Story: George lives for others all his life. One Christmas Eve, a relative’s error threatens to put him in jail. While considering suicide, George gets an unexpected gift when an angel shows him what his town would be like if he had never been born. Many Americans watch this classic every Christmas. (1946; three Oscar nominations: Best Actor; Best Director [Frank Capra]; Best Picture; Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed; Liberty Films/Republic Pictures; black & white drama/fantasy, with a healthy dose of romance, comedy and Christmas cheer; not rated but “G”; about two hours)

Setting: Bedford Falls, New York (a fictional small town), 1907 to 1945

People and proper nouns:

• George Bailey (the person at the center of this story)
• Peter Bailey: George’s father, a kind man who runs a type of “people’s bank” called The Bailey Brothers’ Building and Loan
• Bailey Brothers’ Building and Loan Office: Peter and Billy Bailey run this “alternative bank,” where people can save money by buying “shares” that allow neighbors to borrow money to be used to build small homes. The town’s bank is run by a self-centered man (Mr. Potter) who only wants to make money—not to help people—so the “building and loan” loans money for a house or car.
• Billy Bailey (or “Uncle Billy”): Peter’s brother and George’s uncle; kind-hearted but disorganized and forgetful (symbolized by pieces of string tied to his fingers, each one representing something he is supposed to remember!)
• Building and Loan: see “Bailey Brothers’ Building and Loan Office”
• Mary Hatch: one of George’s childhood friends (she eventually marries George)
• Zuzu: George and Mary have four children; this is the youngest daughter’s name
• Harry Bailey: George’s younger brother (“kid brother”); at the beginning of the movie, George saves his life on an ice-pond; at the end of the movie Harry is getting America’s highest award (The Congressional Medal of Honor) for saving many lives during World War 2.
• Mr. Gower (also called “Old man Gower”): runs the drug store; George worked there as a teenager (in George’s dream, Mr. Gower is a drunk, after many years in jail)
• Mr. Martini: an Italian immigrant; Mr Potter used to charge him a lot of money to live in a rented apartment, but George helped him (and countless others) get out of “Potter’s slum” and build his own home, and even to build his own restaurant
• Nick: a nice man who works for Mr. Martini (in George’s dream, Nick has a mean personality)
• Clarence Odbody: an angel who is sent from Heaven to help George (in answer to the prayers of many of George’s friends—these prayers are the first thing you hear in the movie); he is described as being simple-minded (he has the “IQ of a rabbit” but also has “the faith of a child”)
• Ernie and Bert: two of George’s childhood friends, who grow up to be a taxi driver and a cop
• Sam Wainwright: one of George’s childhood friends (we can recognize him because he greets people by saying “Hee Haw”); when he grows up he gets rich by running a plastics business
• Violet Bick: one of George’s childhood friends (we see her as a child and as an attractive young woman)
• Henry F. Potter: the “bad guy” in this movie, described as “the richest and meanest man” in the county”; he runs the bank, and wants the Bailey Building and Loan Office to go out of business
• Bedford Falls, New York: the (fictional) city where the story takes place
• the Granville house: we first see it as a run-down, deserted house (George says that even if he were a ghost he wouldn’t want to live there), but later it becomes George’s home
• Bailey Park: an area where the Bailey’s sell land and help people build inexpensive homes

Vocabulary:

