I said, “I wish I’d never been Born”

It’s been said that the purpose of art is to up lift mans spirit…Frank Capra’s, It’s a Wonderful life (1946), does just that. When you watch this film it helps you put life into perspective. We all have our down days; we loose sight of how we are all interconnected and what we mean to the other people in our life.

Capra stated that he felt this was the best work he ever created. He was intrigued by the idea of exploring how one mans life reaches out and effects the lives of many. Capra’s vision paired with the sweet performance given by Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey created one of the best films in the history of cinema. We follow Stewart through the full range of human emotions, a performance so sophisticated that it easily holds up in 2009… even with great advancements made in the filmmaking/performance process.

By this time in Capra’s carrier, the peak of his creative powers, he said he wanted to create more soul-searching pictures. With that in mind he established Liberty Films in 1945 with Directors, George Stevens (The Diary of Anne Frank, A Place in the Sun) and William Wyler (Ben Hur, The Best Years of our Lives). It’s a Wonderful Life was Liberty Films first production.

Although considered a timeless classic now, when released the film was not all that popular. When the film was released in the winter of 1946 the east coast was experiencing record low temperatures with heavy snow and ice...most people just stayed home and listened to the radio. Another factor was that many audience members viewed this as too depressing of a film for the holidays, which is odd because we now consider this a holiday classic. The film was not a flop at the box office, but once it left the theaters in a few months it was out of sight and out of mind.

A legal loophole may be responsible for allowing modern generations to discover this classic. In the early 1970’s the copyright on the film had expired. There was an option to renew the copyright for another 28 years but because of a clerical error the film slipped into public domain. Television stations across the country started to play the film with out having to pay any royalties to a copyright holder. Since that time it as evolved into a revered body of cinematic work shown every Christmas season.

Television and Film really are best friends forever. If poor old cinema didn’t have his buddy TV around to help him make friends there is a chance we would never know about some of these classic movies. Well there is now a third buddy to join the group…You Tube. You Tube picks up where TV left off and helps deliver these classic films to younger generations.

Enjoy.

George Bailey is rescued by Clarence, his guardian Angel.



Bailey's famous Speech to Old Man Potter & the Loan Board