Can We Have A Wonderful Life in 2024?
James Stewart leads as a man who is a cornerstone of a small American town- and the lessons of the 1946 film still ring true
George Bailey stands with his family in the living room of their Bedford Falls home as dozens of people bring forward money to help save the Buildings and Loan Company George’s father started. When faced with a dire situation, the people of the town remind George how important he is to him- and this leads to the ending of a film that rarely leaves a dry eye in the house.
‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ was released in December 1946 just a year after the end of the Second World War. A weary USA was moving into a world very different from the one of 1939, and the film followed the fortunes of George Bailey and his family and his town through the highs and lows of this time.
George is watched over by his guardian angel Clarence, and we see his life story as Clarence learns about it. George has big plans for his life, but his unwillingness to disappoint people repeatedly puts these plans on hold. George’s selflessness peaks when he gives his money to people who want to withdraw from the Buildings and Loan Company.
The man at the centre of this film has been through a lot in his life, but he remains upbeat and optimistic. He spends years fighting with Henry Potter, a villainous landlord and banker who owns slum housing in Bedford Falls. George gives working-class people the opportunity to own their own homes, but at a financial cost to himself, whilst Potter is referenced to rent out poor quality homes and high prices.
George reminds people that money isn’t the most important thing in life, but years of hard luck leave him feeling isolated. It takes a visit to Clarence and the opportunity to see a world where he was never born. What George sees is the lives of the people he loves being far worse without him in it.
When George realises this, he is sent back to his world, and when word gets out about his struggles, the town rally together to support him. It is a warming tale of how there are good people in the world, and it is one that many of us could still try to cling to even if the world of 2024 can be cold and unforgiving.
There aren’t many George Bailey’s around in the modern day, but they still exist. This film is just that, but it is also an example that good things can on rare occasions happen to good people.
What is more realistic is that there are plenty of Henry Potter’s still around. Our society is one where people look to capitalise on the generosity and misfortunes of others, and it is through years of this that Potter becomes the richest man in town.
George fights the good fight on behalf of the working class in Bedford Falls, and I want to round off this take on ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ with perhaps my favourite quote from the film. George says the following to Potter and reminds everyone else in the room that he wants to give regular people a chance to own their own homes.
“Just remember this, Mr. Potter, that this rabble you’re talking about… they do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community. Well, is it too much to have them work and pay and live and die in a couple of decent rooms and a bath? Anyway, my father didn’t think so. People were human beings to him. But to you, a warped, frustrated old man, they’re cattle. Well in my book, my father died a much richer man than you’ll ever be!”
