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It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

 
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 24, 2020 4:55 pm    Post subject: It's a Wonderful Life (1946) Reply with quote

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_________ It's a Wonderful Life (1946) Trailer


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________________________________

IMDB has several interesting trivia items for this production. Very Happy
________________________________

~ For the scene that required Donna Reed to throw a rock through the window of the Granville house, director Frank Capra hired a marksman to shoot it out on cue. To everyone's amazement, Reed broke the window by herself. She had played baseball in high school and had a strong throwing arm.

Note from me: What a gal?! Very Happy

~ The gym floor that opens in the middle to reveal the swimming pool underneath was filmed at Beverly Hills High School In Beverly Hills, California, USA was real and is still in regular use. The same gymnasium moving floor was used in a similar school dance scene in Whatever It Takes (2000), fifty-four years later.

Note from me: That's a great scene in this movie. The funniest part is when the old principal frets over all the students jumping into the pool — and then suddenly shrugs and says, "Oh well . . . " just before he jumps in with the kids.

~ As Uncle Billy drunkenly leaves the Bailey home, it sounds as if he stumbles into some trash cans on the sidewalk. In fact, a crew member dropped a large tray of props right after Thomas Mitchell went off-screen. James Stewart began laughing, and Mitchell quickly improvised, "I'm all right, I'm alllll right!"

Director Frank Capra decided to use this take in the final cut and gave the stagehand a $10 bonus for "improving the sound."


Note from me: This is one my favorite moments in the movie, and finding out it was a happy accident is delightful!

~ James Stewart was nervous about the phone kiss scene because it was his first onscreen kiss since his return to Hollywood after the war. Under director Frank Capra's watchful eye, Stewart filmed the scene in only one unrehearsed take, and it worked so well that part of the embrace was cut because it was too passionate to pass the censors.

Note from me: Va-va-voom! Hot stuff!

~ The set for Bedford Falls was constructed in two months and was one of the longest sets that had ever been made for an American movie. It covered four acres of RKO's Encino Ranch. It included 75 stores and buildings, a main street, a factory district and a large residential and slum area. Main Street was 300 yards long--three whole city blocks.

Note from me: Amazing! They built a town at the RKO's Encino Ranch in California and made it look like it was snow-covered in the winter scenes.

And consider this; the saucer crash site in The Thing from Another World was also built at the Encino Ranch — in the middle of summer!

Add to this the fact that the music for both movies is by Dimitri Tiomkin.

~ Films made prior to this one used cornflakes painted white for the falling snow effect. Because the cornflakes were so loud, dialogue had to be dubbed in later.

Director Frank Capra wanted to record the sound live, so a new snow effect was developed using foamite (a fire-fighting chemical), soap, and water. This mixture was then pumped at high pressure through a wind machine to create the silent, falling snow. 6,000 gallons of the new snow were used in the film.

The RKO Effects Department received a Class III Scientific or Technical Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Academy Award aka Oscar Award) for the development of the new film snow.


Note from me: Just five years later, RKO made The Thing from Another World, which required quite a lot of fake snow as well. Obviously RKO used their award-winning snow process for that film as well!

~ While filming the scene in which George prays in the bar, James Stewart was so overcome that he began to sob. Frank Capra later re-framed and blew up the shot because he wanted to catch that expression on Stewart's face. This is why the shot looks so grainy compared with the rest of the film.

Note from me: That is definitely a very emotional scene.

~ During the bank run scene, director Frank Capra rehearsed the scene between James Stewart and Ellen Corby several times. When Corby's character was asked how much money she needed, she replied $17, which was in the script.

Just prior to the first actual take, Capra took Corby aside and told her to give Stewart an odd number, thinking it would be funnier. When she said "17.50" to Stewart, he was taken off-guard and impulsively kissed her, which was not in the script. Stewart's spontaneous reply was so genuine that Capra left the scene in the final film.


Note from me: Holy cow, this is packed with "happy accidents. Very Happy

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Mon Dec 28, 2020 9:41 am; edited 2 times in total
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Pow
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 25, 2020 8:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The movie is based upon Phillip Van Doren Stern's short story "The Greatest Gift" from November 1939.

Stern's story was rejected by several publishing companies.

So he printed it as a 24~page pamphlet and mailed it out to 200 family members and friends.

