Remember when this movie was in the public domain and every TV station would air it 800 times between Thanksgiving and Christmas? My sister and I used to play a game to see how many times we could watch it in one year. I think our record was 13.

I think a lot of people who haven’t seen this movie think it is sappy, due to the oft-repeated “Every time a bell rings…” line, but it is actually quite dark. George Bailey is a troubled man with trampled dreams and suicidal ideas. The chemist wants to poison children. That sort of thing. One of my favorite lines is when he says, “Why’d we have to have all these kids anyway?” I’m sure parents think that kind of thing all the time, but you don’t hear the sentiment expresses much in Christmas films.

I think one of the most powerful scenes in any movie I’ve ever seen is when George and Mary are talking to Sam Wainwright on the phone about getting in on a new business and George grabs her by the shoulders and says, “Now you listen to me. I don’t want any plastics and I don’t want any ground floors. And I don’t want to get married ever to anyone! You understand that? I want to do what I want to do!” And then they kiss. It’s incredibly passionate.