Fate had a different plan. A clerical error caused the movie's copyright to lapse which made it inexpensive for local televisions stations to broadcast, This resulted in stations airing it repeatedly especially during the holiday season and bringing the movie back into the public's consciousness. What they discovered was not a corny, lighthearted fluff piece but rather a brilliantly written and acted film that goes to some pretty dark places to tell an ultimately inspirational story.
The movie starts with Angel Second Class, Clarence (played by Henry Travers) being assigned to help George Bailey (played by Jimmy Stewart) on Christmas Eve. George is contemplating ending his life and it will be Clarence's job to restore his hope. To prepare he is given an overview of George's life. He sees events like a young George saving his brother from drowning and stopping the local druggist from accidentally poisoning a child. He watches as George sees his dreams of travel and achieving great things continually being thwarted usually because he has sacrificed his own interests to help somebody else.
Even though he has set aside his dreams he has his wife Mary (played by Donna Reed) and children who he loves. He is, if not completely satisfied, content until the fateful Christmas Eve. Suddenly, through no fault of his own the life that he has built and the family he loves appears to be in danger of collapse. The dreams he never achieved seem to mock him as irreversible failures. His past is a bad joke and his future appears to be a nightmare. The two clips below take place just as George is hitting rock bottom. (By the way, Jimmy Stewart's acting in this scene is amazing)
Soon after this scene George and Clarence finally meet in person. George tells him that everyone would be better off if he had never been born. Clarence decides that his best chance at helping George is to show him what the world would be like if he had never existed. What follows is a nightmare. George gets to see how he touched not just the lives of his friends and family but how his absence had effects far beyond what he could have imagined. Clarence sums it up this way, "Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?" George also also learns that the help he has given to others will be returned in kind. As Clarence reminds him at the end, "No man is a failure who has friends".
I like all of the movies on this list. They are all entertaining. They have made me laugh and in some cases have made me cry. They have all contributed to what makes this time of year so much fun. This film though is the only one to have actually had an impact on me. I remember stumbling across it one afternoon on TV. I think I was about 12 or 13 years old. I was struck by the message of the film. After watching it I wanted to be George Bailey. I wanted to be the guy that had that kind of effect on other people. This movie made me want to be a better person. How many movies can you say that about?
There is no question in my mind that this is the greatest Christmas movie of them all. In fact I will fight you on this. (So much for being a better person) If you haven't seen it you need to fix that soon. And if you don't tear up when Harry says, "To my big brother George. The richest man in town", well you need to get an x-ray to make sure you have a heart.
Merry Christmas!
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