It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) | First Time Watching! | MOVIE REACTION!!! 

My mom loved this movie. She cried Everytime she saw it. We would watch it together. Mom was diagnosed with cancer. It was a long battle but she passed away in 2011. On the way to her funeral I heard the bell toll. "Mom" I said. "You just got your wings."

Donna Reed played baseball in high school and was actually able to break the window with a rock. Capra hired a marksman to shoot it out, but Reed insisted she could do it so Capra filmed it. Also, credit to Capra for making such a strong woman character... Mary was a wonderful Backgammon player at Bedford High and was able to go to college on a scholarship. She studied Russian literature and homemaking. She got her college degree. She was head of her USO group, saves the Building and Loan from being closed when there is a run on the bank, rebuilds the Granville house pretty much by herself and raises four children. Mary also saves George in many ways and then eventually, the whole town.... Everytime I watch this, I love Mary more and more.

Wonderful reaction and smile during the movie closing scene was precious.🔔🎶 "It's A Wonderful Life" film legacy mirrored George Baily's life. The cast, crew and audiences loved the movie when it premiered in 1946 but was overlooked for most of the awards and accolades it so deserved. As the years passed, the stars all went on to other great things and the film seemed like a fond memory. Then, perhaps an angel showed a clerk what the Christmas Season would be like without George Baily's story. Somebody intervened and the film's copyright paperwork was misplaced. The film rights lapsed into the public domain. Then cable television came along, the film would air continuously on television during the Christmas season. Families old and new came together making the movie a Christmas tradition, falling in love with George, Mary and the people of Bedford Falls. 🔔"It's A Wonderful Life," the richest film in town. 🔔🎶

Some information about the actor Jimmy Stuart. Jimmy Stewart was a true American Hero. He was a WWII combat veteran and Commander of a Bomber wing. He had over 20 combat mission over Germany. After the war he transition to the Air Force Reserve and retired as a Brigadier General. He flew missions over Korea and Vietnam. Jimmy Stewart used his PTSD to really play this role. PTSD wasn't known at the time. He had not long been home from the war when he filmed this movie. He still had all the grief of seeing friends and the men that was under him die over France and Germany. Jimmy was a Wing Commander in the 8th Air Force. He was a B-24 Liberator pilot. He was a real hero. I know a man who was a friend of Jimmy Stuarts and he said Jimmy Stuarts said that prayer at Martinis was Not acting. He was genuinely calling on God for real, that was him 100% real working through the trauma he had experienced in his experiences in the WW2 flying missions. Once he was flying a mission when the bottom of his plane was shot out and men fell to their deaths screaming. He and his co pilots legs were literally dangling out the bottom of the plane but managed to land.

I knew you'd love it. "It's a Wonderful Life" is easily one of the most wholesome movies of all-time. My great-grandfather grew up in western Pennsylvania with Jimmy Stewart. They played youth sports together. My great-grandfather received a basketball scholarship to Temple University and Jimmy Stewart went on to Princeton University.

In the statement "born older." Means mature and responsible beyond his years.

So happy to see you react to this classic. Note: Lionel Barrymore (Potter) was the great-uncle of Drew Barrymore (family of actors since the 1870s) - Also, the Beverly Hills High School "Swim Gym" was built in 1939 and is still in use today, in its original form.

We all need a Clarence in our life, wings or no wings doesn't matter

Mary IS a real one! That should be part of the title. It’s A Wonderful Life…Mary Is A Real One. You nailed it. George is a dreamer and Mary keeps him grounded. When you’re a big-picture person sometimes you’re unable to focus on the finer details.

43:04 The uncle has a bad memory. That's why he has strings tied around his fingers. Those are supposed to remind a person to do something.

Fun fact: when Uncle Billy knocks over the trashcans... that was actually a stagehand offscreen knocking over a stack of film canisters. With Uncle Billy's little improv, that stagehand got a raise in his paycheck

The most beautiful, life-affirming movie of all-time. SERIOUSLY

Great acting by Jimmy Stewart. The bar scene where he breaks down in despair was some of his best work.

