It's a Wonderful Life: 50 Things You Don't Need to Know 

Susan Booker That’s beautiful!!!

Aww that is so sweet Susan!

Neat! :)

That is the most beautiful story ever. Congratulations on your 47 years & hope you get 47 more!

I don’t know why but when I watch it’s a wonderful life I’d rather know it’s a national broadcast I can watch it on RU-vid but I rather know millions are watching with me I guess,I guess it’s about sharing emotions with others...

Me too!

@@Brentstarga me too

Yep, that entire scene at the end where everyone comes to George's aid is a cry fest for me, and every time. Such overwhelming joy.

Sameee

Me too!

I'm so glad your here!

I do not doubt you had that in mind and I’m sorry you came to that point. But it was great that you -subconsciously?- sent out a cry for help and that teacher answered it. A girl I didn’t know in jr high used to walk home in front of me. We never talked. One day she was gone and when I talked to someone about her not being around they said she committed suicide. That really upset me that I never took time to talk to her due to my shyness.

God bless you and God bless your teacher!

Yes, God bless you & a teacher who cared about you, too!

Wow!

Ron Stash I love this movie too and have to watch it every year!

Ron, every year that I watch this film the more I find out how truer your observation is. I think if everyone lived their lives with that thought in mind, maybe then mankind--and the world--would be a better place, one in which hatred and anger were not so prevalent. So I say right here, right now--thanks to all of my friends and family members who have helped me know how much my life has truly mattered!

Ron Stash Married,single,married,single 😂😂😂 I hope everything turn out alright for ya!

Awwwwww.❤❤❤🎅🎅🎅🎄🎄🎄🎁🎁🎁happy new year 🗓📅🎆🎊

@@shamalama29 he may of bin lucky,. me ive never bin married never found right one at 64 now. Wudda like to happy new year 🗓📅🎆🎊

You don't know who will touch.

My favorite line is "no man is a failure who has friends"

@Wayne I completely agree with you! It's my favorite of all movies for the content as well! So meaningful! 🤗💖

@@ED80s I always loved that part as well!! I wrote it down one time after watching it decades ago and posted it on my fridge. It became a conversation piece! 😉

Hear hear.

And do you know, just who that actor is?? It's, Parley Baer. So, who's he?? Mayberry's first, mayor😉!!! He was, a bit character actor also, playing in many films.

Actually, the actor in IAWL was Dick Elliott. He was Mayor Pike. Mayberry's first mayor on TAGS. Elliott died during the second season. Parley Baer was Mayor Roy Stoner. Mayberry's second mayor on TAGS. A side note. Sheldon Leonard went on to become a successful producer, director and screenwriter for many shows. Including The Andy Griffith Show.

​@@rogerrendzak8055yes sir. Good Ole Mayor Pike. Lol. Loved him.

Same age as you!! I still cry every single time - best wishes and Merry Christmas from England.

I’m crying now...jeez..

I agree. Two wonderful stars but my favorite Jimmy Stewart who was a Christian. I think it was the perfect movie to star in after WWII.

Actually, whenever I'm around anything that **STINKS**, I always hold my nose...

Same with me. I always watch it with my daughter. Originally with my daughter and her mother, then with my daughter and her live in boyfriend. At this part the room gets very quiet.

Absolutely agree - just right on the money

George's (Stewart) simultaneous realization that he loves Mary (Reed) meaning he'll never realize his dreams of an education, travel, and a career as an architect, but that his love for her is more important...an incredible, passionate scene.

Agreed! (Swoon)

Funny I've always considered it the weakest moment in the story. It always makes me uncomfortable. It's interesting to me that you see it that way.

The sexual tension sizzles!

mjnc367 you bet...I’m there now!

@@bearbear4030 Are you joking? Many times. Never make permanent decisions on temporary circumstances. All bad things pass...its getting through them that's the hard part. I attended BU....not Boston Univ, rather Brutal U. Got my doctorate. Many go through the School of Hard Knocks but I had to up the ante. Hang in and hold on.....

Isn't that a beautiful scene? I had never seen this film for years after it had become such a classic. My friend told me to watch it and during the bar scene i started crying. Frank Capra captures the human condition so honestly.

