It's a Wonderful Life
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 drama film directed by Frank Capra, starring James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore. It drew a wide audience and shaped its genre.
Plot
It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas fantasy drama film directed and produced by Frank Capra. It is based on the short story and booklet "The Greatest Gift", self-published by Philip Van Doren Stern in 1943, which itself is loosely based on the 1843 Charles Dickens novella A Christmas Carol.
The film stars James Stewart as George Bailey, a man who has given up his personal dreams to help others in his community and whose intended suicide on Christmas Eve brings about the intervention of his guardian angel, Clarence Odbody. Clarence shows George all the lives he touched and what the world would be like if he had not existed.
Production
Written by Frances Goodrich and Frank Capra, the film was produced by Liberty Films. Dimitri Tiomkin composed the score. Joseph F. Biroc handled the cinematography. The film runs 131 minutes. The crew and editing refined every shot.
Reception
On a budget of $3,180,000, It's a Wonderful Life grossed $9,644,124 worldwide at the box office. A critic consensus praised its screenplay and score.
Legacy
The film's influence spread across the century; its narrative and tone echo in much later cinema.
See also
References
- "The 100 Greatest Films of All Time". topfilms100. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
- Ebert, Roger. The Great Movies. Broadway Books.
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