Bedford Falls could be anywhere in the United States. It is a mythical town where decent people work hard and do the best they can to raise a family. Economically, it is held together by the Building and Loan Company, operated by George Bailey who inherited the business from his father. Like all mythical towns, it is a focus for the battle between good and evil. George Bailey is the unselfish, hard-working personification of goodness who wants his town to succeed. The avaricious Henry Potter is the epitome of greed, and under his tutelage Bedford Falls would degenerate into Pottersville, an unsavory town dominated by crime and sleazy entertainment. What is at stake, in a word, is Christmas and all that it implies.
The plot thickens when Potter manages to steal $8,000 that belongs to Building and Loan which imperils its continued existence. Bailey appeals to Potter for a loan in order to save his company and offers his life insurance as collateral. Potter scoffs at the proposal and informs the distraught George Bailey that he is worth more dead than alive. This is the turning point of the story. George attempts to do away with himself by jumping into a river. His plan is frustrated, however, by the intercession of an angel second class Clarence Odbody, who is on a mission to get his wings.
Still possessed by a mood of despair, George tells his rescuing angel that he wishes he were never born. It is then Clarence’s obligation to inform George that he had a wonderful life and had he never been born a series of terrible things would have happened. He points to George saving Mr. Gower from a prison sentence because he was not there to prevent him from accidentally poisoning a customer. If George had not saved his brother from drowning, Harry would not have been there to save the troops on a transport ship from being killed. Without George, his wife, Mary, would never have married or bore his children. It was because of George’s efforts that Bedford Falls would not have degenerated into Pottersville. George truly had a wonderful life. It would have been a terrible shame to throw it away.
It finally dawns on George Bailey that had he not been born, an unfillable void would have existed that would have had disastrous effects. George repents. He wants his life back. Clarence Odbody has done his job. The final scene takes place on Christmas Eve. George is back home with his family and is holding his youngest daughter, Zuzu, in his arms. Friends arrive with more than enough money to save Building and Loan. His brother Harry arrives and proclaims George as “the richest man in town”. Among the donations, George finds a gift from Clarence Odbody, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, in which is inscribed, “Remember, no man is a failure who has friends”. A bell rings on the Christmas tree. Zuzu explains that it is an indication that an angel has earned his wings. George, now filled with the Christmas spirit, looks up and says, “Atta boy, Clarence!”
The essential message of It’s a Wonderful Life extends to all of us. We all have our moments of doubt and wonder if our life had any meaning. Did our coming into the world be of help to anyone”? We often forget the good we do in times of trouble when we simply do not know what to do. In such times, we could use the services and encouragement of an angel. But if we do not have an angel, poised to help us at the drop of a hat, we do have Christmas which reminds us of the glory and purpose of being born.
Things would have been incalculably worse in Bedford Falls if George Bailey had never been born. But the story raises a larger question, one at which it only hints. Suppose Christ had never been born. The dramatic clash between George Bailey and Henry Potter symbolizes that between Christ and King Herod. Just as Potter told Bailey that he was worth more dead than alive, Herod wanted to prevent Christ from leaving the manger alive.
Without Christ and without Christmas the likes of King Herod would be ruling the world. Schools, hospitals, and orphanages would not have been erected in Christ’s name. All this would have represented a far greater loss than the collapse of Building and Loan! Without Christ, there would be no saints. And without saints there would be no true leaders. And perhaps, most of all, without Christ there would be no hope.
The hidden message of It’s a Wonderful Life is the reminder to everyone, especially at Christmas time, how much deprivation we would have suffered had Christ never been born. Christmas, therefore, is a time for gratitude. But it is also a time for renewed hope. We should be grateful that we were born and we should look forward with confidence to the vocation of fulfilling our irreplaceable role in the scheme of things.
Image credit: RKO Radio Pictures
