1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:09,240 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio, 2 00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:14,560 Speaker 1: Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:17,800 Speaker 1: show that rings the bell of history every day of 4 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:21,919 Speaker 1: the week. I'm Gay Bluesia, and in this episode, we're 5 00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:24,560 Speaker 1: looking at the behind the scenes story of one of 6 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:34,280 Speaker 1: the most beloved Christmas movies of all time. The day 7 00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:39,879 Speaker 1: was December twentieth, nineteen forty six. Frank Capra's Is a 8 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:43,920 Speaker 1: Wonderful Life, premiered at the Globe Theater in New York City. 9 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:48,000 Speaker 1: The movie opened to mixed reviews and lost money at 10 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:51,640 Speaker 1: the box office, but it did garner five Oscar nominations, 11 00:00:51,720 --> 00:00:56,040 Speaker 1: including Best Picture. It's also been reappraised in the decades 12 00:00:56,120 --> 00:00:58,680 Speaker 1: since its release and is now considered one of the 13 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:03,360 Speaker 1: best motion pictures ever made. Not to mention essential holiday 14 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:08,280 Speaker 1: viewing for millions of families worldwide, The movie's plot is 15 00:01:08,319 --> 00:01:12,400 Speaker 1: a little dark for holiday fair. It centers on George Bailey, 16 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:14,880 Speaker 1: a down on his luck family man who spent a 17 00:01:14,959 --> 00:01:18,240 Speaker 1: lifetime sacrificing his dreams for the sake of his small 18 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:22,600 Speaker 1: town neighbors. Faced with financial ruin, George tries to jump 19 00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:25,800 Speaker 1: off a bridge on Christmas Eve, only to be rescued 20 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:29,520 Speaker 1: by his guardian angel Clarence, who's trying to earn his wings. 21 00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:33,240 Speaker 1: Clarence proceeds to show George what life would have been 22 00:01:33,440 --> 00:01:36,839 Speaker 1: like had he never been born, revealing the positive impact 23 00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:39,639 Speaker 1: his life has had on just about everyone in town. 24 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:43,640 Speaker 1: With a renewed sense of optimism, George races home to 25 00:01:43,720 --> 00:01:46,760 Speaker 1: his family and finds that the townspeople have come to 26 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:50,240 Speaker 1: pay him back, thus saving his business and proving that 27 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:54,760 Speaker 1: it is indeed a wonderful life. The Heartfelt Tale is 28 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:58,480 Speaker 1: actually an adaptation of a short story called The Greatest 29 00:01:58,520 --> 00:02:03,120 Speaker 1: Gift by Philip Vansan dorn Stern. Stern, a Civil War 30 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:06,280 Speaker 1: historian by trade, is believed to have come up with 31 00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:09,240 Speaker 1: the idea while shaving, and was convinced it had all 32 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:14,240 Speaker 1: the makings of a Christmas classic. Unfortunately, no publisher agreed 33 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:18,079 Speaker 1: with him, and after several years of rejections, he decided 34 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:20,480 Speaker 1: to give the story as a gift to his friends 35 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:24,200 Speaker 1: and relatives. Stern printed up two hundred copies of the 36 00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:26,880 Speaker 1: story and sent them out as a twenty one page 37 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:30,120 Speaker 1: Christmas card. As luck would have it, though, one of 38 00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:33,440 Speaker 1: those copies fell into the hands of David Hempstead, a 39 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:37,480 Speaker 1: producer at Rko Pictures in Hollywood. He fell in love 40 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:40,320 Speaker 1: with the story and wound up purchasing the movie rights 41 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:44,160 Speaker 1: for ten thousand dollars. The original plan was to have 42 00:02:44,320 --> 00:02:47,840 Speaker 