Stewart had just returned from his position as a flight director in World War II, and this 1946 film was his first since witnessing the horrors of war. With this post-war mindset, Stewart and director Frank Capra turn a movie titled “It’s a Wonderful Life” and antithetical crescendo into a failed suicide attempt.
Throughout the film, George Bailey’s life often seems anything but great. The audience watches as a young man with worldly dreams encounters setback after setback, each like a nail in his own coffin. Trapped in his hometown, he runs his late father’s business and the story comes to a head when George Bailey believes he is worth more than alive.
“It’s a Wonderful Life” is real and resonant issues of self-esteem and failure. Fresh out of the war, Stewart himself struggles with these ordeals, while shaping George Bailey’s highly recognizable character. Without Stewart’s real foray into darkness, the vacation classic’s redefining perspective on life couldn’t shine so unforgettablely bright.
Becoming a classic
This meant that “It’s a Wonderful Life” was repeatedly broadcast for free to broadcasters in the 1970s. Audiences began to take note of this less than cheerful film that flooded the respiratory tract at Christmas, and a holiday tradition was born.
The film captures a period of American life full of some of the most historic events of the 20th century, including the Great Depression and World War II.
After serving in the Army Air Corps, Stewart was absent from Hollywood for five years when he was offered the role in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” He was initially hesitant to make the film, according to biographer Robert Matzen, but it was his only offer other than a film about his war service.
This can be seen in one of the most iconic scenes without a script, when George Bailey finds himself at the end of his rope: ‘I’m not a praying man, but if you’re up there and you can hear me, let me show the way. “
George Bailey wasn’t meant to cry, but Jimmy Stewart was.
“Jimmy Stewart followed his own experience and used that in his character. It’s really hard to do. The audience feels the intensity of it because it was clearly authentic,” Mankiewicz told CNN.
“It’s a Wonderful Life” has become a classic because it connects emotionally with the viewer, Mankiewicz said, and is able to resonate with our daily lives.
“It’s a movie we watch at Christmas, but the power and emotion that the movie conveys is no less powerful in June,” said Mankiewicz.
Military service
When Stewart joined the military in 1941, he had just won an Academy Award for “The Philadelphia Story.”
When he joined the Army Air Corps as a soldier, he was assigned to the film unit to make films for the war department. Stewart, who comes from a family drenched in military service, challenged the orders and insisted on the opportunity to serve abroad.
After earning his wings as a pilot, Stewart was finally sent to England as a flight controller in 1943. Matzen described Stewart as an “air strategist” responsible for creating real-time aerial shots for pilots.
Stewart flew 20 physically and mentally challenging combat missions that he rarely talked about after the war.
Mission reports from Stewart’s battle allowed Matzen to give a glimpse into Stewart’s worst mission in 1944 over the German city of Gotha. Stewart lost men under his command in these bombings, a devastating cost to a leader who believed he was responsible for every life.
In addition, Stewart’s personal experience of Gotha was something of a nightmare. The floor of Stewart’s plane was hit, blowing a hole just under his feet, Matzen explained. His damaged bomber had to limp back to England as Stewart stared through the hole in his cabin at enemy territory. Matzen estimated that Stewart was experiencing temperatures of at least 20 degrees below zero.
This mission was “one too many” for Stewart, Matzen said. Ten years older than the recommended age for a pilot flying heavy bombers, experiences like this took a huge toll on Stewart in his mid-thirties.
“Nobody recognized the Jimmy Stewart returning home from battle. He was so changed. He was about ten years old, some twenty. He had many of the hallmarks of PTSD,” Matzen said.
These symptoms included the shakes, a temper and nightmares, according to Matzen. The brief temper would lead to mood swings, similar to the explosive attack where George Bailey wrecked part of the family’s living room, Matzen said.
When asked what the horrors of war meant for Stewart, Matzen said that Stewart’s perfectionism plagued him: every life he lost under his command was a task he could have done better.
The challenge of overcoming his perceived failure and rediscovering his self-worth as a citizen is where the public meets post-war Stewart on screen in 1946.
Watch during a pandemic
It’s with a new perspective that every little thing George Bailey has resented about his life, he now rejoices.
Valderrama says “It’s a Wonderful Life” is one of the best movies ever made because it can change the way a person sees the world. What this movie tells the viewer is that success is not measured by materialism, but how much you give back.
“I’m so grateful to the store attendants, the person who showed up to bring my food – how essential. I’m so grateful to these frontline workers – these people are heroes now,” said Valderrama.
The courage of these everyday heroes has been a light through the darkness of 2020, but the questions of strength and purpose are still a concern for many this year. “It’s a Wonderful Life” reminds us that every life is essential, and with a new perspective beautiful.
CNN’s Amy Wray and Fernando Alfonso contributed to this report.