GeorgeвЂ™s horrifying revelations about the Bedford Falls in which he never existed. The telephone conversation with Sam Wainwright where George finally realizes how much he loves Mary. The way the participants of the entire high school dance, formal dress and all, jump into an enormous swimming pool, demonstrates the communityвЂ™s admiration for George Bailey and Mary Hatch even in their youth. Gower from inadvertently poisoning a drugstore customer, thus rescuing the pharmacist from a lifetime of guilt and misery. Most notably, and despite ubiquitous repeated viewings, so many scenes never fail to deliver. Happily, to borrow a phrase from вЂњIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade,вЂќ both men choose wisely. For George Bailey, much like Ebenezer Scrooge in вЂњA Christmas Carol,вЂќ the spirits grant only one alternative vision. It was only later as a result of a radio, television and film course at the University of Texas at Austin, that I became spellbound upon witnessing their respective performances in вЂњCasablanca,вЂќ вЂњTo Have and Have Not,вЂќ and вЂњDouble Indemnity.вЂќ Similarly, the grace, charm, and beauty of Donna Reed in вЂњItвЂ™s A Wonderful LifeвЂќ is nothing less than breathtaking.ДЄnother aspect worth noting is the presumption of regret, often associated with such works as Robert FrostвЂ™s вЂњThe Road Not Taken.вЂќ Some films like вЂњEdge of Tomorrow,вЂќ вЂњGroundhog Day,вЂќ and last yearвЂ™s вЂњHappy Death Day,вЂќ deal with alternative futures where the protagonist enjoys endless opportunities to finally get things right. Much the way I first encountered Ingrid Bergman and Lauren Bacall in the 1974 version of вЂњMurder on the Orient ExpressвЂќ or Barbara Stanwyck in вЂњThe Big Valley,вЂќ I often wondered how these aging celebrities had initially established themselves as stars.

So the first time I saw Donna Reed was on her eponymous television show in the early вЂ™60s. Growing up watching television, I missed HollywoodвЂ™s Golden Age вЂ“ generally chronicled from 1929 to the 1960s. вЂњItвЂ™s A Wonderful LifeвЂќ serves as a prescient reminder that there is more to life than money or profit. A growing body of research reveals that corporate obsession with tax breaks, quarterly earnings, and bloated share prices comes at the expense of workers and their families, whose growing antagonism threatens the societal fabric. The plight of smaller businesses and regional banks against the too-big-to-fail financial institutions and Amazonian retailers now figure more prominently than ever. It seems that little has changed in the intervening years. PotterвЂ™s wealth affords him so much influence that he keeps Congressmen in his pocket and blithely refuses their calls. Potter cares only about profits, regardless of the toll taken on the larger community. Because of his work at the building and loan, homeownership emerges as the dream for middle and working-class Americans.ДЄ persistent Capra theme of the little guy against powerful institutions remains front and center. George Bailey, played by Jimmy Stewart, strolls through the walkable and personable downtown of Bedford Falls, surviving a perilous bank run in the days before President Roosevelt championed deposit insurance. Presuming that most readers will have seen the film (and even if not) I will simply share some of the aspects I find most memorable.ДЇirst, вЂњA Wonderful LifeвЂќ feels like a sort of time capsule of the depression era and post-war periods that more contemporary productions never quite seem to capture. Now fully restored, вЂњItвЂ™s A Wonderful LifeвЂќ returns better than ever.Д®veryone probably treasures his or her own favorite scenes or particular moments. VCRs and DVD players further ensured the movieвЂ™s perennial popularity. Not until the copyright expired in 1974, enabling the story to air on network television did its reputation begin to burnish. Viewers remained largely unimpressed вЂ“ despite five Academy Award nominations вЂ“ for decades afterward. In the case of the Frank Capra classic, the narrative elements were considered somewhat dark for audiences in 1946. Then again, who would have thought the same about fine films such as вЂњThe Shawshank Redemption,вЂќ вЂњChildren of Men,вЂќ or вЂњBlade Runner,вЂќ which all shared a similar fate? Regularly appearing on the list of Hollywood releases that opened as box office flops yet went on to become classics, itвЂ™s hard to understand how вЂњItвЂ™s A Wonderful LifeвЂќ could have managed such a distinction. An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.

It's a wonderful life imdb