In 1982, I was on the verge of doing something very stupid. Before I had the chance though, this movie came on the TV. It was the first time I had seen it and it changed my life. This movie is the main reason I am here today to even write this. I watch it ever year and cry and thank God that he placed this movie before me to show me how wrong I was. I hope you get as much from this movie as I did and do each and every time I watch it. I am going to grab some Kleenex now and watch your reaction.

@rancidcrabtree.

2 жыл бұрын

;

@thatpatrickguy3446

2 жыл бұрын

Understand that. I've spent too much time in my life, from the late 70s through now, effectively staring into the dark waters of the river like George was, and this movie helps me walk away from that leap. This year has been the worst yet, so I've been watching all the reactions to it to keep me alive. Working so far. :-)

@mjkjelland13

2 жыл бұрын

@@thatpatrickguy3446 Stay Strong my friend, my prayers are with you.

@thatpatrickguy3446

2 жыл бұрын

@@mjkjelland13 Thank you my brother. Mine are with you too. Peace and hope.

@thatpatrickguy3446

2 жыл бұрын

@@JT-gk8rc Thank you for the good words, J T. Therapy is beyond my ability to afford right now, and getting fired from my job two days before Christmas sure didn't help with that either. 😲 But I'll keep struggling to make it through as best as I can for as long as I'm able.

Jimmy Stewart was suffering from PTSD when he shot It's a Wonderful Life. He had just come back from 20 missions as the colonel of a B-24 bomber squad over Germany during World War II. He begged Capra to not do any extra takes during the last scene at Martini's/Nick's bar because it was too stressful. After knowing about his PTSD, you can't watch this movie without noticing it all over his performance. Out of all the Hollywood actors who went to war, he was the one who saw the most action and he refused to be treated special. He was a true hero. If you want to know about his military career I can recommend the book Mission: Jimmy Stewart and the Fight for Europe.

@windsorkid7069

2 жыл бұрын

You're close, but James was not stressed about any of his takes in the movie because as he had said many times before, "I let that go."

@johnmiller7682

2 жыл бұрын

@@windsorkid7069 And that's also a symptom of PTSD.

@jonrazo7912

2 жыл бұрын

@@johnmiller7682 yeah. Jimmy Stewart wasn't okay. And that's okay.

@arandomnamegoeshere

2 жыл бұрын

I like to think that Stewart's real-world experiences in War would add additional gravitas to this kind of role; an understanding that might not be so common (albeit all too common at the time). As difficult as that might have been on him. It does make me appreciate the performance even more.

@lisathuban8969

2 жыл бұрын

Quite an amazing man, Jimmy Stewart. He got a degree in architecture at Princeton as well. He seemed to give 100% to anything he worked on.

I had the privilege of meeting Jimmy Stewart about a month before his death. Absolutely ancient, but classy as hell. He exited the room by backing out of it, as he considered turning his back on someone as being rude.

@ShanelleRiccio

2 жыл бұрын

that's exactly the story I'd expect from Jimmy! love this, thanks for sharing!!

@philipbergmann519

2 жыл бұрын

That is pure class. You will be hard pressed to find its' like anywhere today.

@johndalessandro6433

Ай бұрын

Jimmy Stewart was a very humble man. A fellow Pennsylvania boy. Not your typical hero physically speaking as in; Tall, skinny, not a gruff voice , but , he held his own against the best. He was mild mannered , not an outlandish type at all, he even made fun of himself about it, but, you can tell with the other big " stars" of the time, he was VERY respected! He was the typical guy that was too nice, but it was sincere and that's what people loved about him. As far as his military career, many of the actors of that time served but never spoke of it unless asked in interviews. They where the greatest generation without a doubt, but I am hopeful that an even greater generation is yet to come!❤ I'm glad you liked it. I am 55 and have seen this film since the 70's.

It's a movie that everyone should see at some point in their life. And it only gets more effective the older one gets.

I love how after Uncle Billy starts crying, the squirrel comes over and gives him a hug.

The point where Donna Reed was wearing glasses as an "old maid" made her look even more beautiful than she already was!

@justinmorgan7564

2 жыл бұрын

I feel this is kind of like how the director of Rocky tried to make Talia Shire look homely and failed. You just can't hide that kind of beauty.

@CaptainFrost32

2 жыл бұрын

@@justinmorgan7564 I never took it as trying to make her look like an old maid, but a librarian spending too much time straining her eyes.

@glawnow1959

2 жыл бұрын

This is the glimpse that I think Capra gets wrong; I think it would have been more devastating to George Bailey if he had seen Mary beautiful and happy with different children in a nicer house with a richer man.

@CaptainFrost32

2 жыл бұрын

@@glawnow1959 I feel it would be more like the shock of Marty McFly meeting his mother in the divergent timeline, married to Biff. Do you remember the guy who came in 4th in a race, who later opened the pool beneath George & Mary? Without George, the other guy dates Mary. He becomes a made man in the Mafia as a loan shark and racketeer instead of a legal Savings & Loans. He gets a piece of the action from the illicit businesses. He keeps Mary dolled up for when they go out regularly.

@centuryrox

2 жыл бұрын

@@glawnow1959 Devastating to George, yes. But if he saw her with someone else, with children, and obviously happy, would he want to take that away from her? That would show George as kind of selfish, wouldn't it?