• *alternative: a choice; one thing instead of something else
• bankruptcy: a legal term, meaning you go out of business because you can’t pay your debts
• (to be/feel) cooped up: to feel like you are trapped in a place, as if you were a bird in a cage
• *cop: police officer
• *characters [n, plural]: people (esp. strangers) who act odd. Note: “character” also has many other meanings–(1) a person in a story or cartoon [e.g., This movie and a children’s TV show both have characters named Bert and Ernie.]; (2) an aspect of personality, related to one’s habits and actions [e.g., honest, generous, selfish, etc.]
• drunk/drunkard: [negative] as a noun, it means someone who chooses to stay drunk (i.e., so he doesn’t have to face the challenges of life; “drunks” are characterized as being useless people, and sometimes assumed to be jobless and homeless)
• *equity: the “actual value” of certain types of investment [A key scene in the movie involves a “whole life” insurance policy, which is both a “savings” account that you could “cash” whenever you wanted—this is the equity—but that also gave loved ones a much larger amount of money if you accidentally died.]
• hard drinks: alcohol that makes you drunk fast (as opposed to wine or beer that many people only drink a little of—not enough to get drunk)
• the homefront (in the movie, it is called “the battle of Bedford Falls”): things people do “back home” in a time of war; how non-soldiers help their country to win a war by recycling things, not wasting resources, buying war bonds, etc.
• *honeymoon: a short vacation couples often take right after they are married; a “Bridal Suite” is an expensive room in a nice hotel, reserved for people on their honeymoon
• *luggage: suitcases and other bags used when traveling (sometimes used in movies to symbolize “travel” or the desire to travel)
• mansion: a large, expensive house
• old maid: [negative] a woman who has never married (this term isn’t used anymore because it is considered impolite)
• penny-ante: an adj from poker/gambling, which means “for everyone/very cheap” (the “ante” is the first bet in a poker game; if it is just a penny—one cent—then anyone can afford to play)
• (in the) public domain: [legal] something creative (art, song, movie, photo…) that is available for anyone to have or use, usually because of its age [Mark Twain’s remarkable books are in the public domain, so you can find free PDF files online.]
• rabble: a negative term for a crowd, used to insult people who don’t have money or social status
• riffraff: (same as rabble)
• a run (on the bank): when many fearful people want to take out their money at the same time (remember that banks don’t keep your money in a safe; they loan it to businesses and to your neighbors so they can build homes—if too many people want to take their money out at the same time, it forces the bank to go out of business); this film shows a run on a bank (actually the Building and Loan) at the start of the Great Depression
• *scandal: a shocking event that brings shame or disgrace to a person/company (often because one’s actions were immoral)
• slum: [negative] a place where poor people live, and usually it is very hard to “move out” to become a part of the middle class
• *stroke: a medical emergency when blood can’t flow to the brain; this is how George’s father dies
• *suicide: to kill yourself; in the movie this is called “throwing away God’s greatest gift” (that is, your life)

Note 1: I’ve copied the following from “The Name Above the Title”, by this film’s famous director: Frank Capra.

“. . .It was my film for my kind of people. A film to tell the weary, disheartened, and the disillusioned…that no man is a failure! To show [common people] that each man’s life touches so many other lives. And that if he isn’t around it would leave an awful hole. [Wonderful Life is] a film that expressed its love for the homeless and the loveless; for her whose cross is heavy and him whose touch is ashes; for the Magdalenes stoned by hypocrites and the afflicted Lazaruses with only dogs to lick their sores. I wanted it to shout to the abandoned [and abused]: “You are the salt of the earth. And It’s a Wonderful Life is my memorial to you!” (The link no longer works, but I got this quote at http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/9502/life.html)

Note 2: This film was only marginally successful in 1946. In 1976 it was put into the “public domain,” allowing TV stations to show it without paying royalties. Thus, it was shown on TV every Christmas, and since many areas had only 3-5 TV channels, almost every American watched it at one time or another (at least, until Cable TV gave so many other choices). It’s place in American culture is evident in countless references in TV shows, cartoons, songs, etc.

Synopsis/Timeline:

• 1907—George Bailey is born
• 1919—12-year-old George Bailey and friends are sledding when his little brother Harry falls through the ice. George saves his life, but gets very sick and becomes deaf in one ear. Mr. Gower’s son dies of influenza (“the flu” or possibly the global pandemic of 1919); Mr. Gower accidentally puts poison in medicine, but George discovers this and refuses to deliver the “medicine”—this saves another life, and keeps Mr. Gower from going to jail.
• 1924—George graduates from High School and starts working for his dad at the Building and Loan
• 1928—Harry (George’s kid brother) graduates from high school; George has now saved enough money to go to college, but his plans to travel for the summer end because his father died of a stroke. In the fall, he has to choose between going to college or keeping the Building and Loan in business (the Board chose him to take over the company). He accepts the appointment and uses his money to send his brother to college.
• 1932—Harry graduates from college, and he is supposed to come run the Building and Loan. But instead he marries Ruth, whose father gives Harry a good research job in another city. For years, George has tried to leave Bedford Falls (he also avoids Mary, though inside he loves her). Now he realizes that he will never leave, and he decides to marry Mary. It is in the Great Depression—a time of economic crisis and intense bank instability. George and Mary cancel their honeymoon and use George’s savings to keep the Building and Loan running (they also make the run-down Granville house their home).
• 1935?—George’s old friend Sam “Hee Haw” Wainwright is now rich, while George still struggles to pay his bills. Mr Potter tries to convince George to work for him; it would mean a very big salary, but the Building and Loan would close and common people could no longer get loans to build houses. George rejects the offer for the sake of “the people”; he and Mary have their first of four children.
• 1942?—George’s brother and his friends join the army to serve in World War 2, but the military “draft board” rejects George because he is deaf in one ear (those rejected were called “4F”).
• 1945—Harry Bailey becomes a hero because (as a pilot) he saves many lives.
• 1945—Christmas eve (when most of this story takes place). “Uncle Billy” and George are very proud because the town is going to celebrate Harry’s heroism. Absentminded Uncle Billy accidentally misplaces several thousand dollars (in fact, he puts it in a newspaper and gives it to Mr. Potter by mistake). When the money can’t be found, George says to Billy: “Do you realize what this means? It means bankruptcy and scandal and prison.”
• After a careful search, they still can’t find the money. To make matters worse, his daughter Zuzu is sick (she won a rose in school and was too excited about it to think about dressing warmly). Without thinking, George insults Zuzu’s teacher Mrs. Welch, so Mr. Welch hits George. Very depressed, George decides that he can get people out of trouble by killing himself (if it looks like an accident, they will get money from his life insurance policy).
• All of his friends pray for George, and Heaven sends help in the form of a simple-minded angel named Clarence (who can “earn his wings” if he succeeds in helping George). In desperation, George says he wishes he had never been born, and Clarence grants this wish.
• As George sees how different the town is without him, Clarence says: “You’ve been given a great gift, George: a chance to see what the world would be like without you. Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so many other lives, and when he isn’t around he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?”

