Trivia / It's a Wonderful Life

• Actor-Shared Background: Both James Stewart and Donna Reed came from small towns; Stewart from Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Reed from Denison, Iowa. Reed demonstrated her rural roots by winning an impromptu bet with Lionel Barrymore when he challenged her to milk a cow on-set.
• Box Office Bomb: Considered a big disappointment in its original release, just barely earning back its $3 million budget. Going into general release after Christmas didn't help.
• California Doubling: Set in the fictional Bedford Falls, New York but filmed entirely in California. Most of the film was shot at the RKO ranch, which was razed and sold to developers in 1954. Two real-life locations were also used in the movie, and these still exist. One is Beverly Hills High School, and yes, they really do have a gym floor that opens up to reveal a swimming pool. The other real-life location is La Cañada Flintridge, which represented Bailey Park for the brief scene with Martini moving into his new house.
• Career Resurrection: For Stewart in particular. This was his major comeback after serving in the army during World War II and he believed that he should quit acting and wondered how he could take the world of make-believe seriously. During production, Barrymore restored his faith in the craft, and he was nominated for an Oscar for his performance. Many later critics note that the dark and despairing portrayal of George Bailey near the end, marked the start of Stewart's great run of performances in the post-war era, namely his films with Anthony Mann and Alfred Hitchcock.
• Cast the Runner-Up:
  • Thomas Mitchell was considered for Mr. Potter before being cast as Uncle Billy.
  • Henry Travers was considered for Billy, Gower and Mr. Bailey before being cast as Clarence.
• The Cast Showoff: For the scene that required Mary to throw a rock into the window of the Granville House, Frank Capra hired a marksman to shoot it out for her on cue. To everyone's amazement, Reed broke the window with true aim and heft without any assistance. She had played baseball in high school and had a strong throwing arm.
• Corpsing: As Harry and George reunite after being apart for so long, there's a noticeable ear-to-ear grin on the baggage porter. Possibly justified in that it's a small town so he may know them and recognize the significance of the moment. Another example is when, after Harry's party, Uncle Billy drunkenly stumbles home. George starts to go back inside, when an enormous crash is heard, followed by Uncle Billy shouting "I'm all right! I'm allllllllll right!", and George laughing at it. As it happens, a crewman dropped a tray of props at that moment; Thomas Mitchell (who played Uncle Billy) quickly improvised as if he had just stumbled into some garbage cans. Jimmy Stewart's reactions in the scene are completely genuine.
• Creative Differences: Capra disagreed with cinematographer Victor Milner and eventually had him replaced. Some of Milner's scenes were re-shot by Joseph Walker.
• Creator Backlash:
  • While Capra was still proud of the film overall and considered it his favorite, he admitted decades after its release that Mary's fate in Pottersville (becoming an unmarried librarian instead of George's wife) didn't age well and wished he gave her something more timeless^note In the original story, she is married to an abusive alcoholic - a fate that is not only much more unpleasant than just being an old maid, but just as - if not more - relevant today with the greater awareness of domestic abuse and alcoholism
  • Two writers called the finished film "horrid" and refused to see it when released.
• Creator's Favorite Episode: Capra often said that this was his favorite of all his films, albeit this was in his later years. Initially in the wake of the film's bad reception, he generally avoided discussing it and before he would often claim that The Bitter Tea of General Yen was his best film. In 1947, he claimed State of the Union was his best, much to the bafflement of his peers since they, and other critics afterwards, saw it as weak.
• Creator's Favorite: Stewart cited George Bailey as being his favorite character he ever played.
• The Danza: Joseph Granby voiced Joseph the angel.
• Dawson Casting: 38-year old Stewart and 25-year-old Reed trying to pass as 22 and 18 respectively after the first Time Skip. This is probably because they need to play older versions of their characters as well.
• Deleted Scene: An alternate deleted scene (unknown if shot or not) can be read in the script printed in a commemorative book about the film, published in the 80s. In the scripted scene, Potter is seen approaching the door of the Bailey house while the celebrations are going on inside, planning to return the missing $8000. Why he's there isn't explained, possibly it's that he's technically honest, however ruthless and only intended to torture George temporarily before "finding" the money. But whatever his motivation, he overhears what's happening inside, realizes at last how worthless his own life has been in comparison to George’s, and turns to slink away in despair.
• Disabled Character, Disabled Actor: Due to Barrymore suffering a hip injury, Potter was portrayed as a paraplegic.