11:37 The "crow" was Jimmy the Raven. He was quite the film star in his own right and was insured for the equivalent of thousands of dollars today. In 'The Wizard of Oz' he was the 'crow' that lands, unfazed, on the Scarecrow just before he sings 'If I only had a brain.' Frank Capra cast used him in a movie in 1938 and cast him in all his subsequent films.

@melenatorr

2 жыл бұрын

That movie was likely "You Can't Take It With You", where Jimmy has some nice work to do. It also stars Lionel Barrymore (Mr. Potter) in a completely different role, and Jimmy Stewart, this time both on the same side. I love the movie, though it's substantially different from the original play. But it enjoys itself, makes its point, and has kittens on top of everything else. How can you go wrong? Barrymore had crippling arthritis, which limited his acting options, but in "You Can't...", you can see him walking.

@WoodsToLiveBy

2 жыл бұрын

That's cool trivia; I didn't know any of that. More generally, I thought that since crows are a symbol of bad luck, the fact that there was always one at the Bailey offices was a darkly humorous metaphor for the Building & Loan's own situation.

@TuttleCapt

2 жыл бұрын

True but the crow, the squirrel, monkey etc are all about Uncle Billy's love for animals.

@K9TheFirst1

Жыл бұрын

As for the point of the crow in the movie, I think it's just to show how much George's uncle is scatterbrained, letting wild animals live among his office.

@bobwallace9814

Жыл бұрын

Never knew that before, thanks! Now did you know who was the boy that opened the gym dance floor over the pool? It was Alfalfa.

The scene in the bar when the camera closes in on Stewart's face as he breaks down, that's seriously one of the finest, most heartbreakingly realistic performances I'd ever seen in films from that era at the time I'd first seen it when I was a teenager. What an incredible piece of cinematic art.

@ShanelleRiccio

2 жыл бұрын

Totally agree with you there!

I've seen several reactions to this movie and I'm really shocked at the lack of history knowledge. Most had no idea the "run" on the bank was the start of the great depression

@MarieAnne.

10 ай бұрын

Bank runs can occur outside of a depression too. In this movie, George and Mary get married in 1932 according to some sources I've seen, so not quite the beginning of the great depression, but well within the timeline and many bank runs occurred throughout the depression. What really amazes me is that some reactors I've seen don't seem to even understand what a bank run is.

@pscar1

6 ай бұрын

​@@MarieAnne.It's even more surprising knowing that runs happened as recently as 2008-2012.

@davidstevenson1933

6 ай бұрын

@@pscar1 Bank runs are really not something the average person needs to worry about due to FDIC insurance. They certainly can and do still occur (Silicon Valley Bank says hello) but not the way they used to where a small bank could be taken down by panic among ordinary citizens with even small accounts. Nowadays the average person just isn't going to have more than $250,000 in a savings account at one bank and thus would have no reason to panic if their bank looked shaky. I am in my 40s and to be honest I can't remember if I ever learned about bank runs at any point in high school or college. It is possible I did, but it is also possible I only learned about them from watching this movie every Christmas as a child.

@rlevitta

6 ай бұрын

You won’t go astray if you watch ANY Frank Capra movie.

@chrissyhoran404

3 ай бұрын

And at the drugstore George asks Violet and Mary if they want shoelaces…licorice.

Oh dear, here is the thing .. I am European (Swedish actually) and I only saw this upon recommendation and it is still, despite this, an immensely powerful experience. The mythology is not ours except in the widest sense .. but the moral essence is. It is just gorgeous. Merry Christmas from us. And do take care. Cheers 🍺

@ShanelleRiccio

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! And a Merry (late) Christmas! more like happy new year at this point 😂

@artbagley1406

2 жыл бұрын

Nowadays, it's called "paying it forward," or "in advance," to gain benefits before you even need them.

@carolynworthington8996

Жыл бұрын

God jul!

I love how many people look at 1947 through the 2021 lens. Donna Reed was absolutely gorgeous so having her become a glasses wearing old maid librarian was all they could do to play out the story arc. Glasses were the epitome of old maid homliness...THEN. Of course it's silly and anachronistic now but that's the way the world was. "Boy's don't make passes at girls who wear glasses" was a common expression back then. If you want to look at at the movie using a 2021 perspective you could say the Mary was the actual hero of the movie.

@pliny8308

2 жыл бұрын

Agree with all of that. People have to remember that Mary said George had to marry her to save her from being an old maid. Her circumstances may have changed, but her character did not. Only a very, very, special man could win her; a man like George Bailey. No one in Bedford Falls fit the bill without him around. I do think this is George's story, but the importance of her character is often overlooked. She deeply understands and appreciates George, grounds him and supports him, and is just as compassionate, loving and selfless. George and Mary forever!

@charlesj1258

2 жыл бұрын

Agree that Mary was basically the hero of the movie. George was spiraling down - feeling alone and trapped and hopeless, thinking everything only depended on him. But as Uncle Billy said, Mary saw the bigger picture and went around and rallied his friends to come to his rescue. Also, I liked the response comment that she wasn't an "old maid" out of desperation and homely-ness but because she never met anyone else with the combination of integrity and creativity that George had. Great movie...

I’m 56 years old. I’ve been watching this movie every year for at least 30 years. And I cry my eyes out every single time. Thanks for the xmas morning cry. Fun facts: Ellen Corby, the lady George kisses in the bank run up, played Grandma Walton on The Waltons.