@@bearbear4030 Ask...

He wasn’t acting;he was dealing w/PTSD after coming home.

That's beautiful... Take care friend... She's with u when u watch it, I believe that wholeheartedly...

George, My sincere condolences on the tragic death of your beloved Wife. I cry as a I read your comment.

Sorry for your loss but it sounds like you and your wife had a wonderful 41 years together ! God bless you and wife. Enjoy the movie until you meet her again.

Awww what a special attachment to this wonderful movie!! I’m glad you 2 shared it so many times and now you continue as your family grows. So very sorry about the loss of your wife. Sounds like you did have ‘a wonderful life’ 🙂❤️

A Merry Christmas STORY.... DOWN With happy holidays!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My daughter goes to school there it’s so pretty at Christmas

@@erica6488 very cool! She goes to IUP?

Bob Stewart yes !

@@erica6488 I live very close to Penn State University.

Omg that's so wonderful

Awe that’s so sweet and a good memory.

Thank you for sharing your story, I love Frank Capra’s movies.

Wow!

Hi Charlie! She is and you have! Best wishes.

Amazing wonderful acting by Donna, best scene ever, thank you Donna xxx.

That was a very well written comment.

I couldn't agree more. I really noticed it more than ever this year. Truly great acting.

So true. Also when she ran away from him as the old maid librarian and he was being held back from her by others and he screached, "Mary????" That scene tears at my heart and when he says her name like that and realizes how he has lost everything that mattered to him, it makes me burst out crying everytime. (Doing it now thinking of his face and voice and hands shaking.)

Amen !

It's a reminder that script writers get to play God when the are writing movie scripts, and that wringing every drop of pathos out of situation is generally good box office, though apparently not so much in this particular case

@@mattlove1 Exactly. Great movie that this is, it's pure fiction.

@Sponge Bob It just goes to show the power of God!! Do something that is so outrageous that it's doomed to fail except God be in it.

BIG JOE 245 MOST????? What is better, better in the true sense? Maranatha

OK, yes very much, but ... U.s. Air Force was founded 1947 Was U.S. Army Aircorps. Stewart was a B17 pilot. Huge gonads on that man, very deceptive.

@@toms641 ok; since you are being precise and technical; Jimmy flew B-24’s

@@laurenceelisha689 I have always respected and admired the man and the actor, Jimmy Stewart. He truly was larger than life.

The look on his face when he realizes the enormity of what's going on chills me to the bone!

Really?? That scene killed me the first time i saw it. Every year i watch this film I wait for Martini's bar.

How about right after that when Ernie asks Bert if he wants to go along with Ernie and George and see the town and Bert says "No thanks, I, uh (looks at his watch) think I'll go home and see what the wife is doing".

There's another subtle "dirty joke," when Annie says, "That's why all children should be girls!" Mrs. Bailey starts to say, "Well, if they were all girls..." but then stops herself. Clearly an allusion to sex and if children were all girls, the human race would end.

@@chuckhoffman8680 And Ernie replies sarcastically: "A family man."

More people got it than you think. Children no but adults, yes.

I love that scene as well, of children's innocence. Something that has been lost in our modern day society.

That was one of my favorite scenes too. Always makes me smile

One of my favorites.

Unfortunately, as it was his weak ear, he didn't hear a thing.

@@peterpiper7441 that was the idea. Mary purposely whispered that in his bad ear so that he wouldn't hear it!

But he made all these fans happy so he might be as rich as George.

He recouped his loss later on. I do not know what the final total was.

@@timhawks6101 i'm sure he came out all right in the end. don't cry for Capra, Argentina.

"grateful" *

Eh... so he lost some money.... but he became a LEGEND and lives on FOREVER!!

If I was her, I would have told every single person I ever met about that.

Correction. The swimming pool scene was filmed at Beverly Hills High School. I know that place, I was with the Redondo High Water Polo team in 1966 when we went to play BHHS then. I watched them open the floor up to show the pool.

