70 Interesting Facts About It’s a Wonderful Life: Part 3

There truly is no other film like Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life.” While it might not have been an overnight success to begin with, the film has become a beautiful reminder that, although nobody’s perfect and life doesn’t always turn out exactly the way you want it to, that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth-living. This blog will conclude our tribute to the 70th anniversary of the release of “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Please feel free to comment if you’d like! 

• Adventures in Odyssey: The Radio Series (1987-present) used the plot line for “Wonderful Life,” as episode of their series, entitled “It’s a Pokenberry Christmas,” with George Barclay, one of the show’s protagonists, contemplating his life. 
• Although Frank Capra lost the Best Director Oscar for “Wonderful Life,” to William Wyler for “The Best Years of Our Lives,” he did manage to win the Golden Globe for Best Director. (That was the only Golden Globe nomination the film received.) 
• The same year Jimmy Stewart made “Mr. Smith” (1939), he made another film with nearly the same title: a comedy titled It’s a Wonderful World (1939).
• Edward Stevenson, who designed the costumes for “Wonderful Life,” also designed the costumes for Citizen Kane (1941), which like “Wonderful Life,” was also a box office flop in its initial release. Since then it has gained a great deal of popularity today. (“Kane” was also a release of RKO Radio pictures.)
• Dimitri Tiomkin scored the music for “Wonderful Life,” and also scored the music for Frank Capra’s “Lost Horizon,” and “Mr. Smith,” earning Best Original Score Oscar Nominations for both.
• Joseph Walker-Frank Capra’s favorite cinematographer-was one of the cinematographers for “Wonderful Life.” Walker was also the cinematographer for Frank Capra’s It Happened One Night (1934), Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) as well as “You Can’t Take It with You,” and “Mr. Smith.” (Joseph F. Biroc and Victor Milner were the other two cinematographers for “Wonderful Life.”) 
• Jimmy Stewart was good friends with Carol Burnett. Having been a fan of him since childhood, Burnett provided commentary on the documentary “Jimmy Stewart: A Wonderful Life,” where she acknowledges that her favorite moment in “Wonderful Life,” is the bar scene where George becomes emotional and prays.
• Claude Rains, who played Senator Joseph Paine in “Mr. Smith,” was in consideration for the role of Mr. Potter.
• Vincent Price, at one point, was also in consideration for the role of Mr. Potter.
• Before Frank Capra cast Henry Travers as Clarence the Angel, he considered Travers for the roles of Pa Bailey, Uncle Billy, and Mr. Gower.
• Olivia de Haviland was in consideration for the role of Mary Bailey.
• Ginger Rogers was also in consideration for the role of Mary Bailey.
• Jimmy the Raven, who plays Uncle Billy’s pet raven in “Wonderful Life,” made his debut in “You Can’t Take It with You.” He also appeared in every one of Frank Capra’s movies.
• When the film transitions into the late 1930’s Mr. Potter offers George a job starting at $20,000 a year. That amount would be equivalent to $337,730 today.  
• After the release of the film, Frank Capra received a great deal of flak for the fact that Mr. Henry Potter receives no retribution as result for his horrible actions throughout the film.
• Up till that time, “snow” in movies was made of corn flakes painted white. That is not the case of the “snow” in “Wonderful Life.” Because of how large the set was, the “snow” was made up of 3,000 tons of shaved ice, 300 tons of gypsum, 300 tons of plaster, and 6,000 gallons of a mixture of foamite, soap, and water.
• Despite the fact that most of the film takes place at Christmas time, the film was shot while the state of California was experiencing a humongous heat wave. The heat became so overwhelming at one point, that Frank Capra agreed to let the whole cast and crew have the day off.
• At the scene of the film where Uncle Billy is drunk and talking to George after the Bailey family has celebrated the addition of Harry’s wife Ruth to their family, as soon as Thomas Mitchell walked off camera a technician of the film accidentally knocked over a stack of props. Because of the fact that loud crashing noise sounded as though Uncle Billy had crashed into a line of garbage cans, Thomas Mitchell improvised the line “I’m alright, I’m alright,” and the technician was given a $10 bonus from Frank Capra for improving the scene.
• At the scene of the film where George is graciously giving the money that he would have spent on his honeymoon to the townspeople of Bedford Falls, Frank Capra told Ellen Corby, who played Ms. Davis in the film, to surprise George. She came up with the line, “Could I have $17.50?” and George’s reaction to her request was real-as Jimmy Stewart reacted to the improvisation in real life. 
• James Stewart passed away on July 2nd, 1997. The year prior to that, 1996, marked 50 years since the release of “Wonderful Life.”

70 Interesting Facts about It’s a Wonderful Life: Part 2

This blog continues our tribute to the 70th anniversary of the release of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” Frank Capra’s beloved holiday classic. Comment and let me know you’re favorite thing about the movie.