I cant believe given my age, that I've STILL not seen this movie. My parents used to always watch it and I may have watched the first few minutes a few times but always skipped it. Marie is now motivating me to watch it so I can see her reaction :)

36:46 "George, I'll start you out at $20,000 a year." Today, that would be more than $320,000 a year.

This is was one of the best reactions I’ve seen. I was unfortunately unlucky in love. Every time I watch this movie I wish I could have had a wonderful woman like Mary. This movie is so inspiring in so many ways and I could see in your face what it meant to you. May God bless you and keep you.

I love this movie. 26 years old and it makes me cry every time 😂🥹 such a simple movie and message but it’s really shown beautifully.

This is a great Christmas movie. They show this every year on NBC.

I loved rewatching this with you! This movie brings deep feelings and tears every time. Thanks for sharing with us (me) 😊

This movie abd reaction, hit me harder than ever before, especially the part regarding Bailey's character thinking about taking his own life because a little 10 yr old boy from my home town, experiencing unimaginable bullying at school that wasnt addressed properly, bullies continued and this precious little boy took his own life, at the tender age of 10 yrs old which is something thats never occured in the town I grew up in and realize that this young mans tragedy, isnt the same circumstances as Peter Bailey's character but seeing, knowing when a person cannot bare to face another day, how desperate those that are suffering so deeply mentally can become to escape any way possible but am asking all to please pray for the parents, siblings and all those that truly loved this little boy, that are experiencing unfathomable pain. May God bless all Of you and your families.

Just stumbled upon your channel Really enjoy this movie It’s insane how good it is and how timeless it is. Still a Christmas classic to this day.

There's something about Mary...Not even the angels acknowledge that she was there for the entire incident with Mr Gower and the poison pills, which means she never talked about to anyone either, including George. Later, her higher education was a major or minor in Home Economics, which was a serious field in those days. My paternal Grandmother up North in Boston had that same very practical education and advanced skills. Everything that needed to be done to renovate the old house, including sewing and upholstery, she knew how to do. The heavier work and materials were what George's family had been organizing for a long time, as well as the local contractors who did the best work. They also probably bought the house for back taxes or made a deal with the town to improve the old eyesore. People get on themselves for not doing that kind of thing themselves, but it wasn't just luck. It took skills, education and experience, not just determination to make Mary's dream house livable. Mr Potter's smearing of virtues and theft of the money are clear markers of Malignant Narcissism. It means that before the age of 7 the original child withdrew from intolerable reality to a small corner of his psyche and hadn't been seen since. Why? It varies. He may have been told repeatedly he was far superior to other children. He could have been abused. It could have been both. All that's left is a delusional grandiose ego, that needs constant confirmation of its superiority. His true goal is to make the town so corrupt that all he has to do is take a look out of any window to confirm his delusion about how much better he is than everyone else. It's a vacuous dream. All to hide the knowledge from himself that when he encountered other children he found that he wasn't THE BEST AT EVERYTHING, and refused to make the healthy adjustment the rest of us do. The adjustment from six year old egotist to seven year old moralist goes, " I'm good I have worth." to "If I have worth, then others also have worth." It's so basic, and happens so early. Listen carefully. Is someone not really finding fault, but smearing virtues, because they can't stand someone else being admired? Big warning. They will never change. Run. In the post Freudian era screenwriters and play writes portrayed the personality disorder beautifully. Another good movie is Dodsworth, that asks how toxic a wife and mother can become before the welfare of the family supercedes a man's marriage vows. Narcissists always get worse as they get older. It still has a 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.7 on IMDb. Not bad for a movie from 1936. The Silver Cord, a play adapted for the screen in 1930, is a chilling portrayal of a mother willing to destroy her sons future to keep them infantalized, for herself. It's actually frightening, and gave me chills. It's amazing it was ever made given the way motherhood was revered at the time.

What a wonderful reaction, loved it. Movies like this are so underrated, I’m glad people like yourself watch these classics. 😊

We can figure out how old George is: Joseph tells Clarence at the ice sliding scene that it's 1919 and George is 12, so he was born in 1907. The gym scene takes place in 1928: we see the banner in the gym, so George is 21. Later on we see that brother Harry was born in 1911. Mary is 18 in 1928 (we see the banner telling us the year in the gym), so she was born in 1910.

