Movie #38: It's a Wonderful Life

Movie #: 38
Movie Title: It's a Wonderful Life
Year Released: 1946

Director: Frank Capra
Notable Cast: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell, Henry Travers, Beulah Bondi, Ward Bond, Frank Faylen, Gloria Grahame

Short Description: An angel helps a compassionate but despairingly frustrated businessman by showing what life would have been like if he never existed. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists (as of 1/7/2013)

AFI.com: #20
IMDB.com: #30
Ranker.com: #44
Lifed.com: #29
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: #67
FlickChart.com: #99



Date Watched: 10/12/2016

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good)

Rationale: My first thought when It's a Wonderful Life was over is that I expected Lionel Barrymore's Mr. Potter to have an Ebenezer Scrooge-like transformation and go from a mean old man to one that cares and graciously gives the missing money back to James Stewart's George Bailey. So much for that. Even with his lack of transformation the movie still had a good message about kindness and generosity as George helped to save the financial lives of many people and in turn they helped him in his time of need. Other than the goofy bit about stars talking as if they're supposed to be angels I'm pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed It's a Wonderful Life.