1: Carry Grant play the lead role, but after several years 43 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:51,160 Speaker 1: of languishing and development, the studio lost faith in the 44 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:54,480 Speaker 1: project and ultimately sold the rights to Frank Capra in 45 00:02:54,560 --> 00:02:58,760 Speaker 1: nineteen forty five. That year marked a major turning point 46 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:02,320 Speaker 1: in Capra's career. In the nineteen thirties, the director had 47 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:04,840 Speaker 1: made a name for himself with feel good films like 48 00:03:04,919 --> 00:03:07,960 Speaker 1: It Happened One Night and Mister Smith Goes to Washington. 49 00:03:08,639 --> 00:03:11,160 Speaker 1: Then World War II broke out and he spent the 50 00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:14,640 Speaker 1: next few years making propaganda films for the Allied effort. 51 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:19,160 Speaker 1: Capra returned to Hollywood a decorated officer and was eager 52 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:21,600 Speaker 1: to get back behind the camera, but he found the 53 00:03:21,639 --> 00:03:25,680 Speaker 1: studios were hesitant to rehire him. The country was feeling 54 00:03:25,760 --> 00:03:29,240 Speaker 1: pensive after the war, and producers didn't think audiences were 55 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:32,840 Speaker 1: in the mood for Capra's style of filmmaking. The heroes 56 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:37,160 Speaker 1: of his stories were usually underdogs, ordinary people who faced 57 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:40,480 Speaker 1: off against powerful opponents and triumphed through the strength of 58 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:44,400 Speaker 1: their character Even before the war, some people had written 59 00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:49,280 Speaker 1: off Capra's films as sentimental fluff, or, as they called it, capracorn, 60 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:53,480 Speaker 1: and in post war America, his optimistic view of human 61 00:03:53,560 --> 00:03:58,280 Speaker 1: nature felt more old fashioned than ever. The studio's skepticism 62 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:01,680 Speaker 1: pushed Capra to take matters into his own hands. He 63 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:05,040 Speaker 1: got in touch with fellow wartime directors William Wyler and 64 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:09,800 Speaker 1: George Stevens, and together they formed their own independent production company, 65 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:14,160 Speaker 1: Liberty Films. Not long after, Capra made his deal with 66 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:17,640 Speaker 1: RKO for the rights to the Greatest Gift, believing it 67 00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:20,360 Speaker 1: would be the perfect project to launch the new company. 68 00:04:20,960 --> 00:04:24,760 Speaker 1: He worked with numerous writers on multiple versions of the story, 69 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:28,800 Speaker 1: eventually changing the title to It's a Wonderful Life. The 70 00:04:28,839 --> 00:04:32,360 Speaker 1: script continued to be revised even during filming, and the 71 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:35,440 Speaker 1: final credit was given to Capra himself, as well as 72 00:04:35,440 --> 00:04:40,320 Speaker 1: to Francis Goodrich, Albert Hackett, and Joe Swirling. By that point, 73 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:43,880 Speaker 1: Carrie Grant had long since departed the project, so Capra 74 00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:47,480 Speaker 1: turned to his former collaborator and go to everyman Jimmy 75 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:51,040 Speaker 1: Stewart for the lead role. It was Stuart's first movie 76 00:04:51,080 --> 00:04:54,279 Speaker 1: after returning from active duty during the war, but you'd 77 00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:56,599 Speaker 1: never guess he was out of practice. From his turn 78 00:04:56,640 --> 00:04:59,880 Speaker 1: as George Bailey. The rest of the cast proved just 79 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:04,040 Speaker 1: it is capable, including Donna Reed as George's stalwart wife, Mary, 80 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:07,920 Speaker 1: Henry Travers as the angel in training, Clarence odd Body, 81 00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:12,680 Speaker 1: and Lionel Barrymore as the film's villain, the miserly Mister Potter. 