‘It’s A Wonderful Life’: 10 Things You Don’t Know About The Christmas Movie


It’s a Wonderful Life will air for the umpteenth time Christmas Eve at 8:00 p.m. on NBC. Shot in glorious black and white, the Frank Capra movie still enchants and inspires, even though it initially did poorly at the box office when it was released on December 20, 1946. It had debuted a week after a similarly titled film, The Best Years of Our Lives, which went on to win nine Oscars, including Best Picture.

Both Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed received Oscar nominations for their roles as George and Mary Bailey, and the film received a nomination for Best Picture. However, the film only won a Technical Achievement Oscar for creating artificial snow. (Up until then, movie studio used cornflakes to represent snow. The effect was created with a fire-fighting chemical.) However, Capra did receive a Golden Globe for Best Director.

Although It’s a Wonderful Life was Capra’s favorite of all his films, it wasn’t everyone’s. Two of the writers of the film called it “horrid” and refused to see it when it was released. Sheldon Leonard, who played the bartender, said that he only took the role so that he could buy baseball tickets. It wasn’t until years later when the movie aired regularly on TV that audiences began to really appreciate the movie, but the stories about the making of the film are almost as fascinating. Here are ten things you probably don’t know about the picture, according to IMDB.

  • The Bedford Falls set was one of the largest ever built for an American movie. It included 75 stores and buildings, a main street, a factory district, large residential area, and slum. Dogs, cats, and birds were allowed to roam as they pleased to give it a “lived in” feel.
Jimmy Stewart in “Bedford Falls” in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” [Image by AP Images]
  • Playing Mary Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life was Donna Reed’s first starring role. When “Mary” threw a rock at the old Granville House in order to make a wish, Capra had hired a marksman to shoot the window out on cue. To everyone’s surprise, Reed was able to break it all on her own.
  • Yes, there really is a gym whose floor opens up to reveal a swimming pool underneath. The scene was shot at the Beverly Hills High School in Los Angeles. Freddy, the character who turned the key that opened the pool, was played by Carl Switzer, who also played Alfalfa from The Little Rascals short films.
  • In the Bailey home, there is a photo on display of Jimmy Stewart when he was just six months old on loan from his parents.
  • When Uncle Billy in a drunken stupor leaves the Bailey family’s home, there is a sound outside that sounds like the man had fallen into a pair of garbage cans, but the scene was totally improvised. It turns out that a crew member had accidentally dropped a large tray of props right on cue. Jimmy Stewart laughed at the mistake, and Thomas Mitchell (who played Uncle Billy) said, “I’m alright. I’m okay.” Capra kept the improvisation in the film and gave the crew member a $10 bonus for “improving the sound.”
  • It is estimated that 6000 gallons of artificial snow were used for the picture in addition to 3000 tons of shaved ice. During the scene on the bridge when George jumps into the water to save Clarence, the temperature was 90 degrees, and Jimmy Stewart is shown sweating. Filming continued during a heatwave, and Capra gave everyone a day off from shooting to recuperate.
Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed, and “family” from “It’s a Wonderful Life.” [Image by AP Images]
  • One line from the film where George is scolding Zuzu’s teacher for sending her home with her coat undone (“What do you mean, sending her home like that half naked?”) was edited to “What do you mean, sending my kid home from school in the rain?” when it first aired on TV during the 1950’s and 1960’s.
  • One alternate ending was shot for the film that involved George Bailey falling to his knees and reciting The Lord’s Prayer, but was dropped in favor of having family and friends coming to George’s rescue instead. The film had originally ended with the song “Ode to Joy” not “Auld Lang Syne.”

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Karolyn Grimes, who played Zuzu in “It’s a Wonderful Life” in 20o4. [Image by David Duprey/AP Images]
  • Apparently, 42 rings are heard throughout the film, so that would mean that 42 angels had earned their wings during the course of It’s a Wonderful Life.
  • Karolyn Grimes was just six-years-old when she played little Zuzu in the film. Today she is 76-years-young. She says that the name “Zuzu” came from a product called “Zu Zu Ginger Snaps,” which George refers to in the film. Today, she lives in the greater Seattle area of Washington state and still serves as an unofficial ambassador for the Wonderful Life film. She still listens for bells ringing.

[Featured Image by AP Images]

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