It’s A Wonderful Life Chosen by GURINDER CHADHA
ERNIE:Quiet, everybody!
Quiet! Quiet! Now, get this.
It’s from London.He reads a telegram.ERNIE:“Mr Gower cabled you
need cash. Stop. My office
instructed to advance you
up to $25,000. Stop. Hee-
haw and Merry Christmas,
Sam Wainwright.”The crowd cheers. George,
stunned, looks at his wife, Mary
(Donna Reed), who laughs.MARY:Mr Martini? How about
some wine?The piano starts up. The
assembled throng starts singing
Hark The Herald Angels Sing.
Mary joins George and Zuzu.Carter, the bank examiner who
was about to prosecute George,
appears. He holds up some
money, looks at George, places it
on the pile, and joins in with the
singing. The sheriff reaches into
his pocket, takes out the arrest
warrant he was saving for George,and rips it in half, breaking into
a beaming smile as he does so.We see Uncle Billy, whose
absent-mindedness caused the
whole mess in the first place,
merrily counting up the money.Then, a commotion at the door.
Two men enter wearing uniforms.
Someone yells, “HARRY! HARRY!”
It’s Harry (ToddKarns), George’s
brother. Heshakes George’s hand.
Behind is cop Bert (Ward Bond).HARRY:George, you old son of
a gun!GEORGE:Harry! Harry!HARRY:I thought I got here
too late.BERT:I got him here from the
airport just as quick as I could.
The fool flew all the way up here
in a blizzard.Mrs Bailey (Beulah Bondi) is now
at Harry’s side.MRS BAILEY:Harry, how about
your banquet in New York?HARRY: Oh, I left right in the
middle of it, soon as I got
Mary’s telegram. [He is handed
a drink] Good idea, Ernie. A
toast! To my big brother, George.
The richest man in town.Everyone starts singing Auld Lyne
Sang. George picks up a book
lying on top of the pile. It’s The
Adventures Of Tom Sawyer. An
inscription inside reads: “Dear
George — remember no man is
a failure who has friends. Thanks
for the wings! Love, Clarence.”MARY: What’s that?GEORGE: That’s a Christmas
present from a very dear friend
of mine.At that, the bell on the tree rings.ZUZU: Look, daddy! Teacher
says, “Every time a bell rings,
an angel gets his wings.”GEORGE: That’s right. That’s
right. [He looks up and winks]
Attaboy, Clarence.The singing swells as the fi lm ends.INT. BAILEY HOUSE — NIGHTWhat seems like all of Bedford
Falls (minus one Mr Potter, of
course) has turned up at George
Bailey’s house on Christmas Eve,
showering him with money to bail
him out after accusations of fraud.
George is by the Christmas tree,
daughter Zuzu (Karolyn Grimes)
in his arms. There is a hubbub.ERNIE:Just a minute, just
a minute!We see that Ernie (Frank Faylen)
has made his way to the front.GURINDER CHADHA: “I know it’s cheesy,
but I’d have to chooseIt’s A Wonderful Life,
when George Bailey [Jimmy Stewart], after
all the pain he’s gone through, has got his
little girl in his arms and the whole town
comes and giveshim money. I’m welling up
even talking aboutit. I think it’s that sense of
community. It’s hope, isn’t it? That sense that
people will do the right thing. Someone once
said about my work, ‘It’s quite Capra-esque.’
I’m never going to be as great as Frank
Capra, but I do understand where that
reference came from. He would always talk
about the darkness in characters, but then
bring them out the other end. It’s beautiful.”
CLASSIC
SCENE
Standout sequences
from the
great movies