It's a Wonderful Life

"It's a wonderful laugh! It's a wonderful love!"

1946 2h 11m EN

🙌

8.3

BANGER

🔥

94%

CERTIFIED FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

8.6

IMDB

★8.3TMDB · 5,094🍅94%Rotten Tomatoes●89Metacritic★8.6IMDB · 552,062

DramaFamilyFantasy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

George Bailey has spent his entire life giving to the people of Bedford Falls. All that prevents rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town is George's modest building and loan company. But on Christmas Eve the business's $8,000 is lost and George's troubles begin.

“It's a wonderful laugh! It's a wonderful love!”

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Cast

James Stewart
George Bailey
Donna Reed
Mary Hatch
Lionel Barrymore
Mr. Potter
Thomas Mitchell
Uncle Billy
Henry Travers
Clarence
Beulah Bondi
Mrs. Bailey
Frank Faylen
Ernie
Ward Bond
Bert

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Frank Capra
Writers: Philip Van Doren Stern, Frances Goodrich, Frank Capra
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $3.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.0× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

80 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Frank Capra, shot by Joseph F. Biroc. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Dimitri Tiomkin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor William Hornbeck shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

James Stewart and Donna Reed and Lionel Barrymore carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

AWARDS

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "It's a wonderful laugh! It's a wonderful love!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Frank Capra directs. Joseph F. Biroc behind the camera. Dimitri Tiomkin scores. William Hornbeck cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $3.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Made its money back 3.0× over at the box office.
380 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Directed by Frank Capra, shot by Joseph F. Biroc. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Dimitri Tiomkin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor William Hornbeck shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7James Stewart and Donna Reed and Lionel Barrymore carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "It's a wonderful laugh! It's a wonderful love!".
9IMDB entry: tt0038650 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 24 themes, including "small town", "angel", "suicide attempt", "holiday".
11Released under 19 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Joseph F. Biroc
Original score: Dimitri Tiomkin
Editing: William Hornbeck
Costume design: Edward Stevenson
Makeup / hair: Gordon Bau
Runtime: 131 min · 2h 11m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $3,180,000
Box office: $9,644,124
Return: 303% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Rotten Tomatoes: 94% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 89/100
IMDB rating: 8.6/10 · 552,062 votes
MPAA: PG

Awards

Nominated for 5 Oscars. 11 wins & 7 nominations total

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Frank Capra

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

barrymost2019-08-18
★ 10/10
It's practically an American tradition to watch this film with family at Christmas time each year. I just saw it for the first time myself a couple weeks before last Christmas, and I loved it. It's an uplifting, inspiring, dramatic, and at times laugh-out-loud funny story, with a cast that probably couldn't be improved upon if you tried. And, of course, it's directed by the superb Frank Capra, whose work I greatly admire. James Stewart gives a raw, totally honest performance, as the unforgettable George Bailey, who on Christmas Eve is shown exactly why the world, or at least Bedford Falls, can't do without him. And, there is my favorite line in the whole movie, out of so many memorable quotes, delivered perfectly by Lionel Barrymore, as the evil Mr. Potter: "And a happy new year to you. In jail!"
Peter McGinn2020-12-24
★ 9/10
Oh my goodness, I am not going to spend much time describing this gold standard of Christmas movies. If you have seen it, you know what it is. If you haven’t seen it, stop reading this and watch it now. It is funny, tense, sentimental, romantic and downright Capra-esque. I have liked Jimmy Stewart in everything I have seen him in. Was he that good, or did the camera just plain love him, like I heard said once about Steve McQueen. But it doesn’t stop there. If you notice the ensemble cast, you see represented some of the finest character actors out there. Between them it’s seems like we have seen one of them in every great classic movie. I don’t watch this every year any more - there is just too much to see out there this time of year. But I watch it every two or three years and besides, if I have some time to spare, I can practically review every scene in order in my mind. It is part of my Christmas consciousness. Wait, are you still reading this?
r96sk2020-12-26
★ 8/10
Lovely film. <em>'It’s a Wonderful Life'</em> is enjoyable, hearty and well crafted. It takes longer than I would've predicted to get to 'the event', but it's very much worth seeing the journey that comes before - as we see the arc of James Stewart's George. It all crescendos with an ending that you can't help but smile at. Stewart is excellent in the lead role, you really do see every single emotion that his character goes through. He is, by far, the standout performer, but there are of course good performances from the likes of Donna Reed (Mary), Lionel Barrymore (Henry) and Henry Travers (Clarence). I did notice a few weird cuts in there, not that I hold that against it or did it affect my enjoyment - it's just noticeable. I see, via other reviewers, that there's a colour version - Channel 4 showed the black-and-white version over here in the UK. I can't say I felt the need for colour, which is always a good sign. Wholesome. Not that it, evidently given the average rating, needs to be said by someone like me, but: I'd certainly recommend this.