This and click are two of my favorite movies to see people react to for the first time because they both have such beautiful messages and they always make me cry

Love this film. James Stewart (George Bailey) is my favorite actor. I highly recommend his films The Glenn Miller Story, Anatomy of a Murder, Vertigo, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Rear Window, Harvey, No Highway in the Sky, Shanandoah, Carbine Williams, The Philadelphia Story, Made For Each Other, Flight of the Phoenix, The Man that Shot Liberty Valanace. Just to name a few.

I thoroughly enjoyed your reaction to this classic movie. It's baffling how it wasn't well-regarded by the public and the critics at its release. It's structure is unique and the writing, acting and directing makes it the great movie it is seen as today.

I truly loved your reactions and cherished the opportunity to share this movie with you. Thank you so much!

This movie was amazing love the video Marie stay motivated dream big 1 mill on the way

Director Frank Capra said he never understood why people considered this a Christmas movie. The movie actually bombed at the box office and actually almost drove the Director, Frank Capra into bankruptcy. This was the first movie James Stewart made after returning from World War II and he was nervous about doing it Lionel Barrymore, who played Mr. Potter, was the one who convinced him to do it, H.B. Warner, who played Mr. Gower the pharmacist, really was drunk when they filmed the scene where Mr. Gower slaps young George for not delivering the pills to the sick boy, and he really slapped Bobby J. Anderson and made his ear bleed. After they finished filming, Warned immediately apologized to Anderson and hugged him. The scene where Uncle Billy starts walking home after drinking too much champagne and crashes into the garbage cans offscreen was an accident. In the original script, Uncle Billy was supposed to walk off camera and the screen was supposed to go black. But when they filmed the scene, right after Thomas Mitchell (Uncle Billy) walked off camera, a crew member backstage accidentally knocked over a props table, and Mitchell ad-libbed the line "I'm alright! I'm alright!" to make it seem like it was on purpose. Director Frank Capra decided to keep it in the film and even paid the crew member an extra $10 for "improving" the scene. In the scene where George is loaning everybody money, the old woman was originally supposed to ask for $17, but Frank Capra, the director pulled her aside and told her to make it an odd number, so she asked for $17.50, which caught James Stewart off guard, so he impulsively kissed her, which was not in the script. The movie was shot during a summer heatwave. In fact, one day it got so hot that the cast and crew had to take a whole day off from work to recuperate. Henry Travers (Clarence) doesn't appear onscreen until the last 30 minutes of the movie, and he only has 15 minutes of screen time. The set for Bedford Falls was constructed in two months and was one of the largest sets ever made for a motion picture. It covered four acres of RKO's Encino Ranch and included 75 stores and buildings, a main street, a factory district, and a large residential and slum area. Main Street was 300 yards long- three whole city blocks. Uncle Billy's raven, Jimmy the Crow has appeared in over 1,000 feature films, including every movie Frank Capra made, from You Can't Take it With You, in 1938. JImmy the Crow was the bird that lands on the scarecrow in the movie The Wizard of Oz.

George was dancing the Charleston when he and Mary were dancing in the auditorium

Holy...! I never saw the colorized version of this classic. I always watched the B&W version - I wasn't even aware of this version's existence.

That move George makes at the dance is the Charleston.

Mr. Gower has to taste it to see what's in there: this is 1919 in a small drugstore, not 2024 with a lab to test things out. In days before now, when midwives and doctors made medicine, they used their senses to put the medicines together. And so, they would taste, they would smell, they would rub between their fingers. Mr. Gower probably did NOT taste what he put in there before, otherwise the scene would not have happened.

Something that a lot of people miss. On their honeymoon when Mary tells George her wish, she is saying it in his bad ear. So he still does not know.

They had some top drawer child actors in this. 17:00 Mr Potter was played by great actor Lionel Barrymore, who usually played good-natured, sympathetic characters. 29:06 Mr Potter has an oil painting of himself over his fireplace! 30:00 Hope George & Mary can get their money back from the train & boat tickets. 33:53 Looks like George convince Sam to put his new plastics factory in Bedford Falls and probably didn't make a dime off of that either, but the laid off factory workers in town did! 51:12 Yes, that's Who he should have been consulting the whole time! 1:03:10 Mary always saved the day for George. She was a gift from The Almighty.

