I’ve Watched It’s A Wonderful Life More Than 30 Times, And I Just Learned It Was Originally A Critical Flop

by

As someone who has grown up with “It’s A Wonderful Life” as an integral part of our family tradition, I must say it’s astounding to learn that this heartwarming classic was once a critical flop. It seems the world was blind to its charm back in 1946, but thankfully, fate had other plans.

My grandpa cherished “It’s A Wonderful Life” above all other films, and my mom has continued to watch it annually since his passing. As a tradition, we always gather as a family to rewatch this holiday movie every year. I thought I knew everything there was to know about the film, such as its groundbreaking snow effects (while also using asbestos in some scenes), and the fact that they filmed during extremely hot weather, causing the cast to take a day off at one point. However, after viewing it over 30 times, I’ve discovered that the partnership between Jimmy Stewart and Frank Capra initially received negative criticism from critics.

To be completely honest, I can’t believe I hadn’t caught wind of it sooner. With all the laughter over moon-lassoing antics during my movie marathons, I somehow overlooked the fact that the movie Frank Capra deemed “probably the strongest picture I made” and his “favorite film” was actually a critical disappointment upon its initial release.

30 times or more, my mom and I watched the movie together (without specifying the exact number to avoid sounding too old), which led us to discuss the $8,000 figure that plays a crucial role in the film’s storyline. We pondered about inflation from 1946 up until today, and before we knew it, I found myself researching more about the movie and the Post-War Era it was filmed in. To my surprise, I discovered that It’s A Wonderful Life wasn’t always a cherished holiday film shown frequently on TV around Christmas. In fact, many critics initially disliked it.

As a modern-day film critic, I’d put it this way: Back in the day, Bosley Crowther wasn’t too fond of Frank Capra’s “It’s A Wonderful Life.” In fact, when he first reviewed it, he didn’t seem to think it was destined for the holiday acclaim it later earned. Reading his review today, it’s easy to understand why.

From the perspective of this critic, the main issue with this photograph is its overly sentimental nature – it seems to portray an unrealistic view of life. The characters created by Mr. Capra are endearing and his small town setting is captivating, but they often appear more like stage performances than everyday realities. Furthermore, while Mr. Capra’s “turkey dinners” philosophy may evoke strong emotions, it fails to address the deeper, unmet needs that people truly experience.

1946 saw a general consensus among significant media outlets that this movie wasn’t particularly successful, although it did moderately well at the box office and even received some Oscar nominations upon release. However, in the years after its initial cinema run, it was essentially overlooked and forgotten as a Capra film for a long, long time. By “long,” I mean several decades.

It wasn’t until the 1970s that the film gained significant popularity, thanks to a clerical error. USA Today reports that because someone failed to renew the copyright for the Jimmy Stewart-led movie, it entered the public domain in 1974 and began airing regularly as part of the Christmas movie lineup. Decades later, you can still watch it for free during the holiday season on streaming platforms.

In simpler terms, John P. Hess, a co-founder of Filmmaker IQ, elaborated on the events that took place, ultimately resulting in the outlet becoming synonymous with classic Christmas movies for many years to come.

The documents were meant to be submitted at the exact moment when one of these firms was getting acquired by another company. However, there might have been an oversight or delay in submission. This situation seems to suggest that these films were not given much importance, and they would likely have remained unknown if not for smaller broadcasting stations showing them.

This implies that it became affordable to broadcast on television, and with its holiday-themed appeal serving as the ideal spark, a fire – truly wonderful in nature – was ignited. This blaze has continued to burn fiercely for the ensuing five decades.

Read More

2024-12-26 00:37