It's a Wonderful Life

Film • 1946 • Drama, Family, Fantasy, …

A holiday favourite for generations... George Bailey has spent his entire life giving to the people of Bedford Falls. All that prevents rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town is George's modest building and loan company. But on Christmas Eve the business's $8,000 is lost and George's troubles begin.

Where to watch

Streaming information by

Cast & Crew

Frank CapraDirector & Screenplay
Philip Van Doren SternOriginal Story
Albert HackettScreenplay
Frances GoodrichScreenplay
James StewartGeorge Bailey
Donna ReedMary Hatch
Lionel BarrymoreMr. Potter
Thomas MitchellUncle Billy
Henry TraversClarence
Beulah BondiMrs. Bailey
Frank FaylenErnie
Ward BondBert
Gloria GrahameViolet
H.B. WarnerMr. Gower
See all cast & crew on IMDb

Details

Status	Released
Release	December 20, 1946
Origins	United States of America
Genres	Drama Family Fantasy Romance
Tags	Feel-Good Romance Holiday Family Holiday Romance Psychological Drama Supernatural Fantasy Holiday

External links

Links	AllMovie American Film Institute Apple TV Britannica Facebook FilmAffinity Google Knowledge Graph IMDb Letterboxd MUBI Metacritic Movie Review Query Engine Netflix Plex Rotten Tomatoes TCM TMDB TV Tropes The Numbers Trakt Wikidata Wikipedia YouTube iTunes
Reviews	Cinema: New Picture, Dec. 23, 1946 TIME.com • content.time.com It’s A Wonderful Life Empire • empireonline.com ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’: THR’s 1946 Review THR Staff • hollywoodreporter.com "It's a Wonderful Life": The most terrifying movie ever - Salon.com Rich Cohen • salon.com It’s a Wonderful Life movie review (1946) Roger Ebert • rogerebert.com

Remakes

	Year	Avg.
It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie	2002	56.9%
The Family Man	2000	66.4%
Mr. Destiny	1990	59.8%
It Happened One Christmas	1977	61.4%
It's a Wonderful Life	1946	87.9%

Collection

Title		Year	Avg.
	Clarence	1990	31%
	It's a Wonderful Life	1946	87.9%

Evolution

Positions in the top 50 for It's a Wonderful Life in the past 30 days