Biographic - Sunday December 26, 2010 Comic Strip Licensing and Permissions

Transcript

When writer Philip Van Doren Stern was unable to find a publisher for his short story, "The Greatest Gift" he had it made up as a Christmas card to send to family friends. A copy found it's way to actor Cary Grant, and on his recommendation, RKO Pictures bought the rights. A screen adaptation proved elusive, and the property languished until director Frank Capra discovered the story and acquired the rights in 1945 for $10,000. Capra persuaded Oscar-Winner and returning war hero Jimmy Stewart to take the lead role, and then recruited a team of writers to help fashion a screenplay. The result was "It's A Wonderful Life," the story of George Bailey, a kind and selfless man who, through a sense of family obligation and civic duty, repeatedly sacrifices his hopes and ambitions to allow others to pursue their dreams. When a financial crisis means he faces ruin and disgrace, a desperate George contemplates suicide, believing that the price of his life insurance policy means he is worth more dead than alive. His guardian angel, Clarence, intervenes, and by showing him what the world would have been like had he never been born reminds George that he has enjoyed a truly wonderful life. Thomas Mitchell, the first person to win an Oscar, an Emmy and a Tony award, played hapless Uncle Billy- a role for which W.C. Fields was also considered! Filmed in California, the movie was expensive to make. The town of Bedford Falls was a set covering four acres, including three city blocks and 20 Oak Trees, a special effects crew took three weeks to create the movies snowstorm using a revolutionary new method. Although it was a box-office flop on release in 1946, "It's a Wonderful Life" gradually became a tv staple, and has evolved into a cherished worldwide holiday tradition that is now acclaimed as one of the most beloved and inspirational movies in the history of american cinema. Jean Arthur and Ginger Rogers were among those considered to play George's wife, Mary, but the role went to Donna Reed, who would go on to win an Oscar for 1953's "From Here To Eternity." Oscar-winner Lionel Barrymore played villainous mister Henry Potter, his familiar features disguised under a skullcap and heavy makeup.

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