FAQ

Because clearly all the kids in town like sledding on that hill. If he didn't follow George he would have followed someone, one of the older boys. And an older boy who was not his older brother wouldn't have jumped to and saved Harry

Board members support institutions that have a viable future. It is very likely that the board members could not see the Building & Loan surviving unless there was a strong leader like George Bailey to fight back against Potter's influence.

If George did not take overt the savings and loan Uncle Billy would have. Apparently Uncle Billy did not inspire a lot of confidence.

No. Clarence would never do that. His job would have been to convince Uncle Billy not to commit suicide like it was his mission with George. If Uncle Billy turned suicidal because of the lost money and Clarence told him that Bedford Falls would have been better off if he never lost the money, this would have probably pushed Uncle Billy to actually kill himself because just like George, Clarence would also be blaming Billy for the lost money. Since Clarence knew about the lost money, a better decision would simply be to tell Billy what happened to it to ease his guilt so that him and George can get the money back from Potter.

Probably artistic choice and/or budget. A lot of films benefits of black and white compared to color, see the whole film-noir genre as an example

At two points in the film, George Bailey, when he is a boy (played by Bobbie Anderson) and when he is in his early 20s (played by James Stewart), enters Mr. McGower's Pharmacy, places his left hand on a device, holds two fingers up with his right hand, closes his eyes, and says out loud, "I wish I had a million dollars". He then presses a button with his left hand, and something pops out of the device that lights a small fire, to which George opens his eyes and remarks, "Hot dog!"

The device is an archaic cigar lighter that was notorious for being unreliable in igniting fires on which smokers would light their cigars or cigarettes. Sometimes they would work, but many times they wouldn't, prompting smokers before the invention of the pocket lighter to keep pressing this lighter again and again until it created a spark, which they would normally have to do several times.

Sooner or later, people would use the lighter as a bit of a game of chance. If they made a wish upon the lighter, pressed it, and it produced no flame, they would assume that their wish would not come true. If they saw a flame, they believed that their wish would eventually come true.

So, each time in the movie that George Bailey lit the cigar lighter, it produced a flame. He remarks, "Hot dog!" enthusiastically, superstitiously presuming his wish will eventually come true.

Angel 2nd class (not having yet earned his wings) Clarence Odbody (Henry Travers) is called into service on Christmas eve when it looks like Bedford Falls resident George Bailey (James Stewart) is about to commit suicide by jumping off a bridge. After viewing a full account of George's life, Clarence attempts to show George how the lives of his wife Mary (Donna Reed), his children Pete (Larry Simms), Janie (Carol Coombs), Tommy (Jimmy Hawkins), and Zuzu (Karolyn Grimes), his friends, and all of Bedford Falls would have fared had he never been born.

It's a Wonderful Life is a based on a short story, "The Greatest Gift" by American author Philip Van Doren Stern, who claims that the inspiration came to him in a dream. It was first published as a 21-page booklet that Stern printed privately and sent to friends as Christmas presents in December 1943. In 1944, it was published again by Reader's Scope magazine as well as Good Housekeeping magazine (who changed the title to "The Man Who was Never Born"). Stern also privately published it in 1945. The story was adapted for the movie by American screenwriters Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, Jo Swerling, and Frank Capra (who also produced and directed the movie).

On the day before Christmas, Uncle Billy (Thomas Mitchell) loses the $8,000 needed to make the bank examiner's note, and George realizes that, if they don't make that payment, Bailey Building & Loan will be forced into bankruptcy and that he will likely go to jail. When George begs for help from the town's millionaire slumlord, Henry F. Potter (Lionel Barrymore), who has long been attempting to put the B&L out of business, Potter mocks him, accuses him of "playing the market with the company's money" or spending it on a woman, and suggests that his $15,000 life insurance policy makes him worth more dead than alive.

"Buffalo Girls" (aka "Buffalo Gals") is a traditional American folk song, first written down and published in 1844 as "Lubly Fan" by blackface minstrel John Hodges [1821-1891], although there is some dispute as to whether Hodges (aka "Cool White") composed the song or adapted it from other sources. "Lubly Fan" beckons a young woman to come out and dance by the light of the moon. The song became popular throughout the U.S. because the lyrics could be changed to match whatever city it was sung in, hence "Boston Girls" in Boston, "Pittsburgh Girls" in Pittsburgh, "Buffalo Girls" in Buffalo, New York, etc.

Yes. Traditionally, plastic is manufactured from petroleum oil, but it is possible to make plastics from other oils such as soybean or corn. In fact, back in 1941, Henry Ford introduced a plastic-bodied "soybean car" made from soybeans and hemp. Ford was hoping that his soybean plastic would replace the use of metal. Unfortunately, auto production declined drastically during World War II [1939-1945], and soybean plastic never got off the ground. However, with the emphasis today on the conservation of fossil fuels, soybean plastic is making a comeback.

After seeing how his non-existence has affected the lives of everyone around him, George begs Clarence to give him back his life. He races home to Mary, cheering and wishing everyone along the way a merry Christmas, even though he expects to be arrested. But Uncle Billy comes over with a basket of money, contributions from everyone George has helped through the years. Harry even leaves his banquet in New York City and flies to Bedford Falls to offer a toast to his brother. As everyone sings "Hark the Herald Angels", George and Zuzu open a copy of Tom Sawyer and read the inscription: "Dear George: Remember no man is a failure who has friends. Thanks for the wings! Clarence." In the final scene, a bell on the Christmas tree begins to ring, and Zuzu says that her teacher told her "Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings." The movie ends with everyone singing "Auld Lang Syne".