There is a remarkably detailed synopsis of this story at http://www.filmsite.org/itsa.htm (by Tim Dirks). If you are a really diligent English-learner, I recommend that you get a cup of tea, and a dictionary, and then read it before your watch this film in English.

Phrases/sayings:

• “50 cents on the dollar”: half price; you paid a dollar, but I’ll buy it from you for 50 cents (this only sounds like a “good deal” if you think no one else would want to buy it at all)
• *“crawling on your hands and knees”: desperately begging (like a dog, begging for food)
• *“David and Goliath”: a well-known story from the Bible, where a shepherd boy defeats a mighty, giant warrior with a few rocks and a lot of faith in God; the boy goes on to become the country’s greatest king.
• “Get me” or “Get this”: look at me/this because it’s very strange or interesting (Nick says—“Get me! I’m giving out wings!”—to make fun of Clarence)
• “I don’t know you from Adam”: I’ve never met you before; we have no relationship, so why are you acting like we do? [Nick: “Where do you come off calling me Nick? I don’t know you from Adam’s off Ox.”]
• *”I’m at the end of my rope”: I am so anxious/worried about something that I really don’t know what to do; I’ve tried every solution I can think of but I still have this problem
• *“It’s about time!”: You certainly waited too long before saying/doing that!
• “It’s no skin off my nose”: I don’t care about that because it won’t affect me
• “passed him up”: We intentionally skipped him, because we didn’t think he was able to do sth. [“I should have been promoted, but I’ve been passed up two times!”]
• (to be) “run out of town on a rail”: (of colonial origin) to be forced by the angry townspeople to leave town, who warned you to never return

Discussion:

• 1. Look at what George said are “the three most exciting sounds in the world” (dialog 10). What did Billy say? Do you agree with George or Billy, or do you have a different answer?
• 2. Look at what George’s mom said about Mary (dialog 11). What makes you “light up like a firefly”?
• 3. Look at the “blessing” said when Mr. Martini got a new house (dialog 13). What do you think of it? Tell us about a custom in your country or hometown, such as when someone gets a new house or when someone gets married.
• 4. The website http://www.filmsite.org/itsa.html (Tim Dirks) lists many of the things that would be different in Bedford Falls if George had never been born. See how many you can think of. Here are some questions to help you and a partner to get started:
•       a. What would have happened to Harry as a child, and how would that effect others?
•       b. What might have happened to Mr. Gower, the drug store owner?
•       c. How might Mr. Potter have changed Bedford Falls?
•       d. How would it have affected George’s wife and children?
•       e. What might have happened to George’s mother and uncle?
• 5. Look at the motto for the Building and Loan (dialog 3). What had George “given away” during his life? Do you agree with this motto? Why or why not?
• 6. Mr. Potter was very rich and powerful. Why do you think he was so unhappy and selfish? What are some of the good and bad things about having a lot of power and/or money?
• 7. How would you define “failure” and “success”? Clarence wrote this in the book he gave George: “Remember, no man is a failure who has friends.” Do you agree? Why?

