History TearJerker / ItsAWonderfulLife

** As noted in Fridge Brilliance, what finally sets George off is him seeing the model of his bridge. Keep in mind, George's past goal was to travel and become an architect, which included building bridges. To him, the model was a painful reminder of a life that he dreamed of and yet ended up putting aside in favor of his current life, and now with the absolute horrific situation he was in, it was all for nothing. No wonder the poor man threw the fit in front of his family.

-->'''Franklin:''' A man down on Earth needs our help.
-->'''Clarence:''' [[WeHelpTheHelpless Splendid!]] Is he sick?
-->'''Franklin:''' No, worse, he's discouraged. At exactly 10:45 p.m. Earth time, that man will be thinking seriously of throwing away God's greatest gift.

--> '''Clarence:''' You see George, you've really had a wonderful life. Don't you see what a mistake it would be to just throw it away?

-->'''George:''' (winks upwards) Atta boy, Clarence.

* When George comes back home and is positively insane with the happiness of living, even with the prospect of going to jail. Then his kids show up and he runs up to hug them all. The contrast between this and the way he acted towards his kids the last time they saw him is just beautiful.

* When George comes back home and is positively insane with the happiness of living, even with the prospect of going to jail. Then his kids show up and he runs up to hug them all. The contrast between this and the way he treated his kids the last time he was home is just beautiful.

** For that matter, ''every second'' of the alternate timeline. Watching George nervously and desperately trying to find his own life in a world that he was never born into. Trying to find Martini and being outright rejected by Nick, finding his old boss turned into a drunken bum after a jury of his peers mistook a fatal accident for murder, his friends turned on him, his own mother not even recognizing his face, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and the love of his life treating him like a lunatic, and happening to be an unmarried maid.]] Watching every piece of his life continually turn out so wrong because he was never there.

** For that matter, ''every second'' of the alternate timeline. Watching George nervously and desperately trying to find his own life in a world that he was never born into. Trying to find Martini and being outright rejected by Nick, finding his old boss turned into a drunken bum after a jury of his peers mistook a fatal accident for murder, his friends turned on him, his own mother not even recognizing his face, and the love of his life treating him like a lunatic. Watching every piece of his life continually turn out so wrong because he was never there.

[[caption-width-right:350:"[[ButterflyEffect Every man on that transport]] ''[[ButterflyEffect died.]]'' [[ButterflyEffect Harry wasn't there to save them, because]] ''[[ButterflyEffect you]]'' [[ButterflyEffect weren't there to save]] ''[[ButterflyEffect Harry.]]"'']]

-->'''Clarence:''' [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Splendid!]] Is he sick?

* When George comes back home and is positively insane with the happiness of living, even with the prospect of going to jail. Then his kids show up and he runs up to hug them all. The contrast between this and the way he treated his kids the last time he was home is just beautiful.

* Uncle Billy sobbingly telling George that he's looked all over his house for the missing money, "Even in rooms that have been locked since I lost Laura."

* The way the angels describe the situation on Earth:
-->'''Franklin:''' A man down on Earth needs our help.
-->'''Clarence:''' [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Splendid!]] Is he sick?
-->'''Franklin:''' No, worse, he's discouraged. At exactly 10:45 p.m. Earth time, that man will be thinking seriously of throwing away God's greatest gift.
* George crying and desperately hugging his child, when he thinks he's going to lose them all, and he doesn't tell them.

* The fact that Potter still clings to his greed even as his health is breaking down.
* Heck, George's frustration that he can't escape Bedford Falls throughout the movie is really depressing. This is a guy who just wants to get out and live his life but doesn't leave both out of obligation to those who want to escape Potter and because he has a family of his own. Just when he thinks he has an escape, something happens to get him stuck. James Stewart's performance is just heartbreaking.

** After Mr. Gower realizes what he's done and how George saved him, he goes to hug George -- and George cringes away, begging "Please don't hurt my sore ear again!" The look of absolute horror on Mr. Gower's face seeing that George is afraid of him is painful.

* When young George tells the druggist he was about to poison a kid by accident. Although that scene's still hard to watch, every time, what great acting form both of them.

** "''Harry! '''Harry!!!'''''"

* George finding Harry's grave in the alternate timeline, because of the FridgeHorror [[WhatCouldHaveBeen it gives]].

** For that matter, ''every second'' of the alternate timeline. Watching George nervously and desperately trying to find his own life in a world that he was never born into. Trying to find Martini and being outright rejected by Nick, finding his old boss turned into a drunken bum, his friends turned on him, his own mother not even recognizing his face, and the love of his life treating him like a lunatic. Watching every piece of his life continually turn out so wrong because he was never there.