20 facts you might not know about 'It's a Wonderful Life'

The plot of “It’s a Wonderful Life” is taken from a short story called “The Greatest Gift” by Phillip Van Doren Stern. Stern actually wasn’t able to get it published and ended up self-publishing it for Christmas in 1943, distributing it to family and friends. This decision ended up paying off in a roundabout way.

How it happened is unclear, but eventually, Stern’s story ended up in the hands of Cary Grant, who was a major movie star. This led to RKO paying Stern $10,000 for the rights to his story, with the intention of making it a vehicle for Grant. That didn’t end up happening, but the next year Grant would make the Christmas classic “The Bishop’s Wife.”

Frank Capra was one of the biggest directors in Hollywood. He won the Best Director Oscar three times in the 1930s. Then, World War II happened. Capra was one of the directors who went overseas to make documentaries and training films for the U.S. Army. “It’s a Wonderful Life” was his first post-war film.

When Capra returned from the war, he was looking to break free from the Hollywood studio system as much as he could. He founded the independent production company Liberty Films, and then paid RKO $10,000 for the rights to “It’s a Wonderful Life.” It was to begin a nine-film distribution deal between Liberty and RKO.

Before Capra signed onto the product, notable screenwriters like Clifford Odets and pre-Blacklist Dalton Trumbo took passes at it. Capra took a few pieces from Odets’ version but also got to work on his own version. The married duo of Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett were working on it, but they hated working with Capra and felt undermined. Goodrich called Capra “horrid” while Hackett called him “arrogant.” Capra meanwhile worked with the writer Jo Swerling, and even Dorothy Parker did a polish. After arbitration, the screenplay was credited to Capra, Goodrich, and Hackett with “additional scenes” by Swerling.

If you ask Seneca Falls, New York, it’s the basis for the movie’s Bedford Falls. They have gone all-in on that claim. However, there is no proof this is the case. Film historian Jeanine Basinger, who is the curator of Capra’s archives, has found no proof. Stern, meanwhile, has said he based it on Califon, New Jersey.

Like Capra, Jimmy Stewart had served during World War II, but Stewart actually saw combat. When he returned from the war, he didn’t have anything on the table. Capra, meanwhile, felt that Stewart was the only actor who could truly bring George Bailey to life. Stewart agreed without reading the script, as the two had previously worked together on “You Can’t Take it With You” and “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.”

This movie could have been a full-on reunion, as Capra wanted Jean Arthur for the role of Mary. Arthur had also been in “You Can’t Take it With You” and “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” However, Arthur turned it down, having just dropped out of the Broadway version of “Born Yesterday” for “exhaustion.” Ginger Rogers was offered the role but declined, thinking the story was “too bland.” In the end, Donna Reed got the role.

Lionel Barrymore, who plays the curmudgeonly Mr. Potter, was an acting legend from an all-time acting family (yes, Drew is a descendent of that family). There’s another reason why Barrymore was ideal for a villain in a Christmas movie. He had done a famous turn as Ebenezer Scrooge in a radio adaptation of “A Christmas Carol.”

H.B. Warner, who plays Mr. Gower the drugstore owner, was a character actor who Capra put into many of his films. However, he once had a much bigger role. During the silent era, Warner had played Jesus Christ in Cecil B. DeMille’s movie “The King of Kings.”

The name Mr. Gower wasn’t chosen at random. Gower Street is a major street in Hollywood. Not only was there a popular drugstore, fittingly, on that street, it is also the street that Columbia Studios was on. Capra had been a Columbia filmmaker for many years.

Uncle Billy’s pet bird was a real showbiz lifer. In fact, Jimmy the raven has his own Wikipedia page. Jimmy was in over 1,000 movies in the ‘30s, ‘40s, and ‘50s. He even plays a crow in “The Wizard of Oz.” Additionally, Capra put Jimmy in all of his films from “You Can’t Take it With You” on.

Warner went too far when acting opposite Bobbie Anderson, who played the young George Bailey. Anderson said that Warner slapped him for real, so had that it made his ear bleed. Whether he intended to hit him that hard is unknown, though he did hug Anderson afterward. That doesn’t quite even everything out, though.

When a drunken Uncle Billy stumbles off at Harry and Ruth’s party, you hear a crash off-screen. You then hear Uncle Billy yell out “I’m alright! I’m alright!” This was not in the script. A technician had accidentally knocked something over and Thomas Mitchell was adlibbing to cover it. Capra liked it so much he kept it in, and thanks to the technician for his help.

There is a cop named Bert and a cab driver named Ernie in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Over the years, a rumor percolated that Bert and Ernie the “Sesame Street” characters were named in their honor. However, as far as anybody knows this is not true. People who knew Jim Henson said that he didn’t have a memory for names like that and probably did not recall there was a Bert and Ernie in the movie even if he saw it. You can feel pretty comfortable in this just being a rumor and nothing more.

Yes, this Christmas staple was not a success at the time. The movie cost $3.18 million, but it only made $3.3 million at the box office. When you throw in things like promotion, it did not break even. Plus, critics at the time were pretty lukewarm on it. It got far from sterling reviews, and some wondered if Capra had lost his touch.

In the 1940s the FBI was already on the lookout for Communist activity in Hollywood. They thought they found it in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” In 1947 they released a memo based on conversations with unnamed sources. It noted that “The film represented rather obvious attempts to discredit bankers by casting Lionel Barrymore as a 'scrooge-type' so that he would be the most hated man in the picture. This, according to these sources, is a common trick used by Communists.” They also said that the movie was against the upper class as well.

When “It’s a Wonderful Life” flopped, it spelled the end for Liberty. Capra couldn’t keep things financially viable and sold the company to Paramount in 1947. Under the ownership of Paramount, Liberty produced the 1948 film “State of the Union” before it was dissolved by Paramount in 1951.

Critics may not have liked it and it may not have been a big hit in the theaters, but the Oscars were still fans of Capra. They gave his movie five Academy Award nominations. Jimmy Stewart was up for Best Actor, Capra for Best Director, and the film was even nominated for Best Picture. It didn’t win any of these five awards, though. Best Picture went to “The Best Year of our Lives,” which was directed by William Wyler who, funnily enough, was a business partner in Liberty Films.

So how did we go from studio-tanking flop to an all-time Christmas classic? Television, of course! Specifically, it was helped by a Wild West timeframe caused by a clerical error. The movie’s rights changed hands a few times, ending up with National Telefilm Associates. When they tried to renew the copyright in 1974 an error kept that from happening. Now, the movie’s images were in the public domain (though royalties still had to be paid since the plot was derivative of Stern’s story). During this murky time, the movie was aired on television constantly around Christmas and was popular on home video as well. In the ‘90s, NTA (now Republic Pictures) was able to regain the right, but by then it had become a holiday staple and networks were willing to pay to keep showing it.