It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life is the granddaddy of all Christmas movies; although, it certainly didn't start out that way. The movie nearly flopped when it opened, and during its first theater run failed to earn back the money it took to make it. Still, this film has endured down through the decades to become one of the most beloved movies of all time. And it's not hard to see why. The film's got a lot of power in it. Filmed in 1946, a lot of the actors were still carrying raw memories of World War II. The strain of the war shows in their faces and in their voices. This was probably Jimmy Stewart's first really serious role, and he pulls a lot of emotion from his time in the war into his character. When he's praying in the bar scene, those tears on his face are real. When he kisses Donna Reed for the first time, that's real passion you're seeing. In fact, that scene had to be cut short, because it got a little too hot for the censors. So, yeah, this is a powerful movie. I thought so the very first time I saw it when I was about ten years old. I've thought so every time I've watched it since then. I still think so today. In my book, that's what makes a film a classic. It never gets old. It never runs out of gas. As they say, it's got legs.

Stewart plays George Bailey, a man who had big dreams when he was younger. Didn't we all? Well, he was gonna sail around the world, go to college, become an engineer, design dams and bridges and skyscrapers. He was gonna be somebody. People would remember his name. He'd leave his mark on the world. Remember when you were gonna do all of that? I do. But life got in George's way, like it does for a lot of us. When his father dies, George takes over the running of the savings and loan bank that his family owns. Why? Cuz if he doesn't, then the board of directors will sell out to the greedy Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore), the richest man in town. If Potter gets a hold of the savings and loan, he'll foreclose on most of the people who have mortgages there. That's just the kind of sweet soul he is. So George takes over and he gives his college money to his younger brother Harry (Todd Karns). When Harry finishes college, he's supposed to come back and take over the savings and loan so that George can go to college too. But Harry meets and marries Ruth (Virginia Patton). Ruth's father owns a company and wants Harry to come to work for him. George is left to run the savings and loan. He marries Mary, and instead of going on a honeymoon George struggles to save the bank during the Great Depression. Time goes by. George and Mary have children. George starts designing houses and creates a new subdivision. When World War II comes, George is declared 4F and has to stay at home. Meanwhile, little brother Harry goes off and becomes a hero. Wins the medal of honor. On the day that Harry is set to come home, tragedy strikes.

Uncle Billy (Thomas Mitchell), George's partner, loses $8,000 of the savings and loan's money, which conveniently ends up in old Mr. Potter's grasping hands. He neglects to tell George about his latest windfall. Instead, he threatens to call the police and have George arrested for embezzlement. To top things off, the bank examiner comes to town. Distraught, George leaves home and goes to a bar, where he offers his urgent prayer. Then, deciding that his life has been a complete failure, George decides to kill himself. This is where Clarence (Henry Travers) enters the picture. Clarence is an angel. He's been sent down to help George find his way back home. George tells Clarence that he wishes he'd never been born. Clarence grants him his wish. Suddenly, a thousand tiny - and not so tiny - changes take place in George's home town of Bedford Falls. George gets the opportunity to find out what the world would have been like if he had never been born. The savings and loan would have gone under when his father died, and old man Potter would have taken away the homes of a lot of people. What's worse, Potter would have gained control of the entire town and renamed it Potterville. It would have been a nasty place to live too. Mary would have been a spinster her whole life. George's children would have never been born. Hundreds of people that George helped over the years would have led much worse lives. Most importantly, Harry - whose life George saved when they were kids - would have died, and he wouldn't have been there during the war to save the lives of a lot of other soldiers. In the end, George realizes that during his insignificant life, he touched the lives of countless people, who in turn touched the lives of still others. George's goodness and generosity, his habit of putting other people's
needs ahead of his own, created a circle of goodness that spread outward over the passing years. With a little bit of heavenly intervention, George learns that he truly did have a wonderful life.

It's a Wonderful Life is definitely a feel good film, and if you don't feel good after watching it, then there's something wrong with you. It celebrates the contributions of the common man (and woman), the people who, in George's words, "do most of the working and and paying and living and dying" in this world. It tells us that each one of us, whether we realize it or not, whether we are important or rich or famous or not, touches on the lives of a lot of other people, sometimes for good, sometimes not. But we do, and when we do, we cause a ripple effect, just like the old rock and pond analogy. It's a Wonderful Life reminds us that this is so, that we really can't behave any old way we want with impunity, because our words and deeds will have an effect on those around us. And, as my mother used to say, eventually the chickens will come home to roost. We all get our payback in the end. For George, who always put others first, his payback is good. By the end of this movie, you'll be wondering what kind of a payback you're in store for. I know I wonder.

It's a Wonderful Life is rated G and is filmed in glorious black-and-white. It has a runtime of 130 minutes.

Lost Horizon (1937)

Frank Capra's Lost Horizon introduced the world to a place that everyone knows implicitly - Shangri La, the Edenic valley where everyone is happy, where there is no toil or strife, and where life goes on and on. Given the position of this place in our collective conscience, it seems odd that relatively few people have ever seen the movie that inspired it, and I am going to hazard a guess that no living person has ever viewed the movie in its entirety. That's because soon after its initial release, the film was chopped again and again from its original 180 minute running time down to 95 minutes. In recent years, though, the film has been restored to 134 minutes, thanks to dedicated film preservationists who literally scoured the earth for variant versions of the movie. But why such drastic editing in the first place? Partly to speed up the film; after all, not many people want to sit through a 3-hour movie. But the film was also cut because the it contained a considerable amount of isolationist philosophy. Unfortunately for Capra, it came out at a time when the world was plunging toward war and the governments of the US and England were pushing the philosophy of engagement. The last thing they wanted was a popular film encouraging people to resist involvement in the war effort. The war effort butchered Lost Horizon.

When I started this review, I was going to write a lengthy summary of the plot, but I decided to scrap all of that. A plot summary would give you very little information about this film. Suffice it to say that Lost Horizon tells the story of British diplomat Robert Conway, played by the incomparable Ronald Coleman, who crash lands - along with several other people - in Shangri La, where he learns some incredible secrets about life and living. But Lost Horizon is really a story of Paradise Regained. It's the Garden of Eden or the Fountain of Youth. It's the desire in all of us to find someplace in the world where we can be happy, where we can live out our lives in peace, free from want, from disease, from the thousand ills that beset us in this mortal existence. But since that is not attainable in this earthly life, Lost Horizon is really a story about finding heaven. And as such, it is a story about the redemption. For all but one of the characters are redeemed in the end, because their hearts are no longer set upon the things of this world.

Lost Horizon was shot largely on Columbia Ranch on a massive and truly gorgeous set inspired by the works of Frank Lloyd Wright. The detailed sets and lavish costumes and props all serve to testify of Capra's scrupulous attention to detail. He's fairly faithful to James Hilton's novel as well, unfolding the story carefully, offering little bits of information at a time to keep the audience's curiosity piqued all the way up to when the secret of Shangri La is finally revealed at the climax of the film. Lost Horizon is a wonderful film, even lacking the 46 minutes that have not yet been found. With luck, they someday will be, and we'll have this entire classic once again.

Lost Horizon is rated G. Picture quality varies throughout the film due to edited scenes being spliced back in. However, the preservationists have done an excellent job restoring this black and white film to its original luster.