Heartwarming / It's a Wonderful Life

Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.

• The very beginning, where you hear the prayers of the town, proving that the movie is one long heartwarming parade from beginning to end:
  Mr. Gower: I owe everything to George Bailey. Help him, dear Father.
  Martini: Joseph, Jesus, and Mary, help my friend Mr. Bailey.
  Ma Bailey: Help my son George tonight.
  Bert: He never thinks about himself, God, that's why he's in trouble.
  Ernie: George is a good guy. Give him a break, God.
  Mary: I love him, dear Lord. Watch over him tonight.
  Zuzu: Please, God. Something's wrong with Daddy. Please bring Daddy home.
  • Plus the fact that God not only hears those prayers, but is already working on the problem.
• There's an exchange between God and Joseph up in Heaven at the beginning of the movie. When God points out that Clarence is the angel that is on the case to help George Bailey, Joseph expresses disbelief and a little bit of confusion. What is God's response to Joseph's misgivings?
  Joseph: He has the IQ of a rabbit.
  God: Yes, but he has the faith of a child.
  • Which is a big of a Genius Bonus: Frank Capra the director was a devout Catholic, and including a line like that is a very strong espousal of Catholic doctrine on faith. ^note Jesus once said: "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
• Mary as a girl whispering into George's deaf ear: "George Bailey, I'll love you till the day I die."
• That Mary often is implied to go to the shop just to see George and pretends like she thinks nothing of him when Violet is talking about liking him. It's beyond adorable in that Mary's far less upfront about her feelings and they still come off as way more genuine as a result.
• It's a small detail to miss, but when young George visits his father to ask for a solution (to Mr. Gower accidentally poisoning medicine), he finds himself in the midst of a conflict between Mr. Bailey and Mr. Potter. When Mr. Potter dresses down George's dad for basically being a loser, young George adamantly says otherwise and bravely claims his father is the biggest man in all of Bedford Falls! The sweet part is, not only does Mr. Bailey handle his son's outburst rather patiently: instead of scolding George, if you listen carefully, he turns and scolds Mr. Potter for humiliating him in front of his own son. That's right, Mr. Bailey stood up to the richest, nastiest man in town for his son.
  Peter Bailey: Mr. Potter, you humiliated me in front of my son.
• One overlooked detail is that Mary was still sitting at the counter in tears while Mr. Gower was hitting George. She witnessed their interaction. So not only did George keep the accidental poisoning a secret, but Mary kept the secret as well.
• It's very easy to miss at first, but Mr. Gower manages to come back from his drunken despair and becomes a much better man and a dear friend to George. It's a stark contrast to both how he was in the start of the movie and in the Pottersville reality.
• Another one that can be completely missed: when we first see George as an older man (after the scene with Mr Gower), he's buying a suitcase to go travelling, only to see that someone already bought and paid for the exact one he wanted, even going so far as to have his initials engraved on it... and it was Mr Gower himself. Gower was so grateful to George for what he did, he was paying him back before George was even in trouble. Even at the end, Gower turns up to help out again, showing just how much he really did appreciate what George did for him, and how much he wants to pay him back.
• The scene where George is at the dinner table with his dad, especially given what happens later that night. In a lot of fiction, if a character is killed off, the main character sometimes gets into a huge argument just prior ("The last thing I said to him/her was that I wished I wasn't his son"), but George's comment? "Pop, you want a shock? I think you're a great guy." Just a brief moment of peace between father and son.
  • And then George's oldest son is named Peter, after his dad. Their relationship wasn't onscreen much, but it's clear just how much they loved each other.
  • Earlier in the scene, George and Harry carry their mother in and deposit her in her husband's lap, telling their father they have a present for him, and the senior Baileys hug and otherwise display the kind of comfortable affection any couple would want to have after so long together.
• George gets surprised that little brother Harry had gotten married at college and had been offered a job away from Bedford Falls. Despite this, Harry reassures George he's going to hold up to his commitment and come back to take care of the Building and Loan. Then George takes his new sister-in-law aside and her first words to him are "you're all Harry talks about". After that, he realizes he can't let Harry pass up this opportunity.
• George and Mary on the telephone together with Sam. George had been in a cranky mood the whole scene, but slowly realizes during the phone conversation that he does truly love Mary. He makes one last-ditch effort to assert his selfish independence, but it's a lost cause.
  Sam: Would you tell that guy I'm giving him the chance of a lifetime, do you hear? The chance of a lifetime!
  Mary: He says it's the chance of a lifetime.
  George: (clutching Mary) 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... Oh, Mary, Mary.
  (the two kiss passionately)
• Mary, seeing her husband trying to keep a group of desperate customers from selling out to Potter (and only moments ago having begged him to let things be and continue to their honeymoon), is the one to first offer their honeymoon fund as loan capital to help the customers survive until the bank re-opens.
  • And the distribution of the funds had a follow up moment. Except for the Jerkass who went first demanding his full amount, most of them accepted twenty dollars a piece. And then one lady says "Could I have $17.50?" Ellen Corby came up with that line spontaneously, Stewart's reaction was likewise improvised, and Capra thought it was great and kept it.
  • If you noticed, when George started using his honeymoon money to cover the run on the B&L, Uncle Billy and the two cousins start to open their wallets as well. Just George and Mary's money wouldn't have covered it.
  • Tom, the Jerkass who demanded all the money in his account, turns out to be a Jerk with a Heart of Gold. At the end, he's one of the first people in making a donation, and he jokes to George, "What is this? Another run on the bank?!"
• George's and Mary's honeymoon.
  Mary: Remember the night we broke the windows in this old house? This is what I wished for.