@@dougmontgomery1868 that's what I meant it's Beverly hills high School

Well, which do you mean--Hollywood High or Beverly Hills High? I was at the latter, where the pool was below the floor.

Where'd your father go to school?

Perhaps Dorothy Parker's contribution? 😄

I thought it was, "I've been saving this for my dowry....if I ever get a husband".

How about Donna Reed's line to Jimmy Stewart's when he was tapping at her front fence? "What are you doing? PICKETING?"

Here's another. What are the three things that are the most wonderful things to hear? George says: Plane propellers, anchors raising, & train whistles. Uncle Billy retorts: Breakfast is served, lunch is served, dinner is served.

@@Richie8a8y Another one of hers: With Liquor & Gin, why do the boys need girls? George's mother's reaction to that as she tries to explain it to Dorothy Parker's contribution, Well, if boys don't meet girls....... & they fade of stage as you know that the pre-code censors would not allow them to discuss the birds & the bees.

❤

Beautifully written and appreciated.

Not bad, for a 19 year old👏👍!!!

You are absolutely right about old man Potter getting away with it. Ultimately, what makes the movie powerful is that it feels true. We know that the powerful get away with it every single day. Putting a pretty pink bow on top would have cheapened it.

When George looks up and says, “Atta boy Clarence” I always tear up, even though I know it’s coming... Who amoung us hasn’t wondered what life would be if we went ever here, or did one thing in our life differently....one thing..

@@Hambone571 yeah, like never voting for Trump for anything.

@@paulengstrom432 or, like not making your post. Paul's real last name is Potter.

Funny, I can't watch this movie anymore. It's brilliant but it's so dark and depressing I can't deal with it. You can cock your head any which way you want, to make it look joyous, but it's not. It's about a man who gave up his career hopes and dreams for what he perceived (wrongly) as family obligations and then chose to settle in his "crummy" hometown with a job he hated. Capra's a genius but beneath all the family values is a very painful situation.

@@sportsmediaamerica my life turned out like this....i am now old, bitter and without hope

Jef Olson, I had Frank Capra at MY college in the early 1970s. He said that was the most meaningful film he ever made, that prisoners on death row would tell him that they believed their lives meant something because of It's a Wonderful Life.

Stewart had PTSD alright Paid To Stay Deceitful

@@juniorthompson6085 what the hell does that mean, junior?

@@juniorthompson6085 what kind of a moron are you, Junior?

@@tearose9938 ; You call it Rose it's in the leafs

Susan Rice - yep. That’s when I start crying and don’t stop until the very end. I’m glad you pointed that out - it’s the snow and as the viewer (watching for the first time) you KNOWS That is the moment

A very special part of the movie!

Yeah they resurrected George kinda like Haysoos

That always gets me.

I am truly sorry for your loss... And happy u've found a way to vent your pain & loss...

Hate to hear you were at that point. My family has been affected by that as well and I wish we could have found a way to help in time. I hope things are better for you now.

Terry M I was there, I can relate!

2 Thumps UP!

@@AMillionMovies ..... Get a digital copy of the movie that you get from the DVD or the Blu-ray and then forward it to all your friends IN UR contact list that you like... Even the ones you don't like.lol

@@AMillionMovies Yes I am okay now. It took me a long time to get back to normal but actually it was a good happening in my life. Thru friends and family I learned life goes on. I have now been married for over 30 years. Had several girl friends in between my break up and finding my wife. God was good to me.

Ditto to all of you. Just reading your comments and recounting the scenes gets me a lump in my throat. I especially like the supper scene. George and PA Bailey eating and talking. PA Bailey stirring his coffee, giving his philosophy of just what is important.

I love this line!

"Hey, my lip's bleedin'. Isn't that great?

@@seang2700 It's really a simple concept, but difficult for most people to comprehend. It is life altering when you do incorporate into your understanding of existence.

His Hitchcock movies are amazing!

I am also a fairly young lad and havent experienced the young Jimmy Stewart...... I have seen his movies though... and later I even wrote to him / his agency for an autographed picture....and I received one......and it even included the dedication by him for me and my mother ( she helped me write the letter..and we signed it together )...and now Jimmy and my mother have passed away.....but that dedication is still with me.