RKO bought the rights of the story for $10,000.

The studio envisioned it as a vehicle for Cary Grant.

Noted writers Dalton Trumbo & Clifford Odets worked on early versions of a screenplay for the production.

Henry Fonda was considered for the lead role at one time.

Glad director Frank Capra did not cast Fonda who was a close friend of Jimmy Stewart in real life.

I like Fonda, saw him in the play where he portrayed Clarence Darrow. But Fonda always had a somewhat distant & aloof quality to his work. Even when he was playing kind and warm characters. I've read that was what Fonda was like in real life.

Jimmy by comparison could play very kind & loving roles and you really believed it. He had a down to earth every-man persona that I felt Fonda never really conveyed in his work.

Bobby Anderson, who played George Bailey as a boy, said that H.B.Warner (who played Mr. Gower) really hauled off and smacked Bobby for real in their confrontation scene.

Bobby was reduced to tears for real and his ear bled.

Warner hugged him later.

Me, I'd have given Warner a taste of his own medicine!

For years I did not catch on that the actor who uses the key to open up the gym floor to uncover the swimming pool was none other than Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer from "The Little Rascals" film shorts.

Carl also shows up---sort of---in the Christmas classic movie "White Christmas."

When the singing Haynes sisters show a photo of their brother, it's a picture of Carl in military uniform.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 26, 2020 8:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

As always, Mike, you've shared some wonderful info about a a great movie! Very Happy

On that note, the item below surprised me.


Pow wrote:
Bobby Anderson, who played George Bailey as a boy, said that H.B.Warner (who played Mr. Gower) really hauled off and smacked Bobby for real in their confrontation scene.

Bobby was reduced to tears for real and his ear bled.

Gee, I really hope this statement is not entirely correct. (Here's why I think it might be slightly exaggerated.)

The blood from Bobby's left ear appears quickly after the first few slaps. In fact, we don't even see his left ear until Warner and Bobby move around to the near side of the shelves in the store room — with a cut to a brief shot of young Mary sitting on a stool at the counter, flinching at the cruel sound of the slaps.

I suspect the blood was applied to Bobby's left ear by the makeup man before the scene started. But we don't see the blood until Warner and Bobby move around the end of the shelves and we view them both from the opposite sides.

However, it's obvious that both actors were committed to delivering powerful performances, and Mr. Warner was certainly smacking poor Bobby pretty hard! Despite this fact, however, Bobby played the scene beautifully.

After Mr. Gower realizes what young George has been desperately trying to tell him, he tastes the poison he mistakenly put into the capsules . . . and then he drops to his knees while he tearfully hugs George!

At that moment the noble boy vows to never tell anybody about Dr. Gower's potentially tragic mistake. It's a powerful scene, and a great example of the good deeds George Baily did throughout his life.
_____________________________________________

By the way, I've always been a trifle bothered by the fact that Clarence has been waiting 200 years to earn his wings!

Here's why.

The two "head angels" we hear at the beginning who discuss the problem of George Bailey's imminent suicide are debating whether or not they should send Clarence to deal with the emergency.

They say they've "passed him up right along" whenever they considered him worthy of earning his wings. And they state that Clarence has "the I.Q. of a rabbit" . . . but he also has "the faith of child".

And that's where I have problem with that scene. Sad

Apparently the coveted honor of receiving one's wings is based on intelligence . . . not spiritual "goodness", measured by a devoted angel's faith! Shocked

Hey, wait a minute! We mere mortals here on Earth call that discrimination! Sad

Clarence himself tells the two boss angels that because of his long delay in winning his wings, "people are beginning to talk".

Hold on . . . we mere mortals call that persecution! Shocked

Frankly, folks, I think George Bailey's greatest "good deed" was to help expose the injustice in Heaven — because it denies a noble and dedicated angel like Clarence his much-deserved wings for two freakin' centuries! Mad
_____________________________________________

On a happier note, the colorized version of this movie — with a healthy boost from your own television's color adjustment — is much more enjoyable than the B&W version!

Yes, I know . . . I'm on recorded as being against colorized versions of most B&W movies. But this one (and a few others) are exceptions!