Sentences/Dialogs from the movie:

• 1.   [first lines in the film; lots of people are praying for George]
•       Mr. Emil Gower: I owe everything to George Bailey. Help him, dear Father.
•       Giuseppe Martini: Joseph, Jesus and Mary. Help my friend, Mr. Bailey.
•       Ma Bailey: Help my son, George, tonight.
•       Ernie: He never thinks about himself, God, that’s why he’s in trouble.
•       Bert: George is a good guy. Give him a break, God.
•       Mary (George’s wife): I love him, dear Lord. Watch over him tonight.
•       Janie Bailey: Please, God, something’s the matter with Daddy.
•       Zuzu Bailey: Please bring Daddy back.
• 2.   Senior Angel: Hello Joseph, trouble?
•       Joseph – Angel: Looks like we’ll have to send someone down. There are a lot of people asking for help for a man named George Bailey.
•       Senior Angel: George Bailey? Yes! Tonight’s his crucial night. You’re right. We’ll have to send someone down immediately. Whose turn is it?
•       Joseph – Angel: That’s why I came to see you, sir. It’s that clock maker’s turn again.
•       Senior Angel: [chuckles] Oh, Clarence. Hasn’t gotten his wings yet, has he?
•       Joseph – Angel: We passed him up right along. Because, you know sir, he’s got the IQ of a rabbit.
•       Senior Angel: Yes, but he’s got the faith of a child. Simple. Joseph, send for Clarence…
•       Clarence: You sent for me, sir?
•       Senior Angel: Yes, Clarence. A man down on earth needs our help.
•       Clarence: Splendid. Is he sick?
•       Senior Angel: No, worse. He’s discouraged. At exactly 10:45 pm earth time, that man will be thinking seriously about throwing away God’s greatest gift.
•       Clarence: Oh, dear, dear. His life. Then I’ve only got 1 hour to dress. What are they wearing now?
•       Senior Angel: You will spend that hour getting acquainted with George Bailey.
•       Clarence: Sir, if I should accomplish this mission, I mean… um. Might I perhaps win my wings? I’ve been waiting for over 200 years now, sir, and people ARE beginning to talk.
•       Senior Angel: What’s that book you’ve got there?
•       Clarence: Oh, oh. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (by Mark Twain)
•       Senior Angel: Clarence, you do a good job with George Bailey and you will get your wings.
• 3.   sign: “All you can take with you [when you go to Heaven] is that which you’ve given away.” [sign on the wall of Bailey Building and Loan; this is the company’s philosophy]
• 4.   Little Mary [whispering in George’s deaf ear—when they are children]: Is this the ear you can’t hear on? George Bailey, I’ll love you ’til the day I die.
• 5.   [At dinner, just before Harry’s high school graduation party; George is older than Harry]
•       Pa Bailey: I know it’s soon to talk about it.
•       George: Oh, now Pop, I couldn’t. I couldn’t face being cooped up for the rest of my life in a shabby little office… Oh, I’m sorry Pop, I didn’t mean that, but this business of nickels and dimes and spending all your life trying to figure out how to save three cents on a length of pipe… I’d go crazy. I want to do something big and something important.
•       Pa Bailey: You know, George, I feel that in a small way we are doing something important. Satisfying a fundamental urge. It’s deep in the race for a man to want his own roof and walls and fireplace, and we’re helping him get those things in our shabby little office.
•       George Bailey: I know, Dad. I wish I felt… But I’ve been hoarding pennies like a miser in order to… Most of my friends have already finished college. I just feel like if I don’t get away, I’d bust.
•       Pa Bailey: Yes… yes… You’re right son. This town is no place for any man unless he’s willing to crawl [on his hands and knees] to Potter. You’ve got talent, son. I’ve seen it. You get yourself an education. Then get out of here.
•       George Bailey: Pop, you want a shock? I think you’re a great guy. [to their housekeeper, Annie, listening through the door] Oh, did you hear that, Annie?
•       Annie: I heard it. It’s about time one of you lunkheads said it.
• 6.   Mickey [Mickey walks up to a disheartened Freddie Othello, after George “steals” his date at the dance] What’s the matter, Othello – jealous? Did you know there’s a swimming pool under this floor? And did you know that button behind you causes this floor to open up? And did you further know that George Bailey is dancing right over that crack? [Othello turns to Mickey, hopefully.] And I’ve got the key!