@@maxnoerenberg6370 Wow! Awesome story. God be with you.

He is my favorite too. One of my more exciting days was going to Beverly Hills to see the house he lived in for decades..

he was struggling w PTSD from the war. Some of the emotion you see is raw, this film helped him deal with all the death he saw in the war.

@@magdalenem4949 Oh, my! I did not know that. The emotion really was raw and now that I learn that the movie helped him, I am so happy. He was such a lovely, lovely man.Thank you, @Gina H !

It's actually well-known now that, at the time of filming, Jimmie hated making it. He wanted to do a feel-good film, and while it is (in the end), it puts him through the emotional ringer to do it, and, as has been said, he was dealing with his PTSD and he left most days of filming feeling miserable.

And no one could have played George Bailey better than Jimmy Stewart.

Thanks for this tidbit!

Also ... the niece of Gen. Patton himself

Wow

They chose the right ending. It's best to leave Potter's judgement to the audience's imagination. Everything about this film is PERFECTION!

I like that ersatz ending with the flaming wheelchair coasting down the street.😄

I thought the ending fit because, in real life, sometimes the bad guys get away with it. It's a mistake to believe otherwise. You usually have no choice but to deal with it. (Everybody falls down and whether it's your fault or not, you still have to get up.)

Saturday Night Live's "Lost Ending to It's A Wonderful Life" is one their great classic sketches. Introduced by Bill Shatner, no less: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vw89o0afb2A.html

At first I was disappointed that Potter never got his just desserts at the end. But then I got to thinking about it I realized that in a way he did get his connupance. Even though he got away with keeping the $8000 he didn't get what he really wanted. To see George Bailey ruined and thrown into jail and the Building And Loan shutdown! You see George Bailey had been a thorn in his side for years. He had been wanting that Building And Loan place to go under so bad if it killed him! I can imagine his disappointment and anger of finding out that George Bailey would not go to jail!

The first time I saw any of It's A Wonderful Life was during the summer(?)of 1971. I later learned that my Uncle,a teacher, showed it to his class every Christmastime.

What a coincidence! I was around 16 myself when this movie came on. The scene where the boys are snow-sliding down hills in shovels etc. reminded me of what my best friend & I were doing at that time (we used toboggans). As an adult, I told my girls, who were young teenagers at the time, that they'd like this movie, as it was coming on one night. They scoffed when I told them the name, & they said they expected some "square" type of movie. Of course, it became one of our family favourites.

Gosh, I wish our teachers were smart enough to show them movie in class

Ah man wasn't getting a movie in elementary school at Christmas a treat ! I don't think you could do that now with this movie, maybe any Christmas movie because of the underlining religious theme.

@@Theywaswrong yep,teach a kid a lesson in grammar school, so they don't want to commit suicide when they go into the opioid use when they're in high school..and think my life's not worth living but then they remember the movie they watched and grammar school 😊

That’s a great line. I’ve often wondered if people pick up on that subtle but quaint romantic comment!!

Pretty obvious that Bert, after seeing Violet sashay on by, has something in mind for the wife...afternoon delight...

I can’t count how many times I watched it before I caught that and so appreciated the “guy” humor

and the next scene opens with a chandelier shaking very suggestively. a little joke by Mr Capra i think.

@@johnnyvogue8673 I never noticed that, next time I watch it I will look out for it!. Merry Christmas!!!

Another part of that scene that always cracks me up is after Clarence explains to George that he's his guardian angel. If I remember correctly, George sort of looks him up and down and says something like "Yeah, you LOOK about like the kind of angel I'd get".

I completely understand! It's a charming, inspiring, emotionally engaging film made to high standards. An excellent, beloved classic American film.

Meeee toooo

My favourite too!

@John Caulfield ok Phoebe Bouffet

@John Caulfield, How so? The story is all about how much one life has an impact on everyone it encounters along the way and why it has value even if the person believes it doesn't. How is that depressing? Depressing would be if he found out everyone would be better off if he were never born! Instead, he finds out that everything he did had an impact that helped people and saved lives! At the end it shows just how much he was loved by everyone he knows and that his life mattered a great deal! If you think that is depressing, you have issues! LOL

I too will do so. I am glad to see it so young, and I too am named Anthony with a family of six, although instead I am one of the children, can't wait to get my own Mary! Inspire love to others like George!

