It's a Wonderful Life

The 1946 film tells the story of George Bailey, a man down on his luck who is contemplating suicide. As angels discuss what to do, George's life plays in ...

[Academy Awards](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Awards), including [Best Picture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Award_for_Best_Picture), and has been recognized by the [American Film Institute](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Film_Institute) as one of the [100 best American films ever made](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100_best_American_films_ever_made). It's a Wonderful Life was designated as "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" and added to the [National Film Registry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Film_Registry) of the [Library of Congress](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Congress). In one of the most poignant scenes in It’s a Wonderful Life, angel Clarence points out to George Bailey, “Strange, isn’t it? 11 on the [American Film Institute](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Film_Institute)'s [1998 greatest movie list](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_greatest_movie_list), No. When he isn’t around he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he? The 1946 film tells the story of George Bailey, a man down on his luck who is contemplating suicide. 20 on its [2007 greatest movie list](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_greatest_movie_list), and No. Rolling back into the present, a Guardian angel, Clarence, shows George how the lives he touched would have been different had he never been born. [The Ed Asner Family Center's 2022 Virtual Table Read of ](https://edasnerfamilycenter.org/wonderful/) [It's a Wonderful Life](https://edasnerfamilycenter.org/wonderful/), are available until January 1st, 2023. Although it underperformed at the box office during its initial release, today, It's a Wonderful Life is considered to be one of the greatest films of all time and among the best Christmas films. While it starts in with a dark dramatic moment, the film shifts to a lighter biography of one man and his interactions with family and friends, culminating in the understanding that, as the film says, “No man is a failure who has friends.” After some legal maneuvering, the rights to It’s a Wonderful Life were regained and in 1994, the studio holding the reigns sold exclusive broadcast rights to

"Remember, George: no man is a failure who has friends." George Bailey hugging his family Image via Paramount Pictures.

They both serve as the film's prime source of comic relief, but they also are great examples of the many friends George makes in the film and how treating others with respect and dignity is the key ingredient to having a wonderful life. She wishes George would put that overly cautious pessimism aside, she ultimately proves that opposites do indeed attract when she shows George her true feelings for him, leading to one of many iconic romance scenes in the film when George is so filled with love and confidence that he offers to lasso down the moon and give it to her as a gift. With a moderately sized group of kids to take care of now, George needed a way to provide for the family, and he found that in a Bank & Loan company where he and his Uncle Billy (Thomas Mitchell) are able to provide fair and affordable housing loans to the residents of their hometown Bedford Falls, much to the chagrin of their greedy and cruel business rival, Mr. Years later when Mary and George are married and have their children, Mary is the driving force for both George's rebound from depression and his financial troubles. He comes home to his family and apologizes, but the issue of the missing money is still present. Though he doesn't face any direct repercussions, Potter ultimately loses in the end when the community comes together for George, showing life still goes on even when the schemes of the greedy fail. George's life of painful altruism started all the way back when he was a boy, particularly when he save his brother from drowning in a frozen lake at the cost of George losing hearing in one of his ears. George eventually reaches a breaking point when a sum of $8,000 is misplaced, and he wishes that he had never been born. Stewart, like Capra, was always been intrigued by stories that challenge and explore the American Dream, and he's played a number of characters who represent the everyday man who is beaten down and oppressed by the country's institutions. Though George, being the kind-hearted pessimist he is, doesn't understand how someone as kind and beautiful as Mary could possibly love him, it doesn't take long for George and Mary to get married and start a family of their own, featuring their four children Pete (Larry Simms), Janie (Carol Coombs), Zuzu (Karolyn Grimes), and Tommy (Jimmy Hawkins). Then of course there are those who want the feel-good feeling the season is associated with but also want a story with something more to say. Still, some may prefer a bit more of a bite to their annual celebration of yuletide cheer, there are the many adaptations of Charles Dickens' existential jolly ghost story of A Christmas Carol plus there's always the holiday hostage high jinks of [Die Hard](https://collider.com/die-hard-streaming/) (1988), which yes, is absolutely a Christmas film.