  • What makes this even more touching is the setting. The happy couple are in a leaky old house with a phonograph record playing — doing double duty as a turnspit for roasting chicken — when they had planned to take a deluxe honeymoon out of town. But Mary is happy... because she's with the man she loves.
  • In the same scene, you see that Mary isn't the only person helping set up this honeymoon. Ernie and Bert are there, too, putting up all the tourism board posters showing the exotic places George wants to go. And once the record stops playing, Ernie and Bert stand out in the rain, singing through the window, to keep up the mood. It really shows how important George is to everyone, and how far people in the tower are willing to go to help him.
• George's interaction with his younger daughter Zuzu. Bear in mind that from the moment he returned home, George has been either uncharacteristically snippy or gloomy towards his family, in wake of the $8000 going missing. Yet, at hearing that Zuzu has caught a cold, he slightly softens with concern. And when he goes up to her room, he puts up a brave front and treats his poor ill daughter kindly. She doesn't even have the slightest idea her father's having a bad day. He may be having the worst day of his life, but being the self-sacrificing person he is, George still has it in his heart to at least comfort Zuzu while she's sick.
  • Bear in mind that just earlier, he was complaining about having so many kids. But the way he interacts with Zuzu, it indicates that even at his worst, George does not regret ever having children.
• Mary and the children are watching George flip out in ways that terrify them. But when they recover their ability to speak, their first thought is, "We'd better pray for Daddy right away, so he'll feel better."
• That George goes to Potter for help despite how lowly they think of each other still shows that George puts value in what he could do to help if he actually wanted to.
• When George is getting drunk in the bar and Mr. Welch punches him out, not just Martini and Nick check on George. When George is punched, almost the entire bar gets up to make sure he's alright.
  • Fridge Brilliance: That was the answer to his prayer: he had just begged God to show him the way out of his predicament, and immediately his friends show up to offer help and concern. George was just too depressed to notice.
  • Even before Mr. Welch punches him, George's friends realize something is wrong and try to help him. Drinking alone on Christmas Eve isn't a good sign. Nick immediately asks if he can call someone or have someone help George home, and Martini insists that George go home to his family to be with them on Christmas.
  • Even Mr. Welch gets a small one. When Mr. Martini pushes him out the door, he protests that he needs to stay because he hasn't paid for his drink yet.
  • Of particular note is what Martini shouts as he's tossing out Welch.
    Martini: You hit my best friend! You get out!
    • As he's banishing Welch from his bar forever!
    • George doesn't blame Welch for hitting him for the way he spoke to his wife. He knows he was wrong and can acknowledge it.
• As awful as Pottersville is, there is something nice about the fact that Bert the cop and Ernie the cab driver are still friends, regardless.
  • Also their response to a stranger that seems to be having a nervous breakdown. Ernie calls Bert to follow them, and they watch as George goes through the ruins of his house. They sensibly try to calm down George so they can get him to a doctor. Considering the cynicism of Pottersville, Bert at least is a Reasonable Authority Figure. He doesn't draw his pistol until much later after George has punched him.
  • Another moment goes to the patrons of the crowded bar Mary runs into while George is chasing her. As far as they all know, George is some crazy stranger harassing this poor woman, and they try to comfort Mary while keeping George away from her.
• The denouement when George Bailey finally realizes that he has gained far more than he lost for staying in Bedford Falls, especially when seemingly the entire town comes to help him after Mr. Potter claimed that they would hate him for losing their money.
• When George is on the bridge crying out, "I want to live again," pay attention to what happens. He's calling out to Clarence, his guardian angel, and nothing happens. Then he finally breaks down and whimpers, "Please, God, let me live again"... and immediately the wind dies down and it starts to snow, showing that his prayers have indeed been answered and things have finally changed back to the way they're supposed to be.
  • The entire ending, starting with George's prayer.
    George: I wanna live again! I wanna live again! I wanna live again... Please, God... let me live again.
  • The sheer, unrestrained joy that overcomes George when he realizes he's back.
    George: My mouth's bleedin', Bert! MY MOUTH'S BLEED–... Zuzu's petals... Zuzu... THERE THEY ARE! BERT! WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT?!! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
• Notice, too, that once George is back in the normal world, his mouth is bleeding again and he's got Zuzu's petals in his pocket... but no mention is made of his bad ear. There's at least a possibility that George was given his hearing back permanently as an extra "Christmas gift" and reward for his renewed faith.
• The entirety of George running through Bedford Falls and appreciating it for the small but wholesome, picturesque town it is. After going through the horrors of Pottersville, seeing Bedford Falls thrive is a breath of fresh air, to both George and the audience. His run through Bedford Falls acts as a Meaningful Echo to his tour through Pottersville, seeing all the escapist businesses replaced with legitimate shops and commerce. George wishes a Merry Christmas to them all for keeping the town alive, the Building and Loan among them.
  • That he even famously and cheerfully calls out "Merry Christmas Mr. Potter!" after knocking on his window too. He doesn't know what Potter did to him, knows he's a very mean and miserable man and it doesn't matter to him. That George basically gives the same kind of enthusiastic greeting to him that he gives everyone else shows how much of a good person he truly is.
  • George runs to the stairs to look for Mary. The wooden ball on the top of the post comes off again, just like every time anyone's used it for over ten years. George is so overjoyed that he has his life back that he kisses it before putting it back.
• "Didn't ask any questions, all I had to say was that George was in trouble — 'Count me in!' "
• Watch George while Mary is preparing to welcome the townsfolk: he just can't stop kissing her even when she's not paying attention.
• Even without the townspeople all chipping in, Sam is more than willing to give George three times what he needs pretty much as soon as he hears there's a problem. Hee-haw.
• Harry proposes a toast:

