It's a Wonderful Life

In It’s a Wonderful Life, Frank Capra once again tells the story of an honourable, ordinary person, and no one could tell such stories better than he could.

Dutiful George Bailey has put his own dreams aside to keep the family savings and loan running after his father’s death. Over the years, the job and its modest financial returns leave him disillusioned. On top of that, he is wrongly suspected of financial crime. His shame and despair bring him to the brink of suicide. It takes not only his friends to help him think again, but angels too, so that he can realise that life is wonderful, and that the world would be a poorer place without his contribution.

When It’s a Wonderful Life premiered at Christmas in 1946, it was not a success: people found the film too depressing. Due to an administrative error, the film’s rights were not renewed when they expired in the 1970s, and it entered the public domain—a status that US television stations make frequent use of. This brought the film renewed interest and classic status.

Christmas is a time for simple messages, and no one can help being moved when Bailey realises that life is wonderful after all.