• 7.   George [after attending a dance with Mary—who has quietly loved George for years; George is telling Mary about his plans for the future]: I know what I’m gonna do tomorrow, and the next day, and the next year, and the year after that. I’m shaking the dust of this crummy little town off my feet and I’m gonna see the world. Italy, Greece, the Parthenon, the Colosseum. Then, I’m coming’ back here to go to college and see what they know. And then I’m gonna build things. I’m gonna build airfields, I’m gonna build skyscrapers a hundred stories high, I’m gonna build bridges a mile long… What is it you want, Mary? You want the moon? Just say the word and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Hey. That’s a pretty good idea. I’ll give you the moon, Mary.
•       Mary: I’ll take it. Then what?
•       George: Well, then you can swallow it, and it’ll all dissolve, see… and the moonbeams would shoot out of your fingers and your toes and the ends of your hair… am I talking too much?
•       Neighbor: YES! Why don’t you just kiss her instead of talking her to death?
•       George: You want me to kiss her, huh?
•       Neighbor [rising from chair to go inside]: Ah, youth is wasted on the wrong people.
•       George: Well, just come back here, Mister. I’ll give her a kiss that’ll put hair back on your head!
• 8.   George [After Mr. Bailey died, George is defending him when Mr. Potter and other businessmen want to “chloroform”—i.e., to kill—the Building and Loan]: Now, hold on, Mr. Potter. You’re right when you say my father was no businessman. I know that. Why he ever started this cheap, penny-ante Building and Loan, I’ll never know. But neither you nor anyone else can say anything against his character, because his whole life was… why, in the 25 years since he and his brother, Uncle Billy, started this thing, he never once thought of himself. Isn’t that right, Uncle Billy? He didn’t save enough money to send Harry away to college, let alone me. But he did help a few people get out of your slums, Mr. Potter, and what’s wrong with that?
• 9.   [The self-centered Mr. Potter believes that when the Building and Loan helps average people build their own homes, the result is “a discontented, lazy rabble instead of a thrifty working class.” George defends the common people.]
•       George: Doesn’t it make them better citizens? Doesn’t it make them better customers? You… you said… what’d you say a minute ago? They had to wait and save their money before they even ought to think of a decent home. Wait? Wait for what? Until their children grow up and leave them? Until they’re so old and broken down that they…  Do you know how long it takes a working man to save five thousand dollars [the cost of a small home in 1930]? Just remember…  this rabble you’re talking about…  do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community. Well, is it too much to have them work, pay, live and die in a couple of decent rooms and a bath [i.e., in their own homes]? Anyway, my father didn’t think so. People were human beings to him, but to you, a warped, frustrated old man, they’re cattle. Well, in my book, he died a much richer man than you’ll ever be.
• 10.  George: Do you know what the three most exciting sounds in the world are?
•       Uncle Billy: “Breakfast is served,” “Lunch is served,” “Dinner is served.”
•       George: No! Anchor chains, plane motors, and train whistles.
• 11.  Ma Bailey [just after Harry’s wedding]:  Nice girl, Mary… She lights up like a firefly whenever you are around. Besides, Sam Wainright is off in New York, and you’re here in Bedford Falls…
•       George: And all’s fair in love and war, right?
•       Ma Bailey [fixing his collar]: Well, I don’t know about war…
• 12.  Mrs. Hatch: Who is down there with you, Mary?
•       Mary Hatch: It’s George Bailey, mother.
•       Mrs. Hatch: George Bailey? What does he want?
•       Mary: I don’t know! [to George] What do you want?
•       George Bailey: Me? Nothing! I just came in to get warm, is all.
•       Mary [after a pause, sarcastically]: He’s making violent love to me, mother!
• 13.  Mary: “Bread – that this house may never know hunger. Salt – that life may always have flavor. Wine – that joy and prosperity may reign forever.” [This is a Blessing said when Mr. Martini moves into his new home.]
• 14.  Real Estate Salesman, talking to Mr. Potter: Fifteen years ago, a half-dozen houses stuck here and there. There’s the old cemetery, squirrels, buttercups, daisies. Now… Dozens of the prettiest little homes you ever saw. Ninety per cent owned by suckers who used to pay rent to you. Your “Potter’s Field”, my dear Mr. Employer, is becoming just that. And are the local yokels making with those David and Goliath wisecracks!
•       Mr. Potter: Oh, they are, are they? Even though they know the Baileys haven’t made a dime out of it.
•       Real Estate Salesman: You know very well why. The Baileys were all chumps. Every one of these homes is worth twice what it cost the Building and Loan to build. If I were you, Mr. Potter…
•       Mr. Potter: Well, you are not me.
•       Real Estate Salesman: As I say, it’s no skin off my nose. But one of these days this bright young man is going to be asking George Bailey for a job.
