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I saw It’s a Wonderful Life as a kid. You may have as well. The story is that a copyright issue led to the film being free to screen, so television networks would show it all the time. However, this anecdote is not fully true. The film’s copyright did lapse due to a clerical error, but elements of the story were still copyrighted and so royalties were still paid, and the film is now copyrighted properly. What is true, though, is that a film that was a flop at the time has become a Christmas classic in large part because of frequent television screenings. Hey, Shawshank Redemption became a favorite of many and a classic due to TV airings, and nobody murmured about copyright lore.
As a kid, I did not enjoy It’s a Wonderful Life, the story of George Bailey being shown by an angel the positive impact his life has had. My memory, though my teenaged years and into early adulthood, was that it was maudlin. It was saccharine. That was the Frank Capra thing. Revisiting it as an adult, I don’t like it, but it’s better than my recollection of it. It’s a bit treacle-y, yes, but not quite as saccharine as I thought.
Sure, the happy ending is “everything but the kitchen sink” in terms of instilling cheerfulness. However, there are plenty of movies like that. Also, it’s a Christmas movie! You want bitterness? Yes, that ending is sappy. It’s not my cup of tea in full. I don’t need any precocious kids delivering trite lines, but I also don’t want It’s a Wonderful Life to end with George Bailey jumping off a damn bridge, you know?
During the run of the film, though, there are sardonic moments. There are acidic moments. It has some good performances in it. George Bailey can be quite bitter. I had internalized the idea that Mary’s line, “He’s making violent love to me, mother” as a joke people made about a corny ‘40s movie, but it’s actually in the film. When I saw that I thought, “Wow, didn’t think you had that in you, Capra!”
It’s a Wonderful Life is not going into my rotation, but I don’t consider it a bad film. It’s more of a mediocrity. Of course, everybody involved is dead, so they can’t appreciate my lukewarm reassessment. Tragic!