The color makes the ladies look lovelier, the men look healthier, and the sets look more festive in this Christmas classic, with reds and greens that put the viewer in a holiday mood. Very Happy

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 26, 2020 1:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

I'm sure I'm not the only one who wishes Frank Capra had tucked in a quick scene at the end of this movie which showed Potter's silent, stoic assistant who pushed around the villain's wheelchair, standing at the door of Potter's office behind the sheriff, with both men looking stone-faced and grim. Sad

The sheriff would be holding the envelope with Uncle Billy's money!

Potter would look stricken by the sudden knowledge that his silent henchman could no longer endure his evil master's deeds, and he had gone to the sheriff to expose Potter's most recent crime!

This scene could play out very quickly after the final "Christmas tree" scene at the very end of the movie, when George smiles as he looks upward and winks to congratulate Clarence for earning his wings!

The audience would realize that Heaven had (a) rescued George Baily, (b) rewarded Clarence for his success, and (c) punished Mr. Potter for his cruel attempt to ruin the Baily family!

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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Krel
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 26, 2020 10:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The lost ending of "It's A Wonderful Life" care of "Saturday Night Live": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw89o0afb2A

David.
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 26, 2020 11:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud, that would have been a fantastic ending for the film. Seeing Old Man Potter have karma kick him in arse would have been a perfect ending to a perfect film.
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 9:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Thanks, Mike!!

I think it would give the story the kind of closure which would satisfy the audience, and it would assure them that heaven had followed through on their miracle.

I'd like to think that the wheelchair driver (call him Mr. Pusher) heard that George had been saved from Potter's treacherous plot by the generosity of the entire town, and this caused Mr. Pusher to experience a crisis of conscience.

He'd watch Potter sow misery in Bedford Falls for decades, and George Bailey's miraculous rescue proved to Mr. Pusher that he was on the wrong team!






So he went to the sheriff and reported the theft of George's money, along with the fact that Potter conspired to pin the theft on poor old George! Shocked

At the trial, Mr. Pusher would testify that Potter knew full well who the money belong to. Uncle Billy would also testify about his conversation with Potter in the bank, and that he'd given Potter the newspaper he'd unwittingly folded around the cash.

Would all this make a good sequel?

Well . . . yes and no.

If it was just the story of Potter's trial and conviction, that wouldn't be in keeping with the spirit of It's a Wonderful Life. But what if the story was about Potter experiencing something similar to what George endured? Confused

What if George came to Potter in his jail cell before the trial and told him he's forgiven the poor wheelchair-bound old man for all the sorrow and pain he's caused both him and the good people of Bedford Falls over the years.

He also tells Potter he won't press charges if Potter promises to be a better citizen of Bedford Fall by helping his neighbors . . . instead of victimizing them like he's done for years.

Naturally we know that this bitter old man would scoff at the idea and tell George to get the hell out! Smile

But then, later that night, Potter is visited by Clarence Odbody, Angel !st Class, wings and all! Clarence tells Potter that George's generous gesture and forgiving spirit has moved the angles in heaven, and they want to offer Potter the same sort of Heavenly Gift which they gave George Bailey.

Shocked and speechless, Potter is baffled by this revelation.

Clarence proceeds to give Potter a vision of what his life would have been like if he'd been kind and generous over the years. Potter learns that he could have been both rich AND benevolent — like George's friend, Sam Wainwright, who sent a telegram to George which said, "My office is instructed to advance you up to $25,000. Hee Haw and Merry Christmas!" Laughing

Now David, if your thinking that this is beginning to sound a lot like A Christmas Carol, well . . . I'll plead guilty and throw myself on the mercy of the court. Very Happy

But you have to admit, once you start looking at this premise — with the setup in the original movie showing us that Potter is a bona fide Scrooge, through and through — the sequel seems to cry out for a full-fledged Dickens approach!

Maybe the heavenly vision which Clarence gives Potter would show him the reasons he became the "warped, frustrated old man" George called him.

Perhaps we'd see a younger version of Potter, and he'd experience hardships and bitter disappoints which formed his character — along with bad decisions that eventually turned him into the selfish, greedy man he became.

But Clarence would point out that George Bailey suffered hardships, disappointments, and setbacks which shattered his dreams of being a world-traveling explorer and a successful architect.

However, George Bailey's primary motivation was always to help other people — just as his father had done. And when George was in trouble because of Potter's insidious plot, the loyal friends he'd made throughout his life quickly came to his rescue!

