HOLLYWOOD – Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life is one of the most popular Christmas films ever made, telling the story of how much difference one man’s life – George Bailey (James Stewart) – can make to a small town, Bedford Falls.
But very few people know the truth about It’s a Wonderful Life. Today, Studio Exec can exclusively reveal the 5 facts that nobody knows about one of the most popular Xmas films ever made.
1 . In the original cut of the film, Bedford Falls looked like it does after George Bailey (James Stewart) wishes he’d never been born – with noisy juke joints and neon lights – and then changed to the more sedate boring Bedford Falls after Clarence makes like he’d never existed, but the director – Frank Capra – said that ‘it made no sense’ whatsoever and insisted that it be swapped.
2. Donna Reed hated James Stewart so much she would bring a thin bladed flick knife on set and during their scenes together would stab him repeatedly about the upper thigh and torso out of shot. Stewart was such a gentleman about it, he made as if nothing was happening and limped away bleeding.
3. In the scene in which the pharmacist Mr. Gower hits Young George – played by Robert J. Anderson – on the ear, the elder actor hit the boy too hard and a few minutes after the scene Anderson collapsed and was taken to hospital where he died. Fortunately, it was his last scene and the heart-warming classic continued shooting.
4. Frank Capra is Italian for Frank Goat.
5. ‘Every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings’ became a code phrase in the times of the Vietnam war which was used to order US aircraft to launch napalm attacks on innocent Vietnamese children.
Who knew?