The 75th Anniversary of It's a Wonderful Life

Have you seen the movie "It's a Wonderful Life"?

But first, I should ask, "What is your favorite holiday movie"?

Vintage TV and Radio. TV is showing - what else?

For many in the United States, it is a movie starring James Stewart and Donna Reed that was made in 1946 - "It's a Wonderful Life".  Today, I am going to repost (with some updates) a blog post from 2014.

First, a little about the movie, in case you've never seen it.

This movie takes place in a fictional small town in upstate New York called Bedford Falls, and tells the story of a man, George Bailey.  George owns the Bailey Savings and Loan, inherited from his father.

No, this isn't the Bailey Savings and Loan, but we can imagine

George is an ordinary man leading an ordinary, but, in some ways heroic, life.  When young, he saved the life of his brother who broke through the ice in a sledding accident, but lost his hearing in one ear as a result.

George wants to leave Bedford Falls and see the world, but life decrees otherwise.  George is disqualified from military service due to his deafness -the brother he saved goes, and becomes a war hero and winner of the Medal of Honor.  Meanwhile, George marries and has four children, including a daughter, ZuZu. George sacrifices again and again for the people of Bedford Falls and his family and friends, until he finally became so discouraged by a series of personal downturns that he decides to take his own life by jumping off a bridge.  He feels he is worth more dead than alive.

An angel named Clarence, meantime, needs to earn his wings.  He shows George what Bedford Falls would have been like without him, and tries to convince him not to jump off that bridge.  George decides to live, after seeing the impact his life has made on so many people, and the movie has a happy ending, as Clarence earns his angel wings.

Many fans of the movie have asked: is Bedford Falls fictional?

It may just be based on a real place - the small city of Seneca Falls, New York, where, in real life, a hero died in 1917 by jumping off a bridge and saving the life of another, drowning in the process.

Seneca Falls doesn't need the association with the movie to have a place in history - it has a strong place in history for many other reasons, such as being a birthplace of the women's suffrage movement.  But, there are many similarities between Bedford Falls and Seneca Falls.

The movie was directed by Frank Capra. Frank Capra had family in nearby Auburn, New York, which also, for a time, was the home of Harriet Tubman. (It's well worth the visit).  It's also known that Frank Capra visited Seneca Falls around the time the movie was being planned. 

Fans flock to Seneca Falls each December for a festival celebrating this movie. Before they leave, many pick up a bell or two to ring. That's how you know an angel got his or her wings.

This year is the 75th anniversary of the film and the festival has been expanded to five days.  The festival started yesterday.  Let me show you around the Bedford Falls...oops, Seneca Falls, of 2014.

In my 2014 visit, one building that I immediately fell in love with was the post office and its Art Deco styling.

The day was foggy, drizzly and miserable, but few seemed to care.

When I look through my photos, I found that Seneca Falls fascinated me for so many reasons other than the movie.  I wanted to go back, in better weather, to investigate its history further.  I had managed not to take pictures of the historic sites, the mills, the canal or the famous bridge. (I did do that, eventually.)

Here is one of my posts on women, voting, and Seneca Falls.

 I don't have much more to show you of the festival. But I do have a memory, and it's of the daughter, ZuZu, who, in real life is an actress named Karolyn Grimes (she was six when she played ZuZu Bailey).  Karolyn has been at many of the festivals, signing autographs, along with the daughter of the late Donna Reed (George Bailey's movie wife).

This year, Karolyn will once again be in attendance, along with two other of "George Bailey"'s children, and Frank Capra's grandson. All seven child actors who were in the movie and are still alive will be there.  They are in their 80's now.  George Bailey's sister in law in the film, Virginia Patton, is still alive at age 96, too.

But back to 2014.

An older woman walked up to me on the street and wished me a Merry Christmas, and when I saw her picture later, I'm certain that woman was Karolyn Grimes.

Maybe she wasn't, as there were many people playing characters from the movie interacting with visitors, but I would like to think so.  From what I understand, Karolyn has had a sometimes tragic, but always inspirational life.

Karolyn feels Seneca Falls "might" be Bedford Falls, and invites you to visit to decide for yourself.

And the future?  A sequel?  One never knows.