The lesson which Clarence teaches Potter is best expressed by the inscription that Clarence put in the copy of Tom Sawyer which he gave George in the closing scene of It's a Wonderful Life.






The conclusion of this story might be the actual courtroom scene, in which the judge states that since George Bailey asked for mercy on behalf of the accused, and since Potter had "expressed remorse" for his wrong doings (as well as pleading guilty to all the charges), Mr. Potter would receive a two year prison sentence . . . but it would be suspended, based on the extenuating circumstances!

Mr. Henry F. Potter would be wheeled out of the courtroom by his new friend George Bailey. As they leave the courtroom, Mr. Pusher would timidly speak to George in a low voice.

"Mr. Bailey, I wonder if we might discuss the possibility of me work for you. sir. I'll gladly accept any position you suggest."

George would smile, pat him on the shoulder, and say, "Come see me in my office tomorrow morning. I think Uncle Billie might need an assistant."

Mr. Pusher would give George a grateful smile and then hurry off down the hall in the opposite direction.


The End
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Mon Dec 28, 2020 9:38 am; edited 1 time in total
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Pow
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 12:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dang Bud, you did it again! You have an excellent talent for storytelling my friend.

This would have made a splendid conclusion for the film.

And everyone loves a tale of redemption of an individual who was formally a nasty piece of work.

Frank Capra would have benefited greatly from your ideas.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 9:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Thank you, sir! Very Happy

Actually, Mr. Capra called my house two years after the release of It's a Wonderful Life and ask if he could speak to me.

The person who answered the phone said, "Hold your horses there, Frankie! Give the little tyke time to be born first. I just found out I was pregnant last week!"

Mom had a way with words herself. I guess that's where I got it from. Ironically, Mom worked for the Foote and Davies Printing Company for many years . . . as a proof reader.

Obviously I did NOT inherit any of her skills in that department. Rolling Eyes

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 9:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, if they ever did a remake — not that they should — they can buy your new finale for the film.
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 2:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Mike, I have an embarrassing confession. Embarassed

I just realized that I failed to state in my summary above that my story idea is a sequel to the orignal movie, — not a version with an extended ending.

My omission was caused by the fact that I did so many revisions and rewrites to my post, I ended up leaving out the part in my opening remarks about how this would be Capra's cinematic follow-up to It's a Wonderful Life! Sad

I sincerely apologize for that! When I read your comment below, I knew I'd made a grave mistake. Rolling Eyes


Pow wrote:
Well, if they ever did a remake — not that they should — they can buy your new finale for the film.

Mike, I really appreciate the fact that you kindly overlooked my error and judged the merits of my concept without pointing out the fact that adding it to the original movie would have made it far too long! Shocked

What I had in mind was that my sequel would be made about a year after the orignal, and it would dovetail with the brief scene I described this way in my earlier post.


Bud Brewster wrote:
I'm sure I'm not the only one who wishes Frank Capra had tucked in a quick scene at the end of this movie which showed Potter's silent, stoic assistant who pushed around the villain's wheelchair, standing at the door of Potter's office behind the sheriff, with both men looking stone-faced and grim. Sad

The sheriff would be holding the envelope with Uncle Billy's money!

Potter would look stricken by the sudden knowledge that his silent henchman could no longer endure his evil master's deeds, so he had gone to the sheriff to expose Potter's most recent crime!

This scene could play out very quickly after the final "Christmas tree" scene at the end of the movie, when George smiles as he looks upward and winks to congratulate Clarence for earning his wings!

The audience would realize that Heaven had (a) rescued George Baily, (b) rewarded Clarence for his success, and (c) punished Mr. Potter for his cruel attempt to ruin the Baily family!

That scene would be my "new conclusion" to this classic (in the parallel universe where I can change classic movies) — and it would tease the audience, making them yearn to find out just what fate awaited the evil Mr. Potter!

My suggestion for a sequel would answer that question in a moving and satisfying way! Very Happy

However, I regret that I did NOT make it clear that I was describing a sequel which Capra could have made back in 1947. It's not really meant to be a modern remake of the original, with my story added to it.

For that I deeply apologize. Sad

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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ralfy
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 03, 2021 12:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great movie, and for me more of a fantasy than a Christmas show, and may be seen together with films like
The Devil and Daniel Webster.
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