@porflepopnecker4376

2 жыл бұрын

Right about Ellen, but Nick the bartender was played by Sheldon Leonard.

@caseymoe816

2 жыл бұрын

@@porflepopnecker4376 Oops. My bad.

@vly9257

2 жыл бұрын

Nick the bartender is in Guys and Dolls.

@auapplemac2441

Жыл бұрын

@@porflepopnecker4376 Sheldon Leonard, a character actor (usually played a heavy) went to become a very wealthy TV producer in the 50s and 60s. His credits include the hit shows, "Danny Thomas Show," "Andy Griffith" and "Dick Van Dyke Show."

I'm going to make a prediction: centuries from now, this film will be the 20th century's equivalent of Hamlet.

@Harkness78

2 жыл бұрын

I think more likely candidates 400-500 years from now would be Citizen Kane, Schindler's List, and Vertigo. And Robocop.

@cindyknudson2715

2 жыл бұрын

@@Harkness78 I respectfully disagree

@blueamaranth9419

2 жыл бұрын

@@Harkness78 Citizen Kane is in the same ballpark, and I could see multiple future versions of it being made with recasting, even new takes on it, as happens with Hamlet, but Schindler's List, as brilliant as it is frame for frame, and Vertigo strike me as being more a single version that no one could replace with a new directorial vision the way Hamlet gets played with. The Godfather might go in the list of possibles, though.

@jsat5609

2 жыл бұрын

@@blueamaranth9419 While Vertigo isn't my favorite Hitchcock movie, I believe no one could remake a Hitchcock movie without destroying it.

@tconlon251

Жыл бұрын

“500 years ago, people around the world celebrated a holiday called Christmas. Traditions included singing, decorating dead trees, and hunting terrorists in large buildings.”

Another tidbit: Virginia Patton, who played Harry’s wife, is the only living adult member of the cast, at 96. She is the niece of General George Patton.

@johncurtis7186

2 жыл бұрын

Zu Zu is still with us at 81 🙂

@tremorsfan

2 жыл бұрын

@@johncurtis7186 He said ADULT member.

@johncurtis7186

2 жыл бұрын

tremorsfan: Yes, it was me who made the original comment 😂 Wasn’t correcting myself, just pointing out, that the actress who played Zu Zu, is still alive.

Barrymore family has been an established acting family forever. Lionel (Mr Potter) is Drew’s Grandfather’s brother and his Mother’s Maiden name was Drew. It’s part of the reason Drew started being cast in stuff when she was like 3.

6:45 I love the way this moment was shot. George is trying to get out and see the world, but then we see him walk into the extreme close-up, his face taking up most of the screen, giving a sudden sense of being stifled or trapped. Great work, along with James Stewart's devastated expression.

@ShanelleRiccio

2 жыл бұрын

YES! Love that moment too!

One of the greatest movies ever made. Jimmy Stewart = movie legend and national treasure. Love it!

Jimmy Stewart in Hitchcock's “Rear Window” is a movie and cinematography. One of my favorites

I grew up with this movie. I cant even remember the first time I saw it. What I do know is that with each passing year it becomes more and more relevant. Will always be my favorite

A bit of trivia. The Actor who plays Nick the bartender was Sheldon Leonard. He became a television producer and the characters Sheldon and Leonard in Big Bang Theory were named as a tribute to him.

@charlieeckert4321

2 жыл бұрын

Sheldon Leonard produced The Danny Thomas Show, Gomer Pyle USMC, The Andy Griffith Show among others.

@robertpearson8798

2 жыл бұрын

@@charlieeckert4321 And one of his last acting jobs was as the owner of “The Hungry Heifer” restaurant, Norm’s favourite eatery on Cheers.

@Madbandit77

2 жыл бұрын

@@charlieeckert4321 He also created "I Spy".

The kid at the dance who opened the retractable dance floor was Carl Switzer, who had played Alfalfa in _Our Gang._ From what I understand, they shot the sequence at Beverley Hills High School, as it had a retractable floor above their pool.

@hughdavidvisor1769

2 жыл бұрын

Switzer also had a reputation as a prankster; at 29, he played a prank on someone who reacted by getting a gun & killing him.

You will notice that no one ever said "pregnant". They weren't allowed to say "pregnant" back in those days. "I Love Lucy" had the same challenge. It was always "stork visit", "expecting", "with child", or "on the nest".

@jsat5609

2 жыл бұрын

Desi Arnaz said the fact that he had to use "expecting" worked to his advantage, because when he said it, it came "'specting," like "spaining" (explaining) and he could get a laugh out of it.

@amwfan88

6 ай бұрын

My favorite way in which I Love Lucy got around that was the name of the episode where she finds out she's pregnant. The episode's title is "Lucy is Enceinte," which is French for "pregnant."

I remember back in the 70s and early 80s this movie would be on every channel this time of year.. Just thinking that a company was ready to front George up to 25,000 dollars, that is like 356K today. My mother forced my nephew a few xmas's ago to watch the movie and he was happy he did. My father always will tell the story when he was a young 18 year old US Airman, that he had lunch with General Jimmy Stewart and being so star struck, he never got a chance to ask him about this movie.