Oh YES! The scene when they are both listening on the same phone is HOT! "...the chance of a lifetime" Damn!

The message is you matter if you want to, not depressing unless you want to be!

@Sponge Bob try rolling those eyes down to the nearest eye doctor. and do the public a favor, and uber it.

When she gave up the honeymoon money to support the bank, well let’s just say I am STILL searching for that kinda woman

@@rcdogmanduh4440 It was only depressing until George finally saw how much of a difference he'd made in people's lives.

Merry Christmas 2020! God bless you!

Happy New Year for 2023🐝🌈💫

Did youall tape it? Bet it was great

To my Big Brother George, the richest man in town

In town

Egad, I like the movie, but that line is so corny that I always cringe when I hear it (as I do every year!).

"It's gonna snow again." And sure enough, that evening it was snowing while George contemplated suicide.

Donna Reed was a wonderful person and a great actress. We need more folks like her.

That’s an amazing story, I love it. ❤️

What a loving magical thing for a person to do.May God Bless the Soul of Donna Reed.Amen 🌹

Agree! I love watching It's a Wonderful Life too.

YOU Leon, are pretty amazing2use this as an analogy2 help those who are hurting. If ok w/you, I'll do same. Brilliant, & your comparison surely must not only lift a person up, but gives them hope & a vision 2see beyond the pain or sorrow theyre experiencing. Thank you for leaving your comment!! Wonderful Life surely is, for this reason, at top of list for Christmas films. ( I now 2nd it with: (It Happened On 5th Avenue")

Technically, at some point in the finale, Sam Wainright, his childhood friend (Hee-haw! Hee-Haw!) offers to send him $25,000+ because of his help in the War Effort giving the idea of making plastics from soybeans for the governments need to have bullet-proof windows & employing the townsfolk to work in said factories because the people needed the jobs to help feed their families plus times were tough. Also, the auditor sees all the generosity & rips the bill of summons, freeing George from his fiscal responsibility, & gives Zhu-Zhu his pocket watch. FYI O'Henry's The Gift Of The Magi has a Christmas story about a watch & a woman's beautiful hair. Look it up?

Mary K Unfortunately, nowhere in the film is it shown or even implied that Potter returned the $8,000 he got because of Uncle Billy's fumbling, making him one of the few movie "villains" to get away with his crime!

@@wranglerboi Karma always has a way of paying a villain back.

Potter got the $8k but he didn't need it. It made no difference to him. What he WANTED was the Savings and Loan, and Bedford Falls with it...

@@princezzpuffypants6287 So true, but think on this, how is Mr. Potter going to explain the extra $8,000 on his books considering the the Building & Loan had not paid the money SUPPOSEDLY & will be paying it AGAIN without Uncle Billy messing up the till for the new influx of money that all his friends just paid him. Remember, Sam Wayneright promised George Bailey up to $25,000 toward the Building & Loan, he truly as he wished made himself a "Millionaire" at the end of this movie. Mr. Potter will NOT be WINNING. HE did NOT get Bailey B&L, NOR Bedford Falls, & he WILL NEED TO EXPLAIN to the BANK EXAMINER where he received the $8K of monetary influx at the leanest time of the year, Christmas, especially during wartime. That kind of KARMA is a b*tch to pay.

Love Uncle Billy, played by the amazing Thomas Mitchell, aka Gerald O'Hara (Scarlett's dad) in Gone With the Wind.

Just shows that the George character is a human being. Pushed to a limit, we will all break.

Oh my gosh! The same thing happens to me EVERY TIME I SEE IT!! SAME scene. Makes me feel good to know there's a kindred spirit out there!! A scene that I just love is when Sam Wainwright is driving away from the Martini's new house, and George and Mary stand there in the road, each with their arm around the other, watching him drive away. It's so tender and simple, but speaks volumes. Enjoy watching the movie this year!!

