It's a Wonderful Life Notes (Beyond the Bay)

​I.Capra
a.Pre-war Status
i.Robert Riskin
ii.‘30’s Oscars
iii.Relationship with Columbia/Harry Cohn
iv.1939 Indy picture:  Meet john Doe
b.War Service
i.Why We Fight Series
ii.Stateside deployment
iii.Five Came Back:  Huston, Ford, Stevens, Wyler & Capra
1.Mark Harris/Netflix
c.Liberty Films
i.Formed with Stevens, Wyler
1.9 Picture deal with RKO
2.2 films only, then contracts sold to Paramount
3.1948’s State of the Union
ii.Need for Independence
1.Started taking writing credits
d.Post War Productions
i.“Filmmaking is for the brave” AFI lifetime achievement awards
II.Origination
a.Based on The Greatest Gift (Phillip Van Doren Stern in 1930)
b.200 copies published as Christmas Card
c.Cary Grant wanted RKO to buy it, but then he made The Bishop’s Wife
d.$10,000 to RKO, then 3 scripts written (Jo Swerling, Dorothy Parker)
III.Script
a.Gower’s son taken by 1919 influenza outbreak
b.Entire story hinges on difference between order & chaos:  $8,000
c.XXX
d.Potter/George Confrontation
i.Lower seat
ii.“Warped, frustrated old man”
iii.“You’re worth more dead than alive”
IV.Themes
a.Self-Worth
i.Capra’s most personal film
1.George is Capra
a.Sacrifice for community
b.Sense of lack of appreciation
c.Forgotten about
b.Supernatural
i.Clarence: “the IQ of a rabbit & the faith of a child”
ii.NEVER BORN SEQUENCE
1.Suicide harkens back to John Doe’s X-mas eve attempt
2.Dead brother leads to dead troops.  Not a hero
3.Gower:  drunken bum (killed child w/poison)
4.Billy Insane
5.Violet Prostitute
6.Ernie’s Wife left him/no house
7.Martini’s Rough bar
c.Class Distinctions
i.“I’m shaking the dust of this crummy little town off my feet”
ii.Wainright:  College grad
iii.“Don’t play nursemaid to a bunch of garlic eaters”-Potter to George
iv.Imigrant Ownership (Capra)
d.Courtship
i.George arrogant at Mary’s “smells like pine needles”
ii.Mary idolizes George:  “I’ll love you until the day I die” (bad ear)
iii.Finally throws him out when phone rings
iv.Wainright:  chance of a lifetime:  Plastics
V.Casting
a.Henry Fonda considered, as was Jean Arthur
b.Jimmy Stewart
i.Pre-War parts
1.1939-40:  Mr. Smith, Destry, Shop Around Corner, Philadelphia Story
ii.Enlistment/War Service
iii.Post-War:
1.Set to return to run father’s hardware store in PA.
2.Took part sight unseen, but had second thoughts
3.Capra convinced him to try (kissing scene)
iv.Legacy/Post Wonderful Life Parts
1.Winchester ’73/Naked Spur (Anthony Mann)
2.Hitchcock:  Rope, Rear Window, Vertigo
3.Anatomy of a Murder/Liberty Valance
v.5 Oscar Noms/1 Win (Philadelphia Story)
c.Donna Reed
i.Donna Reed Show
ii.25 Yr old when shot
iii.Perfect blend of innocence & sex appeal
iv.Oscar for From Here to Eternity
v.Won bet with Barrymore that she could milk a cow
d.Lionel Barrymore
i.Potter first seen in horse drawn carriage-throwback/out of place in time
e.Gloria Grahame
i.Noir Goddeess (Big Heat, Human Desire, In a Lonely Place, Crossfire, Sudden Fear)
ii.Won Oscar for The Bad & the Beautiful (shortest on screen performance)
f.Supporting:
i.Ward Bond:  John Wayne/Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals (aligned with HUAC)
ii.Belulah Bondo (mom)
VI.Shooting/Production
a.Pool Scene at Beverly Hills HS
i.Alfalfa from Our Gang series actor who opens floor
b.Snow:  3,000 tons of shaved ice, combined w/gypsum & foamite (Only Oscar)
i.Shot during heat wave at RKO Ranch
ii.20 full grown oaks transplanted for 3 block set
c.Phone Scene:  Shot in 1 take.  Skipped full page of scripted dialogue
VII.Post Production
a.Censorship
i.Potter gets away with crime
VIII.Release
a.1946 titles:  The Bishop’s Wife.  The Best Years of our Lives (biggest since GwTW)
b.Deemed too sentimental & old fashioned
c.6 Oscar Nominations
d.Lost $480,000 in initial run
IX.Legacy
a.Copywrite lapsed in ‘70’s led to regular TV airings