Fun Fact, like you I was in to movies at a young age. I was channel surfing in the late 1970's and came across this movie by chance in the middle of the night. I was so impressed that I had to tell everybody. Guess what, no one ever heard of it back then! It only became the quintessential Christmas movie a few years later. 😊

Early colorization was pretty dreadful, but it eventually became good enough that there's at least one decent color Wonderful Life that I've seen. Even when color was/is offered, I watch it black and white because it just looks better that way. The snow, the streets, the entire film feels colder and more wintry in b&W.

@arandomnamegoeshere

2 жыл бұрын

Agreed. Colorization tech has improved greatly. There's some really excellent examples out there. If color gets people to overlook the "old" aspect of black-and-white or the color brings additional information to the table, then it serves a purpose. But that last bit is the stickler. Instead of bringing new insights, I find that it muddles the scene. Movies aren't just imagery captured on film. Shots are crafted with careful attention to what is going to be captured on film (and if the movie in question isn't that kind of movie, why bother with inferior craftsmanship when there's so much better to spend our limited mortal time on enjoying?). Those who created these movies expected the greys and blacks to present a specific imagery that color throws off. Indeed - it's the black-and-white image captured that is the basis of stories like Psyco's chocolate syrup blood or the Easter pastel colors of the Adams Family home. Color wasn't the consideration. It was light and shadow. That's why it is worth keeping the original black-and-white. Not because that was just the (limited) tech available at the time. But because that was the medium with which art was created.

@unclejack123

2 жыл бұрын

Black and White movies were based on telling a story with lighting techniques. Two of the best examples are Psycho and Citizen Kane, although they are all based on this fact ..... colorizing them destroys that imagery. .......... just sayin' ........ Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year.

@jonathanross149

2 жыл бұрын

There was a joke about colorizing the 1st part of Wizard of Oz at the time

@jsat5609

2 жыл бұрын

@@arandomnamegoeshere Completely agree. Incidentally, color was available in 1946, but it was expensive, hard to use, required much more light, and most importantly, people would not pay extra to see a color movie, so not a lot of films were shot in color.

@user-sw4qd2up2s

2 жыл бұрын

Black n White is the only way to watch this. Colorization is blasphemy! When this was released in color in the 80s there was a backlash. Nobody wanted it, and the VHS sales/rentals were low. This is why to this day you will rarely see the colorized version being played.

haha you just made me yell at the tv for the first time…”Three Hundred THOUSAND!! SAY THOUSAND!!!” 😹🎅🏻

@stevehutnikoff5964

2 жыл бұрын

Someone needs to learn her numbers! Haha

@ShanelleRiccio

2 жыл бұрын

😂😂😂😂😂

@ShanelleRiccio

2 жыл бұрын

Notice how i had a year to learn and didn’t…

When I was a kid in the 70s, this was on tv every Christmas. I watched it every year and always had a crush on James Stewart. He's just such an amazing actor. And I loved the friendship he had with Johnny Carson. Carson would always ask after Harvey (another brilliant moviie.) This is one of three movies I watch every Christmas now along with White Christmas and The Bells of St. Mary's.

B&W has deliberate control of light and shadow for dramatic effect. The colorized version muddles some of that work, and is also distracting due to not-quite-right colors.

I was in 3rd grade the first time I saw this movie. It was coming on PBS right at my bed time and I saw the stars talking and really wanted to watch but my Mom made me go to bed. Luckily I had a TV in my room. I kept the volume low and got really close to the TV. I loved this movie so much that I started watching anything and everything staring Jimmy Stewart or directed by Frank Carpra. There are 6 movies I watch every year at Christmas time and It's a Wonderful Life tops the list.

@melissanichols4643

Жыл бұрын

What are the others? Jimmy Stewart and Frank Capra are great! Meet John Doe is not exactly a Christmas film, but very good.

This movie has been a part if my life for, at the least, 35 years or so. It's taken me 45 years to realize what George realizes at the end of the film. The film is timeless because it's true.

OMG, I SO fell in love with gorgeous Donna Reed when I watched this as a kid. The HEAT of that first kiss scene is astonishing, especially for the times.

@porflepopnecker4376

2 жыл бұрын

And Donna later had her own long-running sitcom "The Donna Reed Show" with Carl Betz as her husband and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as her daughter and son.

@Madbandit77

2 жыл бұрын

@@porflepopnecker4376 Before her sitcom, she earned an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in the military drama, "From Here To Eternity".

@steveclevenger5826

2 жыл бұрын

@@user-sw4qd2up2s That always surprised me too. In fact, she actually said "He's making VIOLENT love to me, mother!"

I think a lot of younger people don't get the point of why Mary became an 'Old Maid" because this come from an era where most people still believed in one true love, findng your one true soul mate for all eternity, so if George was never born, their 'souls' could never meet on earth. They could of gone another way in filming/story telling, with Mary married the wrong man, that 'beat her, cheated on her etc etc. but that would of been a lot longer to tell and the movie is already pretty long. :)

Just realized, the lady that only needs $17.50 instead of $20 essentially saves the business. $2 left!

@johnrule1607

5 ай бұрын

Oh wow! That's right. I never noticed that. Great find!!

@johnrule1607

5 ай бұрын

I remember hearing that she ad-libed that amount. And it surprised Jimmy Stewart so much that his reaction to her and kiss were sincere.