The classic film got its unlikely start as a Christmas card written by a Rutgers grad. And, yes, the fictional Bedford Falls was inspired by a New Jersey ...

The holiday classic will air on NBC, but for those who have cut the traditional cable cords and are opting for streaming service, the special will air live on ...

Peacock Premium ($5/month) offers more to watch, and Peacock Premium Plus ($10/month) is ad-free. [Philo](https://go.skimresources.com?id=126006X1587341&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.philo.com%2Flogin%2Fsubscribe), an entertainment streaming service that offers 60+ channels and [ a free trial](https://go.skimresources.com?id=126006X1587341&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.philo.com%2Flogin%2Fsubscribe). [Peacock](https://go.skimresources.com?id=126006X1587341&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.peacocktv.com%2F) is a streaming service with NBCUniversal shows, movies, sports, and news. Both plans let you record TV shows, movies, games and more and watch on unlimited screens. Subscribers can stream on up to three devices simultaneously, create up to 10 profiles and save unlimited live or future shows for up to one year. [Philo’s live TV subscription offers a free trial ](https://go.skimresources.com?id=126006X1587341&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.philo.com%2Flogin%2Fsubscribe)and costs $25 per month. You can also stream it for free on [FuboTV](https://www.fubo.tv/stream/ent/?irad=356360&irmp=1810047&subID1=advance-pa-ad&subId3=xid:fr1671642629847bab) with [a free trial.](https://www.fubo.tv/stream/ent/?irad=356360&irmp=1810047&subID1=advance-pa-ad&subId3=xid:fr1671642629847gji) [Peacock](https://go.skimresources.com?id=126006X1587341&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.peacocktv.com%2F) will also be streaming the holiday classic, and the streaming service is also offering a [ 7-day free trial.](https://go.skimresources.com?id=126006X1587341&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.peacocktv.com%2F) As viewers know, “It’s a Wonderful Life” follows the life of George Bailey, a man who has put others in his life before himself, but when an innocent mistake threatens to upend the life he’s built, he begins to wonder if everyone would be better off without him. There to guide him away from such thoughts is his Guardian Angel Clarence who is on a mission of his own — get his wings by proving to George that the world would be worse off without him. NBC will be airing the classic on Christmas Eve at 7 p.m., but there’s more than one way to watch the 1946 Frank Capra holiday movie on television. [Philo (free trial),](https://go.skimresources.com?id=126006X1587341&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.philo.com%2Flogin%2Fsubscribe) FuboTV (free trial) and Peacock (free trial). [Verizon Fios,](https://go.skimresources.com?id=126006X1587341&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.verizon.com%2Fhome%2Ffios%2F) [AT&T U-verse,](https://go.skimresources.com?id=126006X1587341&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.directv.com%2Fatt-uverse-tv%2F) [Comcast Xfinity](https://www.xfinity.com/overview), [Spectrum/Charter](https://www.spectrum.com/), [Optimum/Altice](https://www.optimum.com/alticeone), [DIRECTV](https://go.skimresources.com?id=126006X1587341&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.directv.com%2F) and [Dish](https://go.skimresources.com?id=126006X1587341&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dish.com%2Faffiliate%2Fcj-value%2F).

Frank Capra's beloved, Oscar-winning 1946 holiday classic stars Best Actor Oscar nominee James Stewart as George Bailey.

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There is certainly no shortage of Christmas movies to watch this holiday season. To list some examples almost feels redundant since most have probably seen ...

[Bing Crosby](/name/nm0001078/)and [Danny Kaye](/name/nm0001414/)'s musical romp in [White Christmas](/title/tt0047673/)(1954) or the hilarity in the big apple seen in [Elf](/title/tt0319343/)(2003)? To list some examples almost feels redundant since most have probably seen them all dozens of times, but we're going to list them anyway. There is certainly no shortage of Christmas movies to watch this holiday season.