"I could never get past the title."

[athelind]

Some things just become so much a part of popular culture that everyone knows about them, knows all the details, whether or not they've seen them or read them or had any real exposure to them.

I was so thoroughly familiar with Frank Capra and Jimmy Stewart's classic, It's a Wonderful Life, that I hadn't realized I'd never actually seen it -- that is, until I sat down with Quel to watch it tonight on NBC.

I mean, I knew I'd never managed to see it all the way through -- but I hadn't seen it at all, except for that oft-referenced clip of the last five minutes.

Wow, what a terrific film.

(And five points to the person who can identify the quote in the subject line.)

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Comments

[bluerain.livejournal.com]

That movie's always made me cry.

Even if parts of it are comically dated (notice how his wife being an unmarried librarian is treated as more terrible than his brother being dead or his uncle being in a mental institution).

[athelind.livejournal.com]

I dunno -- it seemed to me that the real point of that scene was that an energetic, vivacious, assertive, aggressive woman was instead shy, scared, and beaten down by her sleazy, degraded surroundings. Her terror of George was as much a terror of her own surroundings; her expression at being accosted by this deranged stranger suggested that, in the world of Potterville, meeting her end at the hands of some lunatic was not entirely unexpected. "Here it is; it's finally happened."

[cpxbrex.livejournal.com]

While I can admire the quality with which the movie is made, it's actually easily one of my least favorite movies of all time, hehe.

The idea, here, is that this BANKER is vital to the health and well-being of his community, that without this BANKER that things would be oh-so-much worse, because he's as GOOD banker, not the kind of banker who throws little old women out of their houses and refuses to give loans to bad credit risks. He's a benevolent banker.

Which is, in the opinion of a person as far to the left as I am, sorta like writing a movie about a benevolent mobster. The very idea that a banker, of all people, isn't a leech on the community, just a real pit viper, is laughable.

Furthermore, it's part of the very conscious attempt of the capitalist establishment to destroy the social democracy movements of WWII. (This is equally true of another stunning movie -- On the Waterfront. On the Waterfront dismisses organized labor as being identical with organized crime. It's a Wonderful Life presents reactionary business forces as necessary for a healthy community.) So, it's got a lot of stripes against it in my book, hehe.

[pyat.livejournal.com]

On the Waterfront dismisses organized labor as being identical with organized crime.

I'd say it described the status quo among dockworkers in North America at the time. Certainly, in my home town there were two things you couldn't do without the approval of the local mafia - work on the docks, or have a pinball machine in your store.

Would a biopic about Jimmy Hoffa be a conscious attempt on the part of the establishment to tie trucking unions with evil? Or just a movie based in reality?

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

Organized labour has always had a mob connection, though that's diminished as the labour movement has become more established in society. That movie described the way things were for most unions at the time. It's unfortunate that unions didn't get more of a legitimate start (I'm a lefty, myself) but the fact is, they didn't, and blaming the movie for that portrayal is rather unfair.

[athelind.livejournal.com]

They didn't get a more legitimate start because, at the time, the very concept of Workers Daring To Make Demands Of Those Who Held The World's Wealth was considered inherently criminal.

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

I know. The big capitalists brought the unrest on themselves. They didn't read the Wealth of Nations closely enough. Smith said that workers in factories should earn more than the artisans they were replacing to compensate them for the repetitive and often dangerous work they did. If they'd done that, they would have made less money but they also would have created a better society all round.

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

Oh, and - my brother-in-law is a mortgage broker. He's helped several people get mortgages who would have been turned down by others, and is therefore helping them to get established financially. He's making a good living off of it, and that's definitely part of why he does it, but he wouldn't do it if it were evil. He's helping people to manage in the financial realities that we all have to deal with. That's not evil - it's honest business. If all capitalists were that kind of honest businessman, there wouldn't be a need for labour unions. So I submit that if society had actually had more bankers like the one in that movie, they would have been better off and would not have needed the union movement as sponsored by organized crime.

[pyat.livejournal.com]

Oh, and bit of historical context for It's a Wonderful Life. George Bailey actually runs a Saving and Loan, not a bank. At that point in history, S&L's were non-profit operations.

More on that here.

When the film came out, FBI memos complained that it was subversive.

[athelind.livejournal.com]

In a modern context, the Bailey Bros. Building & Loan reminded me of a credit union -- but more than anything else, it reminded me of the situations where workers and employees band together to buy controlling interests in their businesses.

George Bailey may have been the operator of a financial institution, but his real role was as an organizer and coordinator, getting the local community to ACT as a community in opposition to the local robber baron. His every action and most of his words distill down to "Workers of Bedford Falls, Unite -- you have nothing to lose but your chains!"

[madmanofprague.livejournal.com]

What do you have against organized crime? >: |

[shdragon.livejournal.com]

I think the idea was more that EVERYONE is vital to the health and well-being of the community, and indeed the world.

Like the line quoted below by hitchkitty, an entire transport of troops in WW2 died because he wasn't around to save his brother from drowing. That has nothing to do with him being a banker, just another far-reaching effect of him not being there.

[neosis.livejournal.com]

I think you have your facts reversed. Stewart's character would, more than like, be a part of the social democracy movement. He's not a banker, he's a savings and loan operator, you know, a regulated not-for-profit banking institution. He helps the people in the community band together to build homes for themselves. Ayn Rand would probably despise him and his wicked thwarting of the very capitalist Potter.

[hitchkitty.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's easy: Batman, the Animated Series. Christmas episode. Bruce is commenting to Dick that he's never seen It's a Wonderful Life:

"I could never get past the title. It's not...repressively cheerful, is it?"
"Nah, it's about how much one man can do for a city. Sound familiar?"


And yes, it's a great flick. I tuned in just in time to see George shake hands with Mr. Potter...then desperately try to wipe his palm clean again.

[athelind.livejournal.com]

Five points to the kitty named after one of Capra's colleagues.

[hitchkitty.livejournal.com]

That film was also my introduction to time travel and history alteration:

"Your brother, Harry Bailey, broke through the ice and was drowned at the age of nine."
"That's a lie! Harry Bailey went to war - he got the Congressional Medal of Honor, he saved the lives of every man on that transport."
"Every man on that transport died, George. Harry wasn't there to save them, because you weren't there to save Harry!"

[freifraufischer.livejournal.com]

There are a lot of things I'm finding that I have never watched.... I watched Casablanca for the first time this year and I was blown over by how good a film it is... despite having nothing to do with reality or logic.

[sabrewing.livejournal.com]

Most James Stewart movies are really good, regardless of how widespread the knowledge of certain scenes is. IAWL as you mention, Harvey, Rear Window ... We think of him as mostly corny in this day and age, but he was a damned good actor, by gumbo.