  Harry: To my big brother George — the richest man in town.

  • It's subtle but Harry's near hero worship of George is endearing. Bear in mind; Harry is a football star, a war hero, and in general he came a lot closer to living George's dreams than George himself ever did. George probably considered himself the loser of the two, and, as this line shows, everyone else, including Harry, disagrees.
  • Clarence's inscription and the following exchange (emphasis in original):
    Letter (Clarence): Dear George: Remember no man is a failure who has friends. Thanks for the wings! Love, Clarence.
    Mary: What's that?
    George: That's a Christmas present from a very dear friend of mine.
    [a bell on the Christmas tree rings]
    Zuzu: Look, Daddy. Teacher says, every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings.
    George: That's right, that's right. [looks up towards the heavens and winks] Attaboy, Clarence.
  • Related to the above, but bear this in mind. George had known Clarence for barely more than two hours and upon first meeting him, assumed he was crazy. And here he's referring to Clarence as a very dear friend of his, all because Clarence was able to show George just how much his existence mattered to everyone around him. Clarence definitely earned those wings, all right.
• One could say Clarence's character arc (of caring more about George's well-being than earning his wings) is in how he's audience to George's life. He starts out simply curious about his future and what it holds for him, then a bit resigned that George doesn't take any opportunities to leave Bedford Falls. By the time Joseph brings up "Now you know George never leaves Bedford Falls", Clarence gives a little "no", but the inflection behind it is that of wonderment and admiration for George Bailey's selflessness. He comes to understand how valuable he is to Bedford Falls.
• According to the movie, every time a bell rings, an angel gets it's wings. How does the movie both open, and close? With a static shot of a bell ringing repeatedly. 'Handing out wings' indeed...
• For all George's bluster and shouting at Uncle Billy for losing the money, and his refusal to go to jail... by the time he visits Potter, he's already taking the blame for it. Despite what he said to Uncle Billy, he wouldn't dream of letting him go to jail, even for something he'd done. George would willingly undertake that burden for him instead
• When George and Clarence are in the bar, George still isn't convinced Clarence is really an angel, and asks him if he has anywhere to go for the night. As far as George is aware, he's still going to jail and still lacking $8,000, but regardless, he takes the time to check on (what he thinks is) a poor, confused old man and make sure that he's going to be okay

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