it's all over town that you've been giving money to Violet Bick. Mr. Potter : Not that it makes any difference to me, but why did you come to me? Why don't you go to Sam Wainwright and ask him for the money? George Bailey : I can't get a hold of him. He's in Europe. Mr. Potter : Well, what about all your other friends? George Bailey : They don't have that kind of money, Mr. Potter. You know that. You're the only one in town that can help me. [Potter chuckles] Mr. Potter : I've suddenly become quite important. What kind of security what I have, George? Have you gotten any stocks? Bonds? Real estate? Collateral of any kind? George Bailey : Well, I have some life insurance. A fifteen thousand dollar policy. Mr. Potter : Yes. How much is your equity in it?

It's a Wonderful Life (1946) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error It's a Wonderful Life ( 1946 ) PG | From $12.99 (SD) on Amazon Video ON DISC An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed. Director: a list of 27 titles created 01 Dec 2012 a list of 27 titles created 08 Nov 2013 a list of 27 titles created 15 Dec 2014 a list of 37 titles created 03 Jan 2015 a list of 23 titles created 22 Dec 2015 Title: It's a Wonderful Life (1946) 8.6/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin.

Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 1 nomination. See more awards » Videos Lion cub and future king Simba searches for his identity. His eagerness to please others and penchant for testing his boundaries sometimes gets him into trouble. Directors: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff Stars: Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones After inadvertently wreaking havoc on the elf community due to his ungainly size, a man raised as an elf at the North Pole is sent to the U.S. in search of his true identity. Director: Jon Favreau The Tramp struggles to live in modern industrial society with the help of a young homeless woman. Director: Charles Chaplin Directors: Victor Fleming, George Cukor, and 3 more credits » Stars: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger During her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches, and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts. Director: Hayao Miyazaki While home sick in bed, a young boy's grandfather reads him a story called The Princess Bride.

Director: Rob Reiner In the 1940s, a young boy named Ralphie attempts to convince his parents, his teacher, and Santa that a Red Ryder B.B. gun really is the perfect Christmas gift. Director: Bob Clark A woman leaves an Austrian convent to become a governess to the children of a Naval officer widower. Director: Robert Wise A cowboy doll is profoundly threatened and jealous when a new spaceman figure supplants him as top toy in a boy's room. Director: John Lasseter In the distant future, a small waste-collecting robot inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind. Director: Andrew Stanton The toys are mistakenly delivered to a day-care center instead of the attic right before Andy leaves for college, and it's up to Woody to convince the other toys that they weren't abandoned and to return home. Director: Lee Unkrich After his son is captured in the Great Barrier Reef and taken to Sydney, a timid clownfish sets out on a journey to bring him home.

Directors: Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich Stars: Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould Edit Storyline George Bailey has spent his entire life giving of himself to the people of Bedford Falls. He has always longed to travel but never had the opportunity in order to prevent rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town. All that prevents him from doing so is George's modest building and loan company, which was founded by his generous father. But on Christmas Eve, George's Uncle Billy loses the business's $8,000 while intending to deposit it in the bank. Potter finds the misplaced money and hides it from Billy. When the bank examiner discovers the shortage later that night, George realizes that he will be held responsible and sent to jail and the company will collapse, finally allowing Potter to take over the town. Thinking of his wife, their young children, and others he loves will be better off with him dead, he contemplates suicide. But the prayers of his loved ones result in a gentle angel named Clarence coming to earth to help George, with the promise of earning his ... Written by alfiehitchie Did You Know? Trivia Joseph Walker was the original cinematographer, while Joseph F.

Biroc was the assistant. When Frank Capra asked Walker to continue shooting as the sun went down on James Stewart wandering through the streets of Bedford Falls, Walker refused. Capra then asked Biroc if he could shoot the scene, and Biroc replied, "I can." Walker was released by Capra, the scene was shot and Biroc was upped to Cinematographer. Both Walker and Biroc share credits on the film, Biroc listed above Walker. See more » Goofs 'The Bells of Saint Mary's" (1945) had just been released to the first-run, big-city theatre circuit, and would not have been playing the neighborhood, small-town theatre circuit this early. See more » Quotes 1000+ images about It's a Wonderful Life on Pinterest | Its a wonderful life, Donna reed and Frank capra Forward It's A Wonderful Life. This scene gives me chills every time. Clarence: Your brother, Harry Bailey, broke through the ice and was drowned at the age of nine. George Bailey: That's a lie! Harry Bailey went to war! He got the Congressional Medal of Honor! He saved the lives of every man on that transport!

Clarence: Every man on that transport died. Harry wasn't there to save them, because you weren't there to save Harry. See More

Question: In the inspirational 1946 film, It's a Wonderful Life, what's the name of George Bailey's guardian angel?
Answer: Clarence