• The film originally started out as an short story entitled The Greatest Gift by Philip Van Doren Stern.
• When RKO Radio Pictures reserved the movie rights for the story they originally wanted Cary Grant to play the role of George Bailey. When Frank Capra came on to write the script, he rewrote it especially for Jimmy Stewart.
• The film’s distributing company, RKO Radio pictures also distributed a number of Disney films from 1936 to 1954, including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and Pinocchio (1940). (Dickie Jones who voiced Pinocchio in Pinocchio worked with Jimmy Stewart in “Mr. Smith,” and Destry Rides Again (1939)).
• H.B. Warner, who played Mr. Gower the druggist in “Wonderful Life,” also appeared in “Lost Horizon,” “Mr. Smith,” and several other Frank Capra films. (He received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar Nomination for “Lost Horizon.”)
• Thomas Mitchell/“Uncle Billy” was a close friend of “Wonderful Life,” co-star Lionel Barrymore’s brother, John Barrymore. Both were in a Hollywood entourage of drinkers and raconteurs that included Errol Flynn, W.C. Fields, Charles MacArthur, Roland Young, and Anthony Quinn.
• Both Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed are Academy Award Winners. While Stewart was already a winner (Best Actor in “Philadelphia Story,”) by the time of “Wonderful Life,” Reed won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for From Here to Eternity (1953).
• Thomas Mitchell and Lionel Barrymore also won their Oscars prior to “Wonderful Life.”: Mitchell for “Stagecoach,” and Barrymore in the category of Best Actor for A Free Soul (1931).
• There have been two different musical adaptations of “Wonderful Life.” The first,“A Wonderful Life,” was adapted in 1987 and was performed at the University of Michigan. The second, titled “It’s a Wonderful Life: The Musical,” premiered at the Majestic Theatre in Dallas, Texas in 1998 and remained the theater’s annual Christmas show for 5 years. (I had the good fortune of seeing the musical in ’02.)
• The fictional town of Bedford Falls, New York in the film was inspired by the town of Seneca Falls, New York. Seneca Falls is currently home to an “It’s a Wonderful Life,” Museum.
• When Karolyn Grimes/“Zuzu Bailey” made “Wonderful Life,” in 1946, she also filmed Irving Berlin’s Blue Skies (1946) with Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby that same year. (Holiday Inn (1942), and “Blue Skies,” both featured the song “White Christmas,” before Bing Crosby made White Christmas (1954)). 
• Grimes also appeared in another beloved Holiday film the following year, The Bishop’s Wife (1947) with Cary Grant. 
• Robert J. Anderson, Karolyn Grimes’s co-star in “The Bishop’s Wife,” portrayed Little George in “Wonderful Life.”
• Before Frank Capra came on as the film’s main screenwriter, Dalton Trumbo, Dorothy Parker, Marc Connelly and Clifford Odets all did uncredited work on the script.
• Both Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed went on to have their own television shows, The Jimmy Stewart Show (1971-1972) and The Donna Reed Show (1958-1966). 
• Jimmy Stewart’s final acting job before permanently retiring was lending his voice to the character of Wylie Burp, the dog-sheriff in Universal’s An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991), the sequel to An American Tail (1986).
• 6 years prior to “Wonderful Life,” Jimmy Stewart made The Shop Around the Corner (1940) with Margaret Sullavan. This film was remade in 1998 with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan: You’ve Got Mail.
• In the Graduation Party Scene at the beginning of the movie, the swimming pool that opens up beneath the gym floor is actually a real pool that was located at Beverly Hills High School in Los Angeles.
• Jimmy Stewart was intimidated by the phone kiss scene in the film because it would be his first kiss scene since his return to Hollywood from the war. The scene was successfully shot in one unrehearsed take.
• Frank Capra predicted that “Wonderful Life,” could be filmed in a total of 90 days. He was correct and the whole cast and crew threw a party at the end of the shoot.
• A photograph of of Jimmy Stewart at the age of 6 months was donated by his parents especially for the movie. It was used in the Bailey home set.
• The set for “Wonderful Life,” was built in two months. It covered four acres of RKO’s Encino Ranch making it one of the longest sets ever for an American film.
• Mr. Potter’s wheelchair in the film is Lionel Barrymore’s real-life wheelchair. Barrymore acted from a wheelchair from 1938 throughout the rest of his career due to the effects of arthritis and a hip injury.
• In 1946, the year of release of “Wonderful Life,”’s release, RKO also released Disney’s Make Mine Music (1946).
• The husband and wife team of Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett co-wrote the screenplay for “Wonderful Life,” with Frank Capra. Goodrich and Hackett also wrote The Thin Man (1934), Easter Parade (1948), Father of the Bride (1950) and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954). In 1956, Goodrich and Hackett also won two Tony Awards as Best Authors of a Play for their script for the play The Diary of Anne Frank. They re-wrote their script for the film version of the play in 1959.
• H.B. Warner signed on to play Mr. Gower on April 4th, 1946, and Samuel S. Hinds signed on to play Peter Bailey the very next day.     