I remember watching this on TV when I was a kid and I'm in my 60's now. Despite having seen it countless times, it still makes me cry every time I watch it. Thank you for taking the time do do this one! Love your videos!

Such a great reaction! Thank you! My dad, brother and I have watched this every Christmas for over 20 years at our homes. My brother passed away this year. So its a little sadder this year. This movie came out in 1946. The only actors that are still alive are the ones who played his kids in the movie. Its my favorite Christmas movie for sure. Die Hard is #2 lol

I’m 73 years old. Jimmy Stewart has been my favorite actor since I was a kid. He can & has done it all, classic comedy, screwball comedy, drama, melodrama, westerns, a trio of Hitchcock films, over the course of a career that spanned from the beginnings of talkies in the 30s up until the 80s 👌❣️

Here's an interesting twist, in this film Lionel Barrymore plays the greedy banker and Jimmy Stewart plays the benevolent savior of the town, however they were also in the film You Can't Take It With You in which Barrymore played the benevolent hero of a small neighborhood and Stewart plays the son of the evil banker trying to take over the area.

Just another reason to love Jimmy Stewart. Great actor, sense of humor& a real class act.

ZUZU was a brand of gingerbread cookies and it's adorable that their little redhead is called Zuzu. George even says, "Zuzu, my little gingersnap!"

I've heard other commentators be confused about the crow. I think Uncle Billy was just a big-hearted animal lover. Hence the little squirrel giving Uncle Billy a hug at a crucial moment.

When the woman humbly asks for $17.50, instead of 20 dollars, it ends up being the reason they have two dollars remaining that save the Savings and Loan at the end of the day. I've watched this movie so many times, and didn't pick up on that detail until I watched your edited-down reaction. The colorized version is available to stream on Prime, and while I think 'colorized' versions of old films have largely been decried as sacrilege, the version of Wonderful Life in color works very well.

A movie was filmed in black & white when color was available for two main reasons - first, color was expensive back then, and second, it was done on purpose (i.e. Young Frankenstein) to make use of the Italian word "chiaroscuro", meaning chiaro, “light,” and scuro, “dark” shadow technique (credit to my son for teaching me this). It provided more mystery.

I can't remember how old i was when i first saw this(61 now) but i do know i have seen this every Christmas since...it is one of my all time favs and always makes me cry. As for Jimmy Stewart, what an actor. One of my favs, along with Gary Cooper..just genuine, real. BTW another awesome movie similar to this is Meet John Doe with Gary Cooper...also directed by Frank Capra

I just love how emotional your reviews are! You get so into the movie and just let your feelings come through. Great job!

8:53 It's the start of the Great Depression. After the stock market crash, the banks were closed until the government could figure out how to deal with that collapse. Lots of smaller banks and savings and loan businesses were destroyed.

This is my desert island movie, I never tire of it. I've watched it countless times, as it was constantly on tv in my younger days, then tape, then disc, now streaming. I tear up every single time I have ever seen it. I live near Seneca Falls, NY which is a possible inspiration for Bedford Falls, and they have an annual festival in honor of the film. It's incredibly well acted, directed and filmed. I enjoyed your perspective! To answer the crush question, I admire James Stewart's acting talent, and I'd love to find someone with the qualities of George and Jimmy. Who wouldn't? Merry Christmas!

The right glasses can enhance. Also: Speaking of Jimmy, "Harvey" is a must.

@pauld6967

2 жыл бұрын

She definitely has to review _'Harvey'_ .

I've been a very fanatical movie fan all my life, and have in the last few days bingeing your reactions learned more about film rules, and camera shots than I learned being a fan in my 54 years. Thanks for sharing your insights! 😊

The crow is death constantly threatening "The Building and Loan." I think I remember something about that particular well trained crow being a regular in movies at that period of time.

Saturday Night Live did a sketch where the "original ending" was unearthed and Dana Carvey played George Bailey as they parodied the end scene with a twist. George finds out Potter kept the $8000 and he confronted him and basically exacted $8000 in revenge. It's a hilarious sketch. Dana Carvey did such a good Jimmy Stewart impression he was once requested by Stewart on a talk show to do the impression in front of him.

@kmcleod31721

2 жыл бұрын

The studio crowd reaction for that skit is what blows me away. 40+ years old at the time, and seeing Potter finally get his comeuppance was absolutely cathartic for the audience.

And that’s how it is done !!! James Stewart was such a likeable and at the same time compelling actor. When he was a much older man he used to come on the Johnny Carson show he would tell the most entertaining stories. He always had an unbelievable charisma. Definitely one of the greats.

Excellent reaction and commentation, really enjoyed it on Christmas day, thank you for the repost.

It never gets old watching someone new react to this movie!🥲 Merry Christmas 🎄.

Jimmy Stewart was the original Tom Hanks, not to mention he was a genuine war hero, combat veteran, and General in the Air Force, during WW2. And he demanded from his agents that they never mention his service record, not wanting to gain fame from it. They don't make'em like him any more.

@cluster_f1575

2 жыл бұрын

Agreed. That's a great comparison!

@petercastaneda5338

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Happy Holidays.