Rita Smith I’m also glad to know someone else is affected the same way. And I like the Sam Wainwright scene too. Us sentimentalists have to stick together! Have a wonderful holiday season,

@@kimdorris8106 You too!!

😆😆😆😆 yes! Cracks me up

This is another movie that turned out so great, you cannot imagine ANY ONE of the actors, being played by someone else. Just like the Wizard of Oz.

I haven’t heard that one.

You're right sad to say. I get more depressed on what this country has become!

lovely..

Sheldon and Leonard on Big Bang...who knew:) nice tribute!

I thought Zu zu, was a nickname for Susan.

Frohe Weihnachten from Indianapolis, Indiana!

Merry Christmas from Westerville Ohio USA!

Yes! I thought it was an incredibly passionate kiss. Especially for back in the day! Now that I learned it was unrehearsed, I think that may be why!

@@riggs20 what about the "Almost nude scene?" Donna Reed naked in the bushes while George Bailey figures out how to lure her out, but God intervenes with the death of the father where he gallantly gives her back the robe & pursues more important duties. Being at his father's side.

I have always believed this to be true.

You have easily approachable standards!

@Dennis Moore LOL ok.. as long as guys are confessing about crying.. I'm 59 and I sure do too at the end!

Excellent idea! Maybe in an alternate universe they do.

I almost didn't start watching it because of the title.

Right? That bugged me too. Why should I watch if I don’t need to know them?

TubenIt83 Perhaps the word ‘need’ is the key here. Of course we don’t NEED to know this and we don’t NEED to even see the movie, but in a way we’re better off for it. There are plenty of other things we’d be better off not knowing, but this isn’t one of them. Seeing and knowing beauty in any form enhances our lives. There’s too much ugliness out in the world. Beauty gives us hope.

one must use his or her imagination to complete the thought: "50 things you don't need to know, but 50 things you will appreciate knowing."

I like when the dude is staring at her and gets oogad

I made the mistake of looking her up to find out who she was played by. Big yikes.

That's how the story moves along in movies and books. It's called foreshadowing.

@Rick Charles Yes my sweet Mama used to say, "Is this some more of your useless knowledge?" Usually said right after I solved some problem for her.... 😁

@112yrs Aaahhhh. You are right! Apparently I misremembered, and should substitute "water" for "precepitation". And I thought of another one that proves your point: although there was snow when George rescued his brother, it was from ICE and POND WATER. I am a great one for extolling the virtues of exactitude in language. Seems I need to practice what I preach!

@@ladya1953 And, in case anyone missed it, the snow is replaced by howling wind when George enters the Other World, and when he returns to his original world the reverse occurs.

@@ladya1953 Not that it matters, but if we can believe the folks near where I used to live, Seneca Falls NY in Seneca County along the canal connecting Seneca Lake and Cayuga Lake to the Erie Canal is the model for Bedford Falls: therealbedfordfalls.com/ The bridge George Bailey is contemplating jumping from is over the canal, and in places people do slide down the sides and onto the frozen canal ice, though it can be risky near the faster waters (the canal water is lower during the winter, thus the banks higher and the low waters more rushing), thus George saved his brother from the canal. The bank auditor in the movie mentions having to get back to Elmira, which is south of Seneca Lake. More things we don't need to know, but I sure love such details. EDIT: Thinking back on both the movie and Seneca Falls, the sledding (shoveling?) and falling through the ice could have been something that might have happened in a canal or one of the mill ponds, so indeed you might have been right about it being a "pond". I'll have to pay more attention to the dialogue when I rewatch the movie this year.

That towns aging badly

Merry Christmas to you

hee haw...!

Imagine how Sam Wainwright would have reacted if he'd known that his famous phrase would one day be the name of a television show!

I agree...he was surely a master of his craft!😊👍

And he was a service man too: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-C7oaAbGXg2w.html

I think he was a much better choice for this film than Cary Grant for that reason. He wasn't classically handsome and much more a character that people could relate to.

He was an amazing actor.

He was the best! Nobody compares today. Him and Mr Rogers should've been cloned. :)