Hindsight

Classic Kids, or 100 films the kids in your life have to see by 13 or else!

Day 29:  It's a Wonderful Life (1946) B&W (do not see the colorized version!)


Filmmaker Frank Capra wrote and directed this now classic bittersweet comedy/drama/fantasy about George Bailey (James Stewart), the always-in-debt first born foundational force behind a small Savings and Loan in a 'typical' American small town of Bedford Falls. They use to show this film all the time during the Holidays but legalities got in the way, so catch-it when you can. I triple dog dare you not to be emotionally moved by the last scene, "No man is a failure who has friends" A film that failed at the box office in 1946, is now probably one of the few 'old' movies that most folks have seen.  I wish this would give people courage to be open with other black and white classics.   Donna Reed and Lionel Barrymore also star in this film, but there are some great character actors as well, such as Thomas Mitchell as Uncle Billy Bailey, Beulah Bondi as Ma Bailey, and a great uncle of mine (cool, huh?) Samuel S. Hinds as Peter "Pop" Bailey.


Joelle's comments: "it shows someone who struggles with sadness at a time when folks didn't really discuss that, and it is just beautifully made.  The town is adorable, the people are quite the characters, there is so much to see and think about in this movie. There is no way you don't think about your own life and your own friendships."

Themes:  Goals, what is success?, family, responsibilities, travel, cruelty, kindness, sadness and love.

Media literacy questions for kids:  Why do you think this film was not a success when it first came out on the heels of WWII?  What makes the film now seem timeless?  How did Capra make the town look differently depending on the moods of George Bailey? 

Trivia: Jimmy Stewart was actually a decorted war hero and flew numerous missions over Germany during WWII