IMDb > It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
It's a Wonderful Life
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It's a Wonderful Life (1946) More at IMDbPro »

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It's a Wonderful Life (1946) -- An angel helps a compassionate but despairingly frustrated businessman by showing what life would had been like if he never existed.
It's a Wonderful Life (1946) -- Clip: You want the moon?
It's a Wonderful Life (1946) -- MyMovies.Net - Exclusive interview with Karolyn Grimes
It's a Wonderful Life (1946) -- Trailerfan.com - Trailer (Flash)
It's a Wonderful Life (1946) -- MyMovieScripts.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
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Up 45% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.

Director:

Frank Capra

Writers:

Frances Goodrich (screenplay) and
Albert Hackett (screenplay) ...
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Contact:

View company contact information for It's a Wonderful Life on IMDbPro.

Release Date:

7 January 1947 (USA) more

Tagline:

They're making memories tonight! more

Plot:

An angel helps a compassionate but despairingly frustrated businessman by showing what life would had been like if he never existed. full summary | full synopsis

Plot Keywords:

more

Awards:

Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 4 wins more

User Comments:

A Great Influence... more (503 total)


Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:

Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life (USA) (complete title)
The Greatest Gift (USA) (working title)
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Runtime:

130 min | Spain:118 min (25 fps) (DVD edition)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1 more

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Canada:F (Ontario) | Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | South Korea:12 | Brazil:Livre | Sweden:15 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Germany:6 | Spain:T | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #11656)


Fun Stuff

Trivia:

In 2004 the BBC TV listings magazine "Radio Times" conducted a poll into the Best Film Never to Have Won an Oscar. "It's a Wonderful Life" came second (The Shawshank Redemption (1994) was first). more

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the scene where George saves Clarence on the bridge (or Clarence saved him), he is seen to be visibly sweating even though it is supposedly winter. This is because the scene was shot in warm weather. more

Quotes:

[first lines]
Mr. Emil Gower: I owe everything to George Bailey. Help him, dear Father.
more

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Cheers: Christmas Cheers (#6.12)" (1987) more

Soundtrack:

When Johnny Comes Marching Home more


FAQ

What are the names of George and Mary's four children?
Are Bert and Ernie from "Sesame Street" named after Bert, the cop, and Ernie, the taxi driver, from "It's a Wonderful Life"?
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145 out of 172 people found the following comment useful.
A Great Influence..., 4 March 1999
10/10
Author: Tim Cox from Marietta, OH

No movie ever made has influenced me more than this classic. I had the honor of doing a play version of it about 5 years ago. I had seen the film thousands of times, had loved it, but I never really knew what it meant. During the course of the production, I suddenly felt alive. I felt that I wasn't having enough fun. I felt that I wasn't doing enough in my life. Crazy things, like kissing my mother or my father. I hadn't really hugged one of them in a while. It makes you think. It's more of a thinking person's film than a mere Christmas film. If you think it's just a Christmas film, I insist you watch it again and again, until you get the message.

Stewart gives the finest performance of his career, in one of the most difficult characters ever portrayed. A character all of us are familiar with...a person looking to find himself/herself. It's the great struggle for finding what it is in life you really want to do. George Bailey teaches us so lessons throughout the film and in the end he teaches us the most important lesson of all, that life, although a long and winding road, truly is (for lack of a better word) wonderful...

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Message Boards

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I just watched this movie for the first time... althea-15
Question. mactach
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Reaction of people who don't celebrate Christmas amazing_is_overrated
The movie's hidden message... enigmatically
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