82 00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:16,640 Speaker 1: With the cast and script in place, filming began on 83 00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:21,120 Speaker 1: April fifteenth, nineteen forty six, at the RKO Patha studio 84 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:25,000 Speaker 1: in Los Angeles. The initial budget was about one point 85 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:29,599 Speaker 1: five million dollars, but the movie's elaborate sets, numerous rewrites, 86 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:33,320 Speaker 1: and extended three months shooting schedule brought the final cost 87 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:37,039 Speaker 1: to nearly four million, the most expensive film that Capra 88 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:40,520 Speaker 1: ever made. A large chunk of that cost went to 89 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:43,800 Speaker 1: building the set for Bedford Falls, the small New York 90 00:05:43,839 --> 00:05:47,440 Speaker 1: town where the story takes place. It covered four acres 91 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:51,520 Speaker 1: of the RKO lot and included seventy five buildings, twenty 92 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:54,720 Speaker 1: fully grown oak trees, and a three hundred yard long 93 00:05:54,839 --> 00:05:59,000 Speaker 1: main street. However, Capra didn't stop at building one of 94 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:02,200 Speaker 1: the most detailed movie sets of the era. He wanted 95 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:05,920 Speaker 1: to cover it in snow too. That was a tall order, 96 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:08,559 Speaker 1: considering they were shooting the film during a heat wave 97 00:06:08,680 --> 00:06:11,839 Speaker 1: in California, and while most directors would have settled for 98 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:15,640 Speaker 1: the usual stand in cornflakes painted white, he didn't want 99 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:18,080 Speaker 1: to deal with the crunching sound they made when actors 100 00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:23,039 Speaker 1: stepped on them. Luckily, special effects supervisor Russell Sherman was 101 00:06:23,080 --> 00:06:26,560 Speaker 1: able to come up with a workaround. He combined fomite, 102 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:30,159 Speaker 1: a substance used in fire extinguishers, with sugar and water, 103 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:34,880 Speaker 1: and the result was a new kind of artificial snow, softer, quieter, 104 00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:39,839 Speaker 1: and more realistic looking. Sherman produced six thousand gallons of 105 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:42,640 Speaker 1: the stuff and then used a wind machine to spread 106 00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:45,960 Speaker 1: it all over the set. The effect looked amazing, and 107 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:48,839 Speaker 1: Sherman won an Oscar for his efforts, but it didn't 108 00:06:48,880 --> 00:06:52,960 Speaker 1: do the budget any favors. Capra had staked his career 109 00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:56,400 Speaker 1: in the future of liberty films on the public's appetite 110 00:06:56,440 --> 00:06:59,520 Speaker 1: for uplifting stories after the war. But when It's a 111 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:03,640 Speaker 1: Wonderful Life hit theaters in late December, audiences and critics 112 00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:07,640 Speaker 1: weren't interested in what they saw as hokey nostalgia. The 113 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:10,640 Speaker 1: New York Times, for instance, described the film as a 114 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:14,320 Speaker 1: quaint and engaging modern parable, but went on to say 115 00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:18,440 Speaker 1: that quote, the weakness of this picture is the sentimentality 116 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:23,080 Speaker 1: of it, its illusory concept of life. Mister Capra's nice 117 00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:26,680 Speaker 1: people are charming, his town is a quite beguiling place, 118 00:07:27,160 --> 00:07:32,400 Speaker 1: but somehow they all resemble theatrical attitudes rather than average realities. 119 00:07:33,320 --> 00:07:36,400 Speaker 1: The general public seemed to agree, as the film didn't 120 00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:39,320 Speaker 1: even make back its budget at the box office. In 121 00:07:39,360 --> 00:07:42,600 Speaker 1: the end, Liberty Films took a half million dollar loss 122 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:45,440 Speaker 1: on the picture, and the company folded not long after. 