• Dueling Movies: With William Wyler's The Best Years of Our Lives, which was a major hit and awards-winner. Capra and Wyler had a Friendly Rivalry, and Capra had hoped that Wyler would join his venture of independent conglomerate (Liberty Films). Wyler agreed, albeit after finishing his contracted film with Sam Goldwyn. Capra was envious of the esteem and success of Best Years which he saw as negative for its focus on the plight of returning veterans, and post-war malaise and believed that It's a Wonderful Life with its sentimental Nostalgia Filter about the pre-war world and how it could continue after the war, would be more bankable. In either case it didn't pan out. The film was a major flop and Liberty Films folded.
• Enforced Method Acting:
  • According to Robert J. Anderson, H.B. Warner really was drunk during the scene in which Mr. Gower slaps young George. Warner's slaps were real and caused real blood to come from Anderson's ear. After the scene was finished, Warner hugged and comforted Anderson.
  • The scene on the bridge where Clarence saves George was filmed on a backlot on a day where the temperature was 90°F. This is why Stewart is visibly sweating in a few scenes.
  • During filming of the scene at Martini's Bar, Stewart was so overcome with emotion while praying that he began to shed manly tears for real. Seeing this, Capra had to reframe the shot in order to get it closer than was actually filmed because he wanted to catch the expression on Stewart's face. At the time this was an extremely time-consuming project, each frame had to be done individually, making it only one step away from stop-motion animation. Capra spent the whole night doing it.
• He Also Did: Sheldon Leonard, who played Nick-the-bartender ("Get me! I'm givin' out wings!") later became a television producer, where he was responsible for bringing some of the most famous shows ever into being: including The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Andy Griffith Show.
• Irony as She Is Cast: George Bailey is denied from military service during WWII because of his deaf left ear. His little brother is accepted and becomes a medal-winning pilot. The real Stewart was a bomber pilot and Lt. Colonel in WWII, later being promoted to Brigadier General after the war. In fact, he would continue to serve in the Reserves until he retired from the military several decades later.
• Marathon Running: E! ran the film six consecutive times on Christmas 2019.
• Money, Dear Boy: Sheldon Leonard said in an interview that the only reason he agreed to play Nick the bartender in this film was so that he would have money to buy baseball tickets.
• Playing Against Type:
  • H.B. Warner, still best-known to 1946 moviegoers for playing Jesus in The King of Kings, as Gower.
  • While Mr. Potter wasn't the only villain Barrymore played in his career (or even the nastiest - he played Rasputin, after all), he was better-known for playing kindly old grandfather characters until this film, which is easily his most recognizable role for modern audiences.
• Recycled Set: The town set was originally constructed for the 1931 Western film Cimarron. It would be demolished in 1954, when the RKO ranch was sold to developers.
• Referenced by...: In "Christmas with the Joker", Robin suggests that he and Batman watch this movie together.
• Release Date Change: Originally slated for 1947 release, but was rushed to theaters when Technicolor was unable to deliver prints in time for RKO's Christmastime 1946 release of Sinbad the Sailor. The titles were not reshot, and thus bear a 1947 copyright.
• Spared by the Cut: Potter was originally supposed to die of a heart attack while counting his ill-gotten money, but Capra decided it too mean-spirited. The scene is sadly lost.
• Spin-Off Cookbook: "The Bailey Family Cookbook" was released just in time for Christmas 2021, chock full of recipes that were very popular at the time the movie was set. The 75th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray and iTunes Extras include some of the recipes, either written on or scanned from cards.
• Throw It In!:
  • After Uncle Billy staggers away drunk from a party, you hear a crashing metal sound, and he calls back, "I'm all right! I'm alllllllll right!". We presume that Uncle Billy stumbled into some garbage cans. In fact, the crashing noise was from a stagehand dropping equipment, and Thomas Mitchell's "I'm all right!" was an ad-lib. The crash, Mitchell's line, and Stewart's subsequent onscreen corpsing were all kept in, and the stagehand got a bonus.
  • The first kiss with Mary, Stewart was nervous about his first onscreen kiss since coming back from WWII. It was filmed in one unrehearsed take and part of the kiss had to be cut due to being too passionate for the censors.
  • From the same scene, there were more lines that George was going to say to Mary before kissing her, but Stewart essentially pulled a "Shut Up" Kiss on himself and just cut ahead to the act of passion.
  • In the scene when there's a run on the Building & Loan, Ellen Corby as Miss Davis (in her only scene) threw in her request for a very specific amount of money, not just her entire savings back; Stewart was so amused that his reaction is genuine.
