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George saves his younger brother Harry from drowning as a child, but as a result loses the hearing in his left ear. From there, we are shown scenes from George's life, some of which are alluded to in the short story. Clarence (played by Henry Travers) is sent down to save George if he succeeds, he'll earn his wings. The film begins with an apprentice angel named Clarence (previously the unnamed stranger) noticing a lost soul on a bridge on Christmas Eve. George Pratt becomes George Bailey, and he's given a rich backstory. Ultimately, the sequence of events in 'The Greatest Gift' became the third act of the film, with some notable changes from the original. Frank Capra and a team of writers went through many rounds of revision on the screenplay that would become It's a Wonderful Life. The plot changed quite a bit from short story to film. What are the major differences between It’s a Wonderful Life and 'The Greatest Gift'? In 1944, a year after self-publishing, Stern saw his story published in book form as well as two magazines to reach a larger audience. But it wasn't until the film rights were sold to Frank Capra and his production company that the story officially went into production, with James Stewart playing the lead instead. Grant was interested in seeing the story adapted to film and playing the lead. From there, the story came to the attention of David Hampstead, a producer for RKO Pictures, who then shared it with Cary Grant. 'The Greatest Gift,' which Stern completed in 1943, initially faced repeated rejections-so much so that he printed 200 copies himself and gave them to friends and family for the holidays. What’s the history of It’s a Wonderful Life? When she questions his behavior, he nearly tells her everything that happened-but then he spots the upholstery brush…the same one he presented her with earlier, when he was experiencing life as if he'd never been born. Overcome with emotion, he embraces his wife. George rushes home and is relieved and overjoyed to find everything as he left it before he went to the bridge. George sees the error of his ways and pleads for his life back, and the stranger relents.

The stranger tells George that he was already in possession of the greatest gift-the gift of life-but he took it for granted. George ends up back on the bridge, and begs the stranger to explain what's happening.

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George visits her home and tries to give her a free upholstery brush, but he's chased off by her husband, and their son pretends to shoot him with a toy gun. What's more, his wife ended up married to another man. In a world without George to dive into the water and save him, his brother drowned many years earlier. George discovers that his younger brother is dead. None of George's friends recognize him, and they all seem to be in sad and dire situations. Then, he hands George a bag and urges him to go back to town and take a walk around, pretending to be a door-to-door salesman if anyone questions him.Ĭonfused, George heads back into town and discovers many differences, both subtle and significant. The stranger declares George's wish granted. He asks George why he's so upset, and George confides: he wishes he'd never been born. The stranger, who's never named, is not very well-dressed, but he's polite and kind.

He's considering jumping when a stranger approaches and strikes up conversation. This very short story-just 4,100 words and a 50-minute listen, beautifully narrated by actor Edward Hermann-is about a man named George Pratt who finds himself walking across a bridge on Christmas Eve, contemplating ending his life. Like the classic from Charles Dickens, 'The Greatest Gift' is an existential tale focusing on the meaning of life and the importance of appreciating what you have, with some light speculative elements.

Sort of! It's a Wonderful Life is based on ' The Greatest Gift,' a short story written by Philip Van Doren Stern, which in turn is loosely based on another enduring holiday story: A Christmas Carol. Is It’s a Wonderful Life based on a book? But like the film's origins, the story that inspired it also had a fraught beginning and almost never made it into the world. It wasn't until the advent of television programming and a clerical mistake in licensing that It's a Wonderful Life was played on TV, again and again, propelling it to become an enduring favorite among audiences, especially at Christmastime. So, it's kind of hard to believe that when the film premiered in 1946, it was considered a near-flop because it didn't find immediate financial success. It's a Wonderful Life is widely acknowledged as the best Christmas film of all time.

Wonderful world movie