I really appreciate the intelligence and empathy you brought to this reaction.

24:30 - Journey Marie: "He'd better stop trying to play so cool." He's not playing cool - he's depressed. And bitter.

"We need that constellation to come down from the sky right about now." Nice one! 😅

I remember this movie playing on TV every Christmas season from the 1950s thru the 1980s

It's been awhile since I seen this movie but watching it again reminds me why it's a great classic . That never gets old , no matter what the season. Thanks my dear.

It's been a while for me to see you, but WOW what an awesome reaction. It's just great watching stuff with you. Humor, smarts, emotion. You nailed it again! Also nice to know that you are hopelessly romantic😁🤣😁

Your reaction to "It's A Wonderful Life" is now one of my favorites, and I also now prefer the colorized version of the movie.

Most think George was the protagonist of the movie, but actually Mary was the Hero of the story.

The greatest movie of all time

Great reaction to a classic, definitely earned my sub…. Thank you

Great reaction ! Love when you watch old classics ❤

If you really like old time movies A POCKET FULL OF MIRICLES with Betty Davis (1961). I cant afford to give money for the suggestion but its a fun great movie. I enjoy your channel .

Wow this colorized version looks cooI I only seen the b&w one. Merry Christmas 🎄JM! (I’m playin’ 😂) Great reaction i Love that you react to everything without being wary because it’s old or in black and white. You do it greatly 👍🏾

Excellent insight and reaction on your part! Best movie ever..this movie has stopped many people from suicide...btw, it wasn't constellations, It represented God talking to Saint Joseph, to send down an angel

Very good reaction, really enjoyed this!

This movie saved my life in 2016! Was so happy to see such a wonderful reaction to it

I watch this movie every Christmas and cry each time. There's a theater where I live that shows this every Christmas season and I get to watch it on the big screen. The audience always cheers when George stands up to Potter and they always boo and hiss at the screen any time Potter shows up. There's never a dry eye and you can hear people sniffling during the touching moments. I hope you make it a yearly tradition for yourself and get as many family/friends together to watch it with you. This is the power of cinema at its greatest.

That was a wonderful reaction to one of the best movies ever made! Peace

It's a great movie. I watch every year during the winter holiday season. I'm glad you liked it.

It is in black-and-white, the original was black-and-white. Later on they came with a colorized version. So glad you reacted to this.

The office chair was low so people would have to look up to potter.. obviously while he looks down on them

Excellent reaction. I like the color version much better than the black and white version

Always loved the creativity in older films.. and the direct simplicity of the storylines, too. Today's movies rely too much on gimmicks to truly speak to the audience, imo.. Loved your reaction!

This is a very good movie but, I think if you like great ones, check out the grapes of wrath. That is a favorite of mine. Love your reactions, girl!

This movie is black and white. You just watched the colorized version they made. They colorized a bunch of old movies in the 80s. I've seen this movie probably over 100 times. I still cry each time I watch it!

Great reaction journey as always keep going I haven't seen this movie in a while 🔥

hello ! I just L&S ed and thnx4bn ! you are a good reactor , relatable & ... well very 'well represented visually' .... cheers

Well, Christmas has come early. Great reaction! 👍🏿

Hey, great surprise pick! You were right of course -- it's obviously ridiculous to think there's a wrong time of year to watch this. Whatever traditions some people have, the film is no less moving in May than it is in December. Really cool that you now consider it a favorite. And speaking as a longtime member of the Mary/Donna Reed infatuation society, it was nice seeing you respond to her character so highly. (Doesn't always get the praise she deserves!) People will give you hell for the colorization, but don't take it to heart. The companies still selling and streaming the colorized prints are to blame for that. Next time you watch, make it B&W. 👍

Great reaction to a such a wonderful movie!!🥰

Great reaction, Marie! Glad you liked it. I'm like you in that I think Mary is the perfect wife.

@journey marie keep doing ya thing 💪🏾

14:05 "Hey. That's pretty good. What did you wish, Mary?" She can't tell you that, George. Don't you want it to come true?

