What I Missed in Watching It’s a Wonderful Life the Previous 27 Times
Full disclosure: Although I own one, I have never read a book about It’s a Wonderful Life (1946).
My wife is not a movie fan, so when she said, “Why don’t we watch It’s a Wonderful Life this weekend?” I wondered if she was now a pod person or some other type of alien. “Sure,” I said, always happy to watch the film any time of year. Letterboxd told me that this would be my 28th time viewing the film. (It’s probably more than that, but let’s go with 28.)
When you’ve seen a movie 27 times, you know everything that’s going to happen, so I thought I’d look for things I’d never noticed before, little details, anything. I’m a bit slow on the draw sometimes so some of my revelations may have occurred to you at viewing #10, #3, or even the first time you saw the film.
Here we go:
1. Stocking Caps
Before last night, I’d never noticed that all the boys in the shovel-sledding scene wore the same type of stocking cap with the same patch. I couldn’t make out the insignia until I searched for a picture of it online.
I also found a photo of one of the original boys from that scene, Michael Chapin, who was pictured here in 2021. (I think he’s on the far right in the previous picture. Please correct me if I’m wrong.) That made me wonder, “Did some boy’s mom stitch all those skull-and-crossbones patches on those caps? Did they buy them that way?” I can’t see Ma Bailey being on board with that…
2. The Missing Dog
Just before George Bailey (James Stewart) and his dad (Samuel S. Hinds) have a heart-to-heart talk about George’s future, there’s all kinds of noise and shenanigans going on with Harry Bailey (Todd Karns) getting things ready for the school graduation party. The light above the dinner table jiggles and sways, and we hear noises upstairs and a dog barking loudly somewhere. As far as I can tell, we never see the dog! Is it locked up in a room? Is it outside? (I doubt it since the barking is very loud.) I’m surprised Mr. Potter didn’t pick up the phone and call the SPCA.
3. Tom the Jerk
This isn’t something I’d missed before, but I thought I’d include it anyway. Remember the guy named Tom who was the first to demand his money from the Bailey Building & Loan during the panic? “I’ll take two-hundred and forty-two dollars, and two-hundred forty-two dollars isn’t going to break anybody,” he said. I always thought “What a jerk,” but I found at least one person online ready to defend Tom.
Although I can’t find a photo, this same Tom is in a crowd milling outside the Dime-a-Dance as Violet Bick (Gloria Grahame) gets arrested by the police during the Pottersville sequence. Maybe Tom’s been hanging out at the clubs (or other seedier places?) and needs that $242…
By the way, Tom was played by Edward Keane, an actor who appeared in more than 300 films from 1921 to 1955. You’ve probably seen him in other movies but didn’t know it since he often sported a mustache.
4. Shooting Out the Letters
Maybe others can chime in on this: Also during the Pottersville sequence where Bert (Ward Bond) fires at George during his escape, the cop shoots out some letters in the POTTERSVILLE sign. The camera doesn’t linger on it (and I’m not going back right now to look at my Blu-ray to find out), but it looks like Bert shot out the V and the I. One person online says it’s the S, V, and I. I don’t think there’s any significance to it regardless of which letters were shot out, but I think it would be pretty cool if it’s just the V and the I since Violet is being arrested and George calls her “Vi” at least once in the movie.
Hardcore fans no doubt already know all this stuff, but I had a good time discovering it. Maybe I’ll find a few more things in my next viewing. So whether you watch It’s a Wonderful Life this holiday season for the first or 101st time, I hope it’s a blast for you. (Just for fun, you may be interested in the short video on my trip to the It’s a Wonderful Life Museum a few years ago.)
And although it would be great to have a million dollars, it would also be great to have you as a regular subscriber. I hope you’ll consider it. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year! Stay tuned…