• Uncredited Role:
  • Many of the actors with smaller parts are unbilled. Among the more notable are The Little Rascals regular Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer as Freddie, the high school kid who opens the gym floor so George and Mary can fall into the pool beneath, and future Grandma Walton actress Ellen Corby as Miss Davis, the Building & Loan customer who asks George for $17.50.
  • Dalton Trumbo, Dorothy Parker, Marc Connelly and Clifford Odets all did uncredited script work.
• Underage Casting: The age gap between George and Mary is only four years, as opposed to the thirteen year gap between Stewart and Reed. At the end, George's age roughly matches Stewart's, which means Mary is about ten years older than Reed.
• Vindicated by Cable:
  • While not a big hit on initial release, the film became public domain in 1974, so virtually every TV station around started airing it around Christmas due to it being so inexpensive. Since the early 1990s its copyright has been re-established (see the other wiki for all the details), but it's still a holiday staple, albeit exclusive to one broadcaster.
  • It was obscure enough in 1968 that Andrew Sarris doesn't even mention it in the Capra entry for his landmark Auteur Theory book The American Cinema. Of course he largely disliked Capra and bashed him in favor of other directors^note Which is weird because this film was actually liked by François Truffaut who noted that the French missed the boat on Capra because his films weren't properly available in France until much later. These days it's usually considered Capra's best work.
• What Could Have Been:
  • The film was going to be made at another studio with Cary Grant as George. He eventually dropped out to star in The Bishop's Wife. Henry Fonda was also considered for the role.
  • Jean Arthur was Capra's first choice for the part of Mary. However, she declined the role since she was already committed to a Broadway. Ginger Rogers was offered the role, but turned it down, thinking the part was too small. When Rogers penned her autobiography, she questioned that decision by asking the readers, "Foolish, you say?"
  • The 'It's a Wonderful Life' Book reprints a lengthy list of casting possibilities that Capra put together in pre-production. Stewart had already been chosen as George, but there are some intriguing names mentioned for the other characters:
    • Olivia de Havilland was considered for Mary.
    • Vincent Price and Claude Rains were considered for Mr. Potter.
    • W. C. Fields and Barry Fitzgerald were considered for Uncle Billy.
    • Robert Mitchum was considered for Bert.
    • John Ireland was considered for Ernie Bishop.
    • John Carradine and Maurice Evans were considered for Joseph.
  • The graveyard scene during the Pottersville sequence was originally going to be longer, with George finding not only Harry's grave, but those of Martini the bartender and his entire family. They all died when their terrible house in Potter's slum burned down because George wasn't there to move them out.
  • In the original script, Clarence confronts Potter about what he did to George. It was to take place right after Potter yelled, "And Happy New Year to you, in jail!" Since the scene involved a terrified Potter having a heart attack upon learning that he's going to Hell when he dies, it was deemed too grim and cut out. At least, it would have given Potter a Karmic Death.
    • As mentioned above, two alternative (and less bleak) comeuppances for Potter were also scripted, one where Potter is similarly scolded by Clarence and has a less fatal Freak Out from the revelation he saw a ghost, and another where Potter passes by George's house during the final scene and realises his defeat. For less clear reasons, neither of these made the cut either.
  • Early in development, Dalton Trumbo wrote a draft called The Greatest Gift at the time. In this version, George is a politician who starts out idealistic but becomes corrupt, and near the end of his life falls into despair and contemplates suicide, with the Angel appearing and showing him not what his life would be had he not been born, but if he had become a businessman instead of a politician. There was no Mr. Potter in that draft, and in effect, later rewrites made the alternate take into a separate character.
  • A number of alternative endings were considered, with Capra's first script having George fall to his knees saying The Lord's Prayer (the script called for an opening scene with the townspeople in prayer). Feeling an overly religious tone didn't have the emotional impact of family and friends coming to George's rescue, the closing scenes were rewritten.
  • The film was originally going to end with everyone singing "Ode to Joy".
  • The film passed through several hands, including Howard Hughes, who expressed an interest.
• Working Title: The Greatest Gift.
• Write What You Know: Sam makes a fortune in plastics while Harry becomes an engineer at his father-in-law's glass factory. Both of these come out of Capra's own education in chemical engineering; ironically, Capra himself was unable to find a job with his background and, like George Bailey, considered himself a failure for many years.
• Write Who You Know: The Martinis were based on Capra's own family, who emigrated from Sicily in 1903. A goat accompanies them in their car; "capra" means goat in Italian.

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