Wonderful reaction for a wonderful movie and some great golden age stars. Jimmy Stewarts' life and career is unmatched by any other star before or since. To have combined such a successful career in movies along with a long and successful career in the military is amazing. He was a star when he enlisted in the service in 1940 (a year before Pearl Harbor). Rose from the rank of Private in the Army Air Force to retire as a Major General in the U.S. Air Force. He served more than 28 years in the military and flew more than 20 combat missions during WWII and one final combat mission as an observer on a B52 mission over Vietnam in 1968. A wonderful man lived a wonderful life... in more ways than one.

I’ve watched a half dozen of these reactions this year because I love this movie so much. It never fails to bring me to tears. Beyond all that nonsense I enjoy your reaction/s because you being the smarts. Well done.

Hollywood used to have such great leading men: Cary Grant, my personal favorite, in virtually every movie he ever made, the consummate charming love interest, Clark Gable, especially in Gone With The Wind and his westerns, Gregory Peck in his westerns, in Roman Holiday, and especially as the perfect father in To Kill A Mockingbird , Gary Cooper in High Noon, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, and Meet John Doe, and Jimmy Stewart, whom as an immigrant I always saw, along with Gary Cooper, as the most "American" of all male film stars, in practically every movie he ever made, but especially in this and Rear Window and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.

I hope you watch "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." It's equally good though it doesn't have the same type of emotions. Stewart's acting is, once again, top notch, and I think you'll also find a theme which we can relate to today.

@ShanelleRiccio

2 жыл бұрын

I did catch this in High School! I had a great Government teacher -- wonder what I'd get out of it today!

@marklehuray1091

2 жыл бұрын

@@ShanelleRiccio only one way to find out :)

A wonderful reaction to one of the most memorable of Christmas movies. At 52, I've seen this yearly for as long as I can remember. With age has come different understandings of this film, and it's messages. I hope it continues to be a part of your holiday traditions. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

The one reactor I couldn't imagine not having seen this classic... "It's A Wonderful Life" has been a personal holiday tradition for the past 44 years.

This is either my favorite or second favorite Christmas movie of all time!!! Either way it’s a truly timeless classic!!! Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all!!

I’m so happy that you were able to bring this back. I’ve missed it. Merry Christmas Shanelle!

There is an older SNL skit that gave the alternate ending to this that mostly everyone (secretly or not) wanted to see. They found out Potter stole the money, then a mob of them found him and beat him to death. Lol. Merry Christmas!

Yes. I looked up to Jimmy Stewart as what a man should be. I saw him in many different films and became a favorite actor of mine. As a family , we went to Church on Sunday, came home and after lunch we sat and watched the Sunday Matinee on t.v. usually an old war picture or western. One time we watched "The Man who shot Liberty Vallance " my fav Jimmy Stewart film. We would clap at the end of the movies. It was a cherished memory growing up. Jimmy like John Wayne had a distinctive way of talking. Jimmy does seem to studder. That is how it was and i like it. The coloring of this movie was one of the earliest done. It is destracting and not completely done alot of the time. Blahk! Patui! Thank you for your commenting on film production. It makes me appreciate the movie more. Thank you for keeping the context of when the movie was made and that kind of thing. I understand that many times glasses make a lady homely but i think sometimes glasses can make a lady sexy. Maybe because i have worn glasses all my life? So it is a wonderful life in the end. And i am grateful and thankful. Let us celebrate this life and do good!

I had heard of this movie but the first time I saw it was in the 80s. My high school had a new elective course in film. We watched this in class and there was not a dry eye in the classroom.

It's A Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street are MUST's every year. They are classic films in their own right, not just great holiday films. Later, A Christmas Story would join their ranks.

Wonderful reaction! I particularly liked how you took into account when it was made and allowed yourself to get into the story.

16:00 There's a deleted scene from the cemetery where he also sees a Martini gravestone, because in that timeline the Martinis got sick living in Potter's slums. They presumably took it out because it would have thrown off the emotional one-two punch of his mother not knowing him and his brother dying in childhood.

I wish reactors would react to more classic movies besides just “It’s A Wonderful Life” and “Casablanca.” There are so many other beloved, great movies from the 30s-the 60s that would also be easy for modern mainstream audiences to love if they would just give them a chance. I can’t understand how someone can watch one or two movies from the 40s, absolutely love them, and then just think “Welp, that was fun but guess that’s probably all there is worth exploring out of the many thousands of movies that were made prior to the 1980s. Guess I’ll now just go the rest of my life depriving myself of all the magnificent cinematic masterpieces of the span of decades that are for some reason known as the golden age of cinema.”

@Whateva67

2 жыл бұрын

True,I have to take your advice ☺️

@arandomnamegoeshere

2 жыл бұрын

One of the things I really like about TCM is that they do the work to pick out the (surviving) gems out of the dross of the age. And then not only present the best quality copy available, but tell a story along with it that establishes links to the people involved, the industry, or the times that the film was presented in. It isn't just old movies for the hopelessly nostalgic.

@stevencolatrella3257

2 жыл бұрын

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Maybe the greatest movie ever. James Stewart and John Wayne .

@bigbake132

2 жыл бұрын

@@stevencolatrella3257 I like The Searchers as well.

@unity1016

2 жыл бұрын

This Land is Mine - I haven't been able to watch this movie since I got rid of my VCR.

So glad to see you react to this! Merry Christmas! 🎄 I’m in western NY. I’d say Bedford Falls is supposed to be in one of the counties either slightly east or south of the Buffalo/ Niagara area. Lots of Italian and Polish-background people- also a lot of waterfalls that could be the fictitious Bedford Falls. :)

@pliny8308

2 жыл бұрын

That or upstate New York, i.e. Glens Falls.

