It's A Wonderful Life

As seasonal films go, It's a Wonderful Life is the granddaddy of them all. Frank Capra's 1946 classic is the story of George Bailey (Stewart), a small town good guy prevented from jumping off a bridge by wingless angel Clarence (Travers), who takes George back through his life, Christmas Carol style, to see what things would have been like had he never existed. Everyone remembers bubbling when Clarence gets his wings, and leaving the GFT's Christmas Eve showing with a festive glow. However, Clarence doesn't appear until more than halfway through the film, and it's a pretty bleak trip until then. From the bright, eager, early scenes, where George is bursting to see the world, his dreams are stolen one by one and replaced by a life of financial stress and drudgery. Never has a filmic fate been so truly sealed with a kiss as when he gets together with Mary (Reed), protesting all the way: "I don't want to get married - ever - to anyone! I want to do what I want to do." Yes, it's a timeless classic but, by the end, George Bailey has learned to accept his fate and stop dreaming. It's possibly akin to yuletide blasphemy, but you can't help thinking maybe he was sold a turkey. [Cara McGuigan]