70 Interesting Facts about It’s a Wonderful Life: Part 1

On December 21st, 1946, the Globe Theatre in New York City held the premiere for Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life (1946). The film received mixed reviews after it’s premiere, and was a huge flop when it was released worldwide. When it began to air on television in the 1970s, it became popular with the public, and now stands one of the most beloved movies of all time. It has been seven decades since the release of this movie, so in honor of its 70th anniversary, let’s celebrate with “70 Interesting Facts about ‘It’s a Wonderful Life.’” This and the next two blogs will have 20-25 facts-comment and let me know you’re favorite things about it.

• The film was nominated for five Academy Award: (Best Picture, Best Actor-James Stewart, Best Editing, Best Sound, Recording, and Best Director-Frank Capra).
• Prior to “Wonderful Life,” Jimmy Stewart appeared under the direction of good friend/frequent collaborator, Frank Capra, in two other movies, You Can’t Take It with You (1938) and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). 
• Jean Arthur had played Stewart’s love interest in prior Capra movies and she was also the original choice for the role of Mary Bailey. 
• Jimmy Stewart worked with “Wonderful Life,” co-star Lionel Barrymore in “You Can’t Take It with You,” and a radio program called We Hold These Truths. 
• Lionel Barrymore helped convince Stewart to accept the role George in “Wonderful Life,” when Stewart was skeptical about going back to work after returning home from World War 2.
• Samuel S. Hinds, who played Pa Bailey in “Wonderful Life,” also worked with Jimmy Stewart, Lionel Barrymore and Frank Capra in “You Can’t Take It with You.” 
• The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) beat “Wonderful Life,” in all the Oscar categories that it was nominated for.
• Beulah Bondi who played Ma Bailey in “Wonderful Life,” also played Jimmy Stewart’s mother in three other films, including “Mr. Smith,” Of Human Hearts (1938) (Best Supporting Actress Oscar Nominee), and Vivacious Lady (1938). She also played Stewart’s mother in an episode of The Jimmy Stewart Show (1971-1972).
• Thomas Mitchell played Uncle Billy Bailey in “Wonderful Life,” and also appeared under Frank Capra’s direction in Lost Horizon (1937) and “Mr. Smith.” The same year of “Mr. Smith,” Mitchell also made Gone With the Wind (1939) and Stagecoach (1939), making him the star of 3 movies that year that were all nominated for the Best Picture Oscar. (“Stagecoach,” also earned Mitchell the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. In ’39, Jimmy Stewart was also nominated for Best Actor in “Mr. Smith.”)
• Jimmy Stewart received a total of five Best Actor Oscar Nominations in his career, the first of which was for “Mr. Smith,” and the third for “Wonderful Life.” (He won on his 2nd Nomination for The Philadelphia Story (1940) and he also received an Honorary Oscar in 1985.)
• “Wonderful Life,” was Donna Reed’s first role as a “Leading Lady.”
• Frank Capra stated in the later years of his life that “Wonderful Life,” was his favorite of all his films. 
• Jimmy Stewart said the same of all his films in the later years of his life.
• “Wonderful Life,” was the very first film produced by Liberty Films.
• In the scene in the film where George and Mary break the windows in the old Granville House, Frank Capra hired a marksman to throw the ball for Donna Reed, instead of Reed doing it herself. Surprisingly, Reed was able to break the window by herself without the help of a marksman having, played baseball in high school.
• In 2004, the BBC magazine “Radio Times,” ranked “Wonderful Life,” as the “second Best Film to have never won an Oscar.” (The Shawshank Redemption (1994) was first.) 
• In 2007, the American Film Institute scored “Wonderful Life,” in its #20 Greatest Movies of All Time.
• There has been a long-time rumor that Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street (1969-present) were named after Bert the cop and Ernie the cab driver from “Wonderful Life.” In 2000, Jim Henson’s long-time writing partner, Jerry Juhl confirmed that rumor to be 100% false.
• Sheldon Leonard, who played Nick the bartender in “Wonderful Life,” later went on to become a renowned television producer, producing many of the world’s most beloved sit-coms including: The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1968), The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-1966) and Gomer Pyle: USMC (1964-1969). In addition to that, Leonard’s first and last names were used as the names of the two main characters in CBS’s The Big Bang Theory (2007-present), Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper.
• “Wonderful Life,” was remade into a television movie entitled It Happened One Christmas, in 1977, where it told the same story but with gender-reversal. Mary Bailey was the film’s main protagonist., portrayed by Marlo Thomas, the daughter of frequent Sheldon Leonard collaborator, Danny Thomas.
• In 1987, MGM/UA distributed a special documentary on Jimmy Stewart’s life entitled “Jimmy Stewart: A Wonderful Life.” In the documentary, Jimmy tells good friend, Johnny Carson that his favorite scene in “Wonderful Life,” is the scene in the bridge house with Clarence where George first tells Clarence that he wishes that he had never been born.
• The movie was remade again into another television film titled Clarence in 1990. The film told the same story through the perspective of the guardian angel with Robert Carridine as the title character.
• In “Wonderful Life,” Jimmy Stewart plays George Bailey who goes on to become the father of four young children throughout the story of the movie. In real life, Jimmy Stewart was the father of four children, two biological and two adopted.
• Charles Lane played the rent collector in “Wonderful Life,” and also appeared in several other Frank Capra films.
• Karolyn Grimes, who played Zuzu Bailey, never watched the film until thirty-four years after it came out in 1980. She stated in a 2013 interview that she “never took the time,” to do so.