@rmar67

2 жыл бұрын

@@pliny8308 Bedford Falls was loosely, but only loosely based on the town of Seneca Falls, NY.

I saw Jimmy Stewart on stage in London, the play 'Harvey' in 1975. The moment he first walked on stage he got a standing ovation.

I've watched a number of different First Time Watching for this movie. You by far have the best one! Keep up your good work and a Merry Christmas to you.

Considering that all of them had just gone through 4 years of world war and Stewart had PTSD from his time as a combat pilot I think they did the best they could. There wasn't a deep bench of talented teenagers just then and even 19 year-olds were pretty mature. This is a favorite movie of mine because I like the cast and the story.

@rustincohle2135

2 жыл бұрын

"Considering that all of them had just gone through 4 years of world war" All of them? Who is "all of them" besides Stewart and Capra (who wasn't in combat)?

@randallshuck2976

2 жыл бұрын

@@rustincohle2135 Almost everyone from the generation that was a child through full adulthood during the war either served, found themselves working in essential jobs or knew someone who served. They basically had been concentrating on the war effort and not so much on creative pursuits. At least, that was the experience of the folks I knew who had gone through it. Even the folks away from the fighting suffered. One of my sisters, a twin, died due to a reformulation of a common pediatric medication. It changed from a shelf stable mixture to one that had to be refrigerated.

12:52 "who is she?" Violet. You've known of her character since the beginning of the movie. You've seen her several times. :)

My husband and I watch this every year - and each time we catch something new - 50 years of watching this and we see the sad politics and the sweetness at the end - that is just amazing.

Love your reaction. Merry Christmas!

Thanks for the re-post and for sticking with the BW version and watching it as it was intended. Colorized BW are blasphemy! Ha! Jimmy Stewart is the classic good guy underdog. I would also recommend him in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington(1939). It's another Frank Capra film. The Philadelphia Story(1940) is also another good movie with Stewart. He plays opposite Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn. Classics! Enjoy! Lastly, if you haven't seen Casablanca yet,.. :O It's my favorite. I never get tired of it. :)

@hughdavidvisor1769

2 жыл бұрын

Stewart sings an excellent version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow in Philadelphia Story.

@victoriah.3491

2 жыл бұрын

And don't forget: HARVEY, BEND IN THE RIVER & MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON...My picks after WONDERFUL LIFE for Stewart favs, besides Hitchcock leads.🎥👍

@spongebobandplanktonshould2920

2 жыл бұрын

Don't forget The Glen Miller Story.

@victoriah.3491

2 жыл бұрын

@@spongebobandplanktonshould2920 This is an ok movie . To showcase JS acting chomps, not so much. Bend in the River is tour de force. Also, The Two Rode Together w bff Hank.

You should also watch ‘The Bishop’s Wife’. The 1947 version starring Cary Grant, Loretta Young and David Niven. The actors playing Zulu and young George also play characters in this movie.

@eugenegrewing2587

2 жыл бұрын

Actually not a very good movie

@rainbowgames1

2 жыл бұрын

She’s a millennial feminist. She would hate that movie.

@peetwine4018

2 жыл бұрын

@@eugenegrewing2587 You're right - it's a GREAT movie

I don't know how many times I'd seen the last 20 minutes of this movie on TV growing up, but when I was 16 in the late '90s, I decided to watch the whole thing. I had recently become an obsessive film buff (a movie about two lovers on a sinking ship may have had something to do with that), and watching It's a Wonderful Life was the start of my obsession with film history. The AFI did their 100 years...100 movies program the next year and I watched as many of those films as I could get my hands on. A decade later, I moved on to Sight and Sound's greatest films worldwide. My love for cinema of all kinds continues to this day, and I work it into my art history lectures when I can. And I will never NOT have a crush on 1940s Jimmy Stewart. It's a Wonderful Life, The Philadelphia Story, and especially The Shop Around the Corner--you just can't get better than his characters. Although some of his best performances were in the '50s with Alfred Hitchcock.

I read an excellent book on film noir about twenty years ago called Somewhere in the Night that has a whole section on It’s a Wonderful Life. The author’s contention is that the Pottersville section of the film represents George Bailey crossing over into the film noir world where the American Dream is turned upside down, and we enter the American Nightmare. In Pottersville there is only predation and loneliness. Notably, the film was made exactly during the noir period-a time when almost all American films were infected with a sort of spiritual malaise which was perhaps the cumulative result of the depression, the war, the Holocaust, and the atomic bomb all landing on the country in just a few years time.

Repost or not, I’ll always take the time to watch a reaction to this magical movie.

@lindanicholson950

2 жыл бұрын

And I cry every time.

This is a movie I bring up to counter people who say "Die Hard" isn't a Christmas movie. It's as much a Christmas movie as this movie or "Home Alone", in that the only thing that makes them Christmas movies is the timing of the plot and some Christmas music. "Die Hard" took place shortly before Christmas and has Christmas music. Home Alone took place in the days leading up to Christmas and plays Christmas music. "It's a Wonderful Life" spans years, but the finale takes place on Christmas and includes Christmas music. Otherwise there's nothing specifically Christmas about the plots. This movie, I think, set the precedent that the timing can make a movie a Christmas movie. And it is deservedly an enduring Christmas classic.

