Frank Capra was an American director peculiarly
associated with the American Dream. Indeed, some of his work has been labelled
as Capra-corn, which is how people at the time saw his work. However, as Brian
Neve writes, "this image may have distracted audiences from the cutting
edges of his 1930's films" (1). It's a Wonderful Life is a film that will
always be associated with yuletide - you would certainly consider it as a
Christmas film if you had only ever seen the ending before. To put it in this
light makes it seem trivial and frivolous. However, one could very well argue
that it portrays a very bleak picture of certain aspects of American life. The
two opposing representations of the American Dream in the film are those
of instant gratification and the family.
It should not be surprising that throughout his films, Capra was so
concerned with the dream. Hughes writes that "Capra's... autobiography..,
suggests... that Capra was more servant than manipulator of the American Dream,
for the symbols and values of that dream first moulded his aspirations, then
found expression in his films" (2). Hughes goes on to add that Capra
created films based on "the classic American success story". Capra's
own life was such a story: he came to America at the age of six from the
Southern Italian town of Palermo. He was determined to be a complete American,
and become successful on American grounds. Using his intelligence and wit, he
was able to go up through promotion from the working class section of the film
industry. The American government recognised him during the Second World War,
when it appointed him to make the 'Why We Fight' series of films. Capra wrote
this for one of them, saying that Americans fought for their country and an
idea:
(1) Film and Politics p.50
(2) Hughes p.69
2
"The idea bigger than the country - without the
idea the country might have remained only a wilderness, without the country the
idea might have remained only a dream" (3). The suggestion is that the
American Dream had already been achieved.
Yet this is not reflected in It's a Wonderful Life, the story of a man
who almost commits suicide because he cannot fulfil his version of the dream.
Brian Neve goes as far as to compare the film with Death of a Salesman, Arthur
Miller's bleak play. Although this movie has become very much part of American
culture, the audience stayed away when it opened in 1946. Perhaps it was not a
film they wanted to see after a successful war. The film reflects back on the
thirties, a miserable time for many American people, when bank runs caused real
hardship. It may be that the audience was confused: this was not a traditional
Capra motion picture. Neve covers Mr.Deeds Goes to Town and Mr.Smith Goes to
Washington very well in his discussion of Capra and Populism. The heroes in
those two films came from towns like Bedford Falls, and stood up to the elitist
and monopolistic forces in the corrupt city. George Bailey, on the other hand,
is characterized by his failure to leave the small town, however much he may
want to. It is made very clear that, if anything, George would rather join the
elite hated so much by the Populists. Capra may have recognised that with the
arrival of New Deal and war, that Populism was dead, since a large, encroaching
federal government could never recede. Big government had overtaken the little
man irrevocably.
Perhaps Capra did not totally give up the themes of his earlier films. A
clue can be gathered from the rich imagery of It's a Wonderful Life. Bert the
policeman holds a newspaper in his hand at one point, and the headline of that
paper says "Smith wins nomination". Could this be the Jefferson Smith
of Capra's 1939 film? The opening titles may
(3) Film and Politics p.49
3
have also confused audiences, for with its
depictions of Christmas scenes, including a merry Santa, and its upbeat music,
it seems to suggest that this will be a festive film. Yet immediately, this is
countered by the plea of Mr.Gower for God to save George's life. Any hint of
Chistmas is reserved for the very last part of the film.
It's a Wonderful Life reveals the American Dream to be the paradox that
it really is. How can you combine instant gratification with the ideal picture
of American family life? George Bailey obviously cannot. He has his own dream:
"I'm shaking the dust of this crummy little town off my feet, and I'm
gonna see the world!" The music that runs throughout the film is the song
Buffalo Girls. There is great repetition of one line: "And dance by the
light of the moon." The imagery of the moon is very important, for it
represents George's own American dream. He offers to lasso it down for Mary
Hatch (Donna Reed), but later in the film he realises that he could not even do
it for himself. He has done it for Mary however, for her dream does come true.
They make wishes when they throw stones at the house that will later become
their home, 320 Sycamore. Mary refuses to reveal her wish in case it will not
come true. George blurts his out, and so he never realises it.
Mary could be seen as George's first saviour. After all, the name 'Mary'
has fairly obvious religious connotations. Capra does juxtapose two scenes to
encourage this reading. When George and Mary meet at the graduation party, they
fall in the swimming pool underneath the artificial floor, and they frolic in
the water with a spotlight over them. When Clarence, George's guardian angel,
jumps in the falls to `save' him, both are again bathed in light from a torch. The
spotlight and the torch may very well represent the 'feminine' moon. It is at
one of George's moments of doubt that Capra uses a voice-over to remind us of
what he had said in the past. In the same scene, the room is filled with
moonlight as Mary
4
announces that she is pregnant.
Capra employs other juxtapositions to define his hero. George is
strongly contrasted with Sam Wainwright, his successful school friend. Sam has
left Bedford Falls and has embarked on a lucrative career in industry. He goes
on trips to Europe, and always has a new woman on his arm. That George would
like to be more like his friend is revealed when he kicks his car door in
frustration after a visit by Sam to Bailey Park. He becomes so vulnerable that
he almost gives into temptation when Potter offers him a job. This is the same
Potter whom a heavenly voice condemned as "the meanest man in the
county." Potter also defines George by way of contrast, for he is a
monster of capitalism.
The American audience may not have liked such a portrayal of someone who
has arguably achieved what they would all love to achieve. He is presented as a
"warped, frustrated old man" (in George's terms), who cannot bear
that others have got something material that he has not. Therefore, throughout
the film, Potter tries to possess or destroy Peter Bailey's life work, the
Building and Loan. George admires his father's character (if not his business
sense), and has Peter's portrait in his office and at home. The only portrait
in Potter's office is one of himself, revealing him to be a very egotistical
man. This is continued later when George is seen before a picture of Lincoln at
home, whereas Potter has imported a very sombre black bust of Napoleon into his
office; these two very different icons reflect the contrasting characters of
the two men.
It's a Wonderful Life is a great technical achievement on Capra's
behalf. He only has to use the whistle of a train to let us know what George is
thinking. Clarence's character is summed up by the sweet rendition of Twinkle,
Twinkle Little Star - perhaps an example of Capra-corn, but effective
nevertheless. There is something new to see every time you watch the film: it
may be the way that Potter has put a very
5
low chair into his office, so that all that come to
see him, even tall Jimmy Stewart, are smaller than him. Or it could be Mary's
inventive way of cooking a chicken on their marriage night (using a
gramophone). There are faults though: apparently George can effect the weather,
for it stops snowing as soon as Clarence shows him what life would be like if
he had not been born. How could he have stopped his brother being buried on the
future site of Bailey Park at the age of twelve? It is Mary who finally saves
George, by getting the "rabble" to rally round him. Her dream of the
perfect family home finally wins out, when George realises how much his many
children and his decrepit house mean to him. He can only survive by sacrificing
his dream, which cannot fit in with Mary's. This film reveals that the American
Dream is not a constant: it is a paradox, because it means different things to
different people.
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Bibliography
Film and Politics in America: A Social Tradition by
Brian Neve.
The Evaluation of Film as Evidence by William Hughes
in The Historian and Film ed. by Paul Smith
Cinema, Politics and Society in America edited by
Philip Davies and Brian Neve.
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