Karen and Matthew: Two Disney Peas in a Pod

Walt Disney’s Mary Poppins (1964) is one of the most special films in the history of the studio and there are many reasons why: Beautiful music, exquisite costumes, heartwarming dialogue, breathtaking scenery, and of course, wonderful acting performances. Julie Andrews was a hit in her Oscar-winning film debut performance as Mary Poppins, with Dick Van Dyke portraying lovable chimney sweep Bert. David Tomlinson and Glynis Johns played Mr. and Mrs. George Banks, and Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber played their children, Jane and Michael. Did you happen to know that, like many stars of classic Disney films, the children also have a remarkable history at the studio.

Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber made their debut at the Disney Studios starring together in The Three Lives of Thomasina (1963). They made “Mary Poppins,” next and The Gnome-Mobile (1967). In both “Poppins,” and “Gnome-Mobile,” they portrayed brother and sister, but their characters in “Thomasina,” were not related. 

Dotrice and Garber were fortunate enough to work with Ed Wynn in both “Poppins,” and “Gnome-Mobile.” As they shot the “I Love to Laugh sequence,” in “Mary Poppins,” (with Ed Wynn as the laughing Uncle Albert) they had to be hung from wires all day. Matthew Garber disliked being hung from the wires, but someone who worked on the film offered him a dime for every take that he did of the sequence, and he made a great deal of money as a result! 

After “Gnome-Mobile,” Garber permanently retired from the acting world and unfortunately passed away at the untimely age of 21 as a result of pancreatic cancer.

Dotrice’s family, is overrun with actors. Her parent met and married while performing in repertory theatre in England. Her godfather was Charles Laughton, who was married to Elsa Lanchester, who portrayed Katie Nanna in “Mary Poppins.” Her father Roy, was also a close friend of the Garber family. (It was because of him that Matthew Garber won the role of Michael Banks in “Poppins.”) Karen Dotrice continued acting until 1984.     

At which point, she became a full-time wife and mother, marrying actor Alex Hyde-White in 1986. (Alex Hyde-White went portrayed David Morse in Pretty Woman (1990) for Disney. His father, Wilfrid Hyde-White, played Colonel Pickering in My Fair Lady (1964) and made In Search of the Castaways for Disney in 1965). In 1987, Karen Dotrice’s older sister, Michele Dotrice married Golden-Globe Winning actor Edward Woodward. (Woodward received his Golden Globe for the Drama Series The Equalizer (1985-1989 and also starred in the Emmy-Nominated television adaptation of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol (1984) with George C. Scott, playing the role of the Ghost of Christmas Present.)    

Dotrice and Hyde-White’s marriage produced one son, Garrick, but unfortunately resulted in divorce in 1992. Dotrice remarried in 1994 to television producer Ned Nalle and they have a daughter and a son together, Isabella and Griffin. Today, Dotrice makes public appearances and provides commentary for various Disney projects including the documentaries Walt: The Man Behind the Myth (2001) and The Boys: The Sherman Brothers Story (2009). She and Matthew Garber were both named Disney legends in 2004 which was the 40th anniversary of “Poppins.”

Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber’s performances as Jane and Michael Banks were just two of many assets that helped make “Mary Poppins,” the classic that it’s been for the last 52 years. While “Poppins,” is arguably the best work for both of these child actors, their adorable brother/sisterly chemistry was maintained throughout the course of all three of their Disney films. There is currently a sequel to “Poppins,” entitled Mary Poppins Returns in the pre-production stages at Disney. It will star Emily Blunt as the title character and Emily Mortimer and Ben Whishaw as grown-up Jane and Michael Banks. The sequel has a planned released date of Christmas Day 2018.