I've always loved this movie, one of my all time favourites, also loved your reaction to it!

I saw this as a young kid back in the 70''s. I loved it immediately and was surprised later on when I learned it had been a flop originally. This movie and all other movies by Jimmy Stewart have taken on more significance since I began impersonating him. He talks slowly with stutters and stammers and I have pretty much perfected his voice and delivery. Jimmy Stewart was a class act and after John Wayne, he is my favorite actor.

Directed by the great Frank Capra. Was dismissed as 'Capra-corn' for its sentimentality. It flopped at the box office. It's popularity stem from it going into public domain. TV stations in the 70s needed more Christmas movies and could show it w/o paying for it. It became a classic.

Shanelle, I love your commentary throughout, but I particularly appreciate the fact that you pause the film first so as not to audibly eclipse the brilliant dialogue.

I am 62 but we didn't have a tv at age 9 so I first say this on TV in the mid 80s as a working wife and mother. Keep in mind the Crash and Depression were well inown events to us, and for many their parents had been raised then and the grandparents had survived it as young adults like George and Mary. Seeing as the 80s had hyper inflation and union busting, and we were a young family with a blue collar hubby and mortgage... This always felt very current to me. I just didn't have the small town cohesiveness, and that made this a Wonderful Life presented

I have fallen in love with your appreciation for things. I know this was a while ago, but great reaction. Keep up the great work.

@ShanelleRiccio

2 жыл бұрын

aw thank you for that, and for reminding me what I'm doing on here! :)

When colorization first started it was very wrong and colors were off. Also colorized movies take away the important usage of shadows and mood setting intended by the director.

Keep in mind: Mr. Potter screwed George out of $8,000.00 right before Christmas in 1945, which in 2021 would be like if your bank screwed you out of roughly $118,000.00 earlier this week.

The crow is to show Uncle Billy's soft heart, he's a friend to all animals. (As well as that he's also a bit of an eccentric.) He also has a pet squirrel that comes and gives him a hug when he loses the money.

The first time I saw this film, I was 4 or 5 so that was 1972 or 1973 and it was right here at home, not in the theaters. This film impacted me so much that I later became an electrician and incorporated with my brothers, forming Samber Home Remodeling with them each in their own part of the trade. Unfortunately, my older brother was taken from cancer, but my younger brother and I still try to do the best we can to help the common folk that works hard sweating and bleeding making this a better world a better place so that they have a decent house to come home to. Another fun little fact about this movie is, after the reception when uncle Billy came out drunk and Jimmie had to hand him the hat that was on his head and point him in the direction of his home, when he then staggard off singing 'My Old Irish Rose'. Well, the crash and him blurting out 'I'm all right. I'm all right!' was actually not in the script and the actor did trip in the dark into a lot of stuff off-camera but he did such a good job with the 'I'm all right' line that they kept it in the movie. I still love this movie!

Ms. Riccio, you are always beautiful, eyeglasses or no. For myself, I was frustrated for years with Jimmy Stewart's character, because he was oblivious to the fact that his frustrations were always the result of his own choices. That is, until I realized that I was guilty of the same thing -- I hadn't taken responsibility for my personal decisions. Sigh.

Shanelle, I truly adored your reaction to this movie. It reminded me of my first time watching it in 1976. If you get a chance, please react to Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. I think you will enjoy it. ;) The colorized version was badly done and the process used was terrible.

@ShanelleRiccio

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for commenting !! :) I actually caught Mr Smith way back in High school, a teacher of mine showed it in full -- not sure how much I remember of course!

Nice that you reposted this. Merry Christmas. After watching this for many years I noticed a glaring production mistake during a DVD watch and I was amazed that I hadn't spotted it before. No, I won't say what that was because it would be contrary to the spirit of the film and the season.

I love all of the little things you catch and point out. The things I learn plus your reactions are great!

@ShanelleRiccio

2 жыл бұрын

oh yay thank you!! and thanks for coming by :)

Also, I love how that's such a terrible tragedy. Mary is working and broadening her mind everyday, in peaceful solitude and in complete control of her daily schedule!?! "HEAVENS TO GIMBLES NOOOOO!!!"

@chrispittman8854

2 жыл бұрын

@@user-sw4qd2up2s No, I think YOU missed the point. It's not an analysis of the script. It's a comparison of social norms from then to now and she's a fictitious character written by a man in the 1940's. Was there anything else... 3 months after the post...

I watched this a lot with my dad when I was a kid, and as a kid the movie is boring as shit, but as an adult it is quite profound and moving.

@martyscott3236

2 жыл бұрын

I loved it as a kid. I guess I must have been born older.

@pokeygorilla9368

2 жыл бұрын

@@martyscott3236 It's the pacing, when you're like 7 years old its dreadfully long, the first hour like nothing happens, and the message of the story is completely lost on you. But it wasn't until I got a bit older and realized what it is about.

Somebody probably already mentioned it, but the crash noise from uncle Billy wasn’t in the script. The “I’m alright! I’m alllllright” was ad-libbed. Also, there is no one single colorized version. Since it was all over the place when it was public domain, one version, Mary’s dress is blue. In another, it’s pink. I’m sure that you can find one where it’s green.

And she got teary-eyed near the end. She is now one of us. Merry Christmas!