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Sunday, December 25, 2011

It's a Wonderful Life (1946)


Christmas Movie #6

Synopsis: Nice guy with squawky voice faces financial scandal; guardian angel turns that frown upside down with a hellish hallucination.

Blurb From the VHS Jacket: “No one is born to be a failure. No one is poor who has friends. Simple thoughts that were the inspiration for one of the richest, most uplifting, most beloved American films ever made.”

What Did I Learn?: Bedford Falls (aka “Potterville”) would have been a lot more fun had George Bailey never been born.


Really?: 1) So wait, Mr. Potter pocketed eight grand and got away with almost sending George Bailey to jail? That doesn’t sound right. 2) I have to think that George and Ellen would have noticed the dance floor retracting – everyone else did

Rating: It’s a Wonderful Life is a bit dated and corny at times, but it’s also a touching holiday classic and well worth viewing. Still, Mr. Potter deserved some sort of comeuppance at the end, and I have to wonder if the film really needed to be 160 minutes in length. Couldn’t Frank Capra have clipped out the World War II footage? 8/10 stars.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038650/

1 comment:

  1. As an actor, this movie contains one of my favourite performances ever. Donna Reed's telephone conversation with Jimmy Stewart at her shoulder is one of the most beautifully vulnerable moments captured on film. Wonderful Christmas movie! Must watch it again this year... thanks for the reminder!

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