Another Jimmy Stewart movie I would recommend is "Call Northside 777". It is based on the true story of a newspaper man (Stewart) who comes to believe that a prisoner was wrongly convicted. Not as well known as Harvey or Anatomy if a Murder, but still great.

Nice! Keep doing your thing homie. Your style is dope btw..

Mr. Potter is played by Lionel Barrymore, Drew Barrymore's grandfather. At this point in his career he was restricted to a wheelchair as he diabetes was starting to win the battle. A great movie no reviewer has taken on is Captain's Corageous. He is exceptional in that.

Poor Journey getting hammered in the early comments! 😆 No worries young lady, I also prefer the B and W version (when you watch a lot of B and W films you start to notice the shadows, scenes or people bathed in bright light, or in darkness, and how it all affects the scenes' mood/tone. I admire great lighting in films and to think people are setting it up a certain way to evoke a mood, there's true artistry behind it), but you certainly did *nothing* wrong in watching it in color. Also, I've been off the internet for about 2 months so I'm looking forward to catching up on your reactions, your channel is one of my favorites. It's the great editing, but you're also so damn charming!

First movie Jimmy Stewart did after coming home from serving in World war 2.... Great movie and great review!!!

Great movie... and your hair is fantastic.

To my big brother George, the richest man in town.

Forgive me for being late on seeing this. Been real busy lately . . . but I'm happy you watched this movie. This is one of my favorite movies! A lot of black and white movies are really better than a lot of movies these days

Great reaction!

1:04:31 Now here's the part I find especially interesting. People tend not to pick up on it, but Clarence did not give George a bible. That's the kind of gift you would _expect_ in a religious movie. It's like, when your household is expecting to spend the evening entertaining a clergyman. Someone suggests, "Maybe we should give him some kind of gift." Someone else asks, "Like what?" And, inevitably, the answer comes, "How about a bible? Bibles are always nice." But, of course, _everyone_ has considered that, so everyone has given that clergyman a bible, and he probably has a designated corner, back home, for all the bibles he has received as gifts. 🤷‍♂ But what's all the more surprising about this is that this book, _Tom Sawyer,_ was written by Mark Twain who was an _atheist._

There's another Jimmy Stewart movie you should react to, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. It's story of man of high ideals, but is chastised lobbyists and senators who have been were corrupt by them.

I like the way it looks in color too ....both versions are good.....

Love your reaction.

This movie actually prevented some people from committing suicide in real life when it came out

Not sure how I feel about the fact that you ended up watching the colorized version. Still a wonderful movie, of course, but I think it loses something, (paradoxically).

Enjoined this! ❤️

Best reaction ever!!

Excellent review. Subbed.

You passed the test = you cried you did great girl

Good one to always pick up your day ! 🕊️☮️

You should always watch a black & white film in black & white. This film was shot in black & white, but it was colorized.

Love it!

Christmas in May works for me!

The run on the bank was the beginning of the infamous 1929 Stock Market Crash ~

Yay❤❤❤

I hope you do more old movies, don’t let black and white photography hinder your “journey” through time via film.

Good commentary as usual but I'm very sorry you saw the colorized version. The original black & white photography was surprisingly beautiful.

Please rewatch over Christmas ❤

It’s one of my favorite movies. It’s a yearly watch at Christmas time. You should watch other Frank Capra movies - Mr Smith Goes to Washington, Mr Deeds Goes to Town, and Meet John Doe are my favorites.

t's a Wonderful Life is more than a Christmas movie I am not christen and I love it. It is a feel good movie and one of the first time travel element movies. It is so much about time travel or alternative realities that Back to the future 2 allude to it :). Fun fact the movie was not a financial success when it came out and was forgotten. Only because of a copyright registration error ( Which was fixed decades later) the movie was considered public domain for years and because of the that the Tv Networks aired over and over every Christmas till it became a cult classic. Another fun fact the scene with the uncle that was drunk and fell down was adlib because one of the stage worker dropped something in the middle of filming. I love George speech to Mr Potter about the working class. The actor who plays Mr Potter is by the way Drew Barrymore great uncle. If you want another great Jimmy Stewart movie you should watch Mr Smith goes to Washington and Harvey.

Hey beautiful lady.Thanks for the wonderful podcast