#It's a wonderful life gif movie#
#It's a wonderful life gif pro#

She had done it three times previously-in Mr. Bailey, didnвЂ™t need a lot of rehearsal to play Jimmy StewartвЂ™s mom.

#It's a wonderful life gif pro#

Beulah Bondi was a pro at playing Jimmy Stewart's mom.Д«eulah Bondi, who plays Mrs. вЂњI was named after my great grandmother, Mary Mullenger.вЂќ 8. Mary Owen is not named after Mary Bailey.Д«efore you ask whether Owen was named after her momвЂ™s much beloved ItвЂ™s a Wonderful Life character, вЂњThe answer is no,вЂќ says Owen. вЂњWhen Capra met my mother at MGM, he knew she'd be just right for Mary Bailey.вЂќ 7. вЂњ had seen mom in They Were Expendable and liked her,вЂќ Mary Owen told Mental Floss. ItвЂ™s difficult to imagine anyone else in the role today, but Reed had some serious competition from Jean Arthur. Though Donna Reed was hardly a newcomer when ItвЂ™s a Wonderful Life rolled around, having appeared in nearly 20 projects previously, the film did mark her first starring role. It's a Wonderful Life marked Donna Reed's first starring role. StewartвЂ™s reply? вЂњFrank: If you want me to be in a picture about a guy that wants to kill himself and an angel comes down named Clarence who canвЂ™t swim and I save him, when do we start?вЂќ 6. Frank Capra didn't do the best job of selling Jimmy Stewart on It's a Wonderful Life.ДЄfter laying out the plot line of the film for Jimmy Stewart in a meeting, Capra realized that, вЂњThis really doesnвЂ™t sound so good, does it?вЂќ Stewart recalled in an interview. вЂњFrank Capra could be condescending,вЂќ Hackett said in an interview, вЂњand you just didn't address Frances as вЂmy dear woman.вЂ™ When we were pretty far along in the script but not done, our agent called and said, вЂCapra wants to know how soon you'll be finished.вЂ™ Frances said, вЂWe're finished right now.вЂ™ We put our pens down and never went back to it.вЂќ 5. Though theyвЂ™re credited as the filmвЂ™s screenwriters with Capra, the husband and wife writing duo were not pleased with the treatment they received from Capra. It's a Wonderful Life screenwriters Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett walked out on the project. ThatвЂ™s because more than a half-dozen people contributed to the screenplay, including some of the most acclaimed writers of the time- Dorothy Parker, Dalton Trumbo, Marc Connelly, and Clifford Odets among them. Dorothy Parker worked on the script for It's a Wonderful Life.Д«y the time ItвЂ™s a Wonderful Life made it into theaters, the story was much different from SternвЂ™s original tale.

#It's a wonderful life gif movie#

In 1945, after a number of rewrites, RKO sold the movie rights to Frank Capra, who quickly recruited Jimmy Stewart to play George Bailey. But, as happens so often in Hollywood, the project went through some ups and downs in the development process. When RKO purchased the rights, they did so with the plan of having Cary Grant in the lead.

Cary Grant was set to star in It's a Wonderful Life. David Hempstead, a producer at RKO Pictures, ended up getting a hold of it, and purchased the movie rights for $10,000. It's a Wonderful Life all began with a Christmas card.ДЄfter years of unsuccessfully trying to shop his short story, The Greatest Gift, to publishers, Philip Van Doren Stern decided to give the gift of words to his closest friends for the holidays when he printed up 200 copies of the story and sent them out as a 21-page Christmas card. She shared some of her momвЂ™s memories with us to help reveal 25 things you might not have known about ItвЂ™s a Wonderful Life.

Though Reed passed away in 1986, Owen has stood as one of the filmвЂ™s most dedicated historians, regularly introducing screenings of the ultimate holiday classic, including during its annual run at New York CityвЂ™s IFC Center. But she grew up cherishing the film and getting the inside scoop on its making from its star, Donna Reed-who just so happens to be her mom. Mary Owen wasnвЂ™t welcomed into the world until more than a decade after Frank CapraвЂ™s ItвЂ™s a Wonderful Life made its premiere in 1946.