The Story Behind The Christmas Classic It's A Wonderful Life

It's a Wonderful Life is a heartwarming 1946 Christmas film classic directed by Frank Capra. It airs every Christmas Eve on NBC.

Many of us have seen the movie and have been moved and inspired by the main character, George Bailey (a kind, caring, unselfish young man) played by the charismatic Jimmy Stewart. However, few people know that a Brooklyn man and 1924 Rutgers University graduate wrote the inspiration for the story which he had named The Greatest Gift.

Many of the scenes in the movie were filmed in the Seneca, NY region. However, as reported by NJ Advance Media for www.NJ.com, history writer Philip Van Doren Stern grew up in Jersey City, NJ and was inspired during the late stages of the Great Depression by a small town in Hunterdon County, NJ where scenes, including the bridge, were filmed. He wrote a story about a suicidal man who is stopped from jumping off a bridge by a guardian angel. His agent unsuccessfully attempted to sell the story despite years of attempts by Stern to edit it. Finally, Stern decided to run the story in a pamphlet that he had printed and distributed to his friends and family one Christmas during World War II. To Stern's surprise, the story somehow made its way to Hollywood where his agent was able to sell it for $10,000 (equivalent to about $139,000 today).

Although regarded as a box office flop upon its initial debut in 1946 (There was stiff competition from other releases.), It's a Wonderful Life is now considered an enduring Christmas classic that is shown around the world. It has been nominated for many awards, and critics now consider it one of the top twenty films ever produced.

Even if you have seen it before, watching this movie during the holiday season is sure to inspire you with the true meaning of Christmas and the words giving, kindness, sacrifice, determination, and commitment.