123 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:49,800 Speaker 1: The film even had detractors in the federal government. It 124 00:07:49,880 --> 00:07:54,720 Speaker 1: was investigated by Senator McCarthy's House of Unamerican Activities Committee 125 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:58,600 Speaker 1: for allegedly being pro communist, and in nineteen forty seven, 126 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:02,320 Speaker 1: the FBI issued memo calling out the movie for its 127 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:07,400 Speaker 1: quote rather obvious attempts to discredit bankers by casting Lionel 128 00:08:07,440 --> 00:08:10,240 Speaker 1: Barrymore as a scrooge type so that he would be 129 00:08:10,320 --> 00:08:13,560 Speaker 1: the most hated man in the picture. This, according to 130 00:08:13,600 --> 00:08:18,440 Speaker 1: these sources, is a common trick used by communists. With 131 00:08:18,520 --> 00:08:21,880 Speaker 1: all those setbacks, you're probably wondering how the film wound 132 00:08:21,960 --> 00:08:25,320 Speaker 1: up becoming the quintessential Christmas viewing that it is today, 133 00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:29,360 Speaker 1: and strangely enough, it's mostly due to a clerical error. 134 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:33,520 Speaker 1: In nineteen seventy four, the film's copyright holder forgot to 135 00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:36,599 Speaker 1: file for a renewal, allowing it to pass into the 136 00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:40,520 Speaker 1: public domain. That meant any TV station could air It's 137 00:08:40,559 --> 00:08:44,720 Speaker 1: a Wonderful Life as many times as they wanted for free. 138 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:49,480 Speaker 1: Plenty of networks did exactly that every holiday season, introducing 139 00:08:49,520 --> 00:08:52,640 Speaker 1: the film to new generations that were much more receptive 140 00:08:52,679 --> 00:08:58,200 Speaker 1: to its folk sy nostalgia, and sentimentality. Frank Capra, Jimmy Stewart, 141 00:08:58,280 --> 00:09:01,040 Speaker 1: and Donna Reid all went on the record at different 142 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:04,160 Speaker 1: points saying that It's a Wonderful Life was their personal 143 00:09:04,240 --> 00:09:08,240 Speaker 1: favorite of all the films they made. Thankfully, all three 144 00:09:08,240 --> 00:09:10,839 Speaker 1: of them lived long enough to see their prized work 145 00:09:10,920 --> 00:09:15,320 Speaker 1: find its audience. Capra was especially pleased with the film's revival, 146 00:09:15,600 --> 00:09:18,959 Speaker 1: telling the Wall Street Journal quote, It's the damnedest thing 147 00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:21,680 Speaker 1: I've ever seen. The film has a life of its 148 00:09:21,679 --> 00:09:23,600 Speaker 1: own now, and I can look at it like I 149 00:09:23,679 --> 00:09:26,120 Speaker 1: had nothing to do with it. I'm like a parent 150 00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:29,360 Speaker 1: whose kid grows up to be president. I'm proud, but 151 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:31,840 Speaker 1: it's the kid who did the work. I didn't even 152 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:33,959 Speaker 1: think of it as a Christmas story when I first 153 00:09:34,040 --> 00:09:38,200 Speaker 1: ran across it. I just liked the idea. The rights 154 00:09:38,280 --> 00:09:41,720 Speaker 1: to the film eventually landed back under studio control in 155 00:09:41,800 --> 00:09:45,640 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety three, meaning that from then on TV networks 156 00:09:45,679 --> 00:09:48,840 Speaker 1: would have to pay to air it. By that point, though, 157 00:09:49,080 --> 00:09:51,920 Speaker 1: it was worth the money to license, It's a Wonderful 158 00:09:51,960 --> 00:09:55,760 Speaker 1: Life had finally become the Christmas classic that its author 159 00:09:55,880 --> 00:10:02,520 Speaker 1: always knew it could be. I'm Gay, Bluesier, and hopefully 160 00:10:02,760 --> 00:10:05,800 Speaker 1: you now know a little more about history today than 161 00:10:05,800 --> 00:10:09,560 Speaker 1: you did yesterday. You can learn even more about history 162 00:10:09,559 --> 00:10:13,640 Speaker 1: by following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at TDI 163 00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:17,760 Speaker 1: HC Show, and if you have any comments or suggestions, 164 00:10:17,920 --> 00:10:20,560 Speaker 1: you can pass them along any time by writing to 165 00:10:20,640 --> 00:10:25,439 Speaker 1: this day at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays 166 00:10:25,520 --> 00:10:28,520 Speaker 1: for producing the show, and thank you for listening. I'll 167 00:10:28,520 --> 00:10:31,760 Speaker 1: see you back here again tomorrow for another day in 168 00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:44,280 Speaker 1: History class.