It's A Wonderful Life
Produced and Directed by Frank Capra, 1946
based on the story, "The Greatest Gift,"
by Philip Van Doren Stern
Screenplay by Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett,
Frank Capra, and Jo Swerling
Starring . . . . .
James Stewart as George Bailey
Donna Reed as Mary Hatch
Lionel Barrymore as Mr. Potter
Thomas Mitchell as Uncle Billy
Henry Travers as Clarence
Beulah Bondi and Mrs. Bailey
Frank Faylen as Ernie
Ward Bond as Bert
Gloria Grahame as Violet Bick
H.B. Warner as Mr. Gower
Todd Kearns as Mr. Bailey
and
Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer as Freddie
 
from The Name Above the Title, by Frank Capra:
 . . .It was my film for my kind of people.
 A film to tell the weary, disheartened, and the disillusioned; the
wino, the junkie, those behind prison walls and those behind Iron
Curtains, that no man is a failure!
 To show those born slow of foot or slow of mind, those oldest
sisters condemned to spinsterhood, and those oldest sons
condemned to unschooled toil, that each man's life touches so many
other lives.  And that if he isn't around it would leave an awful hole.
 A film that said to the downtrodden, the pushed-around, the
pauper, "Heads up, fella.  No man is poor who has one friend.  Three
friends and you're filthy rich."
 A film that expressed its love for the homeless and the loveless;
for her whose cross is heavy and him whose touch is ashes; for the
Magdalenes stoned by hypocrites and the afflicted Lazaruses with only
dogs to lick their sores.
 I wanted it to shout to the abandoned grandfathers staring
vacantly in nursing homes, to the always-interviewed but seldom
adopted half-breed orphans, to the paupers who refuse to die while
medical vultures wait to snatch their hearts and livers, and to those
who take cobalt treatments and whistle--I wanted to shout, "You are
the salt of the earth.  And It's a Wonderful Life is my memorial to you!"
 As you watch this extraordinary film, write the answers to these
questions:
1.  Most of the film is told in flashback, beginning with several prayers
by characters in the story.  What does this tell us about George
Bailey?

2.  The author informs us that Clarence has been pretty much of a
loser all his life by telling us he has yet to earn his wings.  Just how
long has he been waiting for them?

3.  Clarence is reading a book that has been a favorite among young
Americans for over a century.  What is it?

4.  What important thing happens when George is twelve?

5.  Frank Capra wanted only one actor, Lionel Barrymore, to play the
role of the meanest , most rotten man in town.  What is the character's
name?

6.  Why does George think Mary should like coconuts?

7.  What personal news caused Mr. Gower, the druggist, to get drunk?

8. Why does Uncle Billy have strings tied on his fingers?

9. What mistake has Mr. Gower made with his perscription?

10. What are the names of the policeman and the taxi driver?

11. How do George and Harry plan to get Harry his turn at college?

12. The Bailey Building and Loan Company is a small bank which
takes depositors' money and uses it to build and mortgage low cost
homes for people who don't have a lot of money.  Why doesn't George
want to spend his life working for the Building and Loan Co?

13. One of the most famous of the Little Rascals, Carl Alfalfa Switzer,
played his last role in this film.  What does he decide to do which ruins
the dance competition?

14. Mary has many values which are different from those of George.
Why doesn't she want him to throw a rock at the old Granville House?

15. What do you think Mary wished for?

16. Where did George spend the summer after his father died?

17. According to Mr. Potter, was is wrong with the way the Bailey
Building and Loan does business?

18. Why does George decide not to go to college after all?

19. How has Harry's marriage after four years of college affected
George's plans?

20. What does George's mother tell him todo when they are at the
party?

21. Violet's lack of understanding George's idea of a date shows her
failure to see him as a senstitive, poetic young man.  What won't she
do with him?

22. George has a lot of difficulty opening the fence after he finally gets
to Mary's house.  What does this tell us about him?

23. Why does Mary put "Buffalo Gals" on the phonograph?

24. Mary sees Bedford Falls much differently that George.  What do
you think his mother meant when she said Mary might have the
answers he needs?

25. Mary's mother wants her to Mary Sam Wainwright.  What is there
about Sam that would make him a better husband than George in Mrs.
Hatch's eyes?

26. How does George, almost without thinking, make Sam
Wainwright's plastics factory help Bedford Falls?

27. A run on a bank is when people all try to withdraw their money at
the same time.  What does Potter mean when he says he'll pay 50
cents on the dollar for people's accounts?

28. Where does George spend his honeymoon?

29. What is Mr. Martini celebrating?

30. Why is Bailey Park a threat to Mr. Potter?

31. What is important about the way George looks at his hand after he
shakes with Mr. Potter?

32. How does Mr. Potter serve his country during the war?

33. What did George do during the war?

34. What award has been given to Harry?

35. To whom does Uncle Billy allude when he says, "Some people like
George had to stay home.  Not every heel was in Germany and Japan
during the war?"

36. What happens to the $8,000 Uncle Billy loses?

37. Why do some people star as Violet leave's George's office?

38. How does that broken bannister help us understand George's
feelings of frustration?

39. How does George trick Zuzu when she asks him to glue the petals
back on her flower?

40. Why do you think George is taking the blame himself for losing the
money?

41. Clarence decides to save George by jumping in the river himself.
Why does he know this is the best way to prevent George's suicide?

42. What does AS2 stand for?

43. What is Potterville?

44. How has Martini's bar changed?

45. What does the sound of the cash register mean to Clarence?

46. Who is the old drunk at the bar?

47. Who is the sleazy woman the police arrest?

48. What happened to Ernie's family?

49. Why did all the people on that naval transport durring World War II
die?

50. What decision does George make at the climax of the film?

51. As part of the film's turning point, or resolution, what does the bank
examiner do?

52. What is the denouement of the film?

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