• 15.  George [very upset, yelling at Uncle Billy after they’ve looked everywhere for the missing money—money Billy accidentally gave to Mr. Potter!]: Where’s that money, you silly stupid old fool? Where’s that money? Do you realize what this means? It means bankruptcy and scandal and prison! That’s what it means! One of us is going to jail… well, it’s not gonna be me!
• 16.  [Mr. Potter knows that he received the missing money from Billy, but George doesn’t know this]
•       Mr. Potter: What have you been doing lately, George? Playing the market with the company’s money?
•       George: No, of course not.
•       Mr. Potter: Or is it a woman you’re involved with? It’s all over town that you’ve been giving money to Violet Bick.
•       George: What?
•       Mr. Potter: Not that it’s any skin off my nose…. Look at you. You used to be so cocky. Now you’re just a miserable little clerk crawling in here on your hands and knees and begging for help. You have nothing but a miserable little $500 equity in a life insurance policy. You’re worth more dead than alive. Why don’t you go to the riffraff you love so much and ask them to let you have $8,000? You know why? Because they’d run you out of town on a rail. Well, I’ll tell you what I’m going to do for you, George. Since the state [bank] examiner is still here…, as a stockholder of the Building and Loan, I’m going to swear out a warrant for your arrest. Misappropriation of funds, manipulation, malfeasance…
• 17. George [praying in desperation]: Dear [Heavenly] Father, I’m not a praying man, but if you’re up there and you can hear me, show me the way. I’m at the end of my rope. Show me the way, oh God.
• 18.  George [after meeting his angel]: Well, you look about the kind of angel I’d get. Sort of a fallen angel, aren’t you? What happened to your wings?
•       Clarence: I haven’t won my wings, yet. That’s why I’m called an Angel Second Class. I have to earn them. And you’ll help me, won’t you?
•       George: [sarcastic] Sure, sure. How?
•       Clarence: By letting me help you.
•       George: I know one way you can help me. You don’t happen to have 8,000 bucks on you?
•       Clarence: No, we don’t use money in Heaven.
•       George: Well, it comes in real handy down here, bud!
• 19.  George: Everybody would be better off if I’d never been born.
• 20.  Clarence: You mustn’t say that… Oh, now wait a minute. That’s an idea now, isn’t it? [looks upward] What do you think? Ahhh… All right, George, you’ve got your wish: you’ve never been born. [Wind begins to blow violently outside the shack; Clarence yells out the door] You don’t need to make all THAT fuss about it!
• 21.  Clarence [hearing Nick’s cash register ding]: Oh-oh. Somebody’s just made it.
•       George Bailey: Made what?
•       Clarence: Every time you hear a bell ring, it means that some angel’s just got his wings.
• 22.  [After George “gets his wish” to have “never been born”, they are in a bar that is very different from the way it was an hour before. Clarence asks for a “colonial era” drink—flaming rum punch—because he’s been dead a long time. This makes Nick the bartender angry.]
•       Nick: Hey look, mister. We serve hard drinks in here for men who want to get drunk fast, and we don’t need any characters around to give the joint “atmosphere”. Is that clear, or do I have to slip you my left for a convincer?
•       George: [intervening] Nick, hold on. Just give him the same as mine. He’s no trouble. [to Clarence] What’s the matter with him? I never saw Nick act like that before.
•       Clarence: You’ll see a lot of strange things from now on.
• 23.  [Clarence shows George his brother Harry’s tombstone]
•       Clarence [explaining]: Your brother, Harry Bailey, broke through the ice and was drowned at the age of nine.
•       George: That’s a lie! Harry Bailey went to war! He got the Congressional Medal of Honor! He saved the lives of every man on that [army] transport!
•       Clarence: Every man on that transport died. Harry wasn’t there to save them, because you weren’t there to save Harry [as children]. Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so many other lives. When he isn’t around he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?
• 24.  Clarence: You’ve been given a great gift, George: A chance to see what the world would be like without you. …You see George, you’ve really had a wonderful life. Don’t you see what a mistake it would be to just throw it away?
• 25.  [Near the end of the film, this famous dialog tells us that George is back in his real life. It starts with him alone on a bridge—after running away from policeman Bert, who didn’t know him during the dream…]
•       George: [praying] Help me, Clarence! Get me back! I don’t care what happens to me! Get me back to my wife and kids! Help me Clarence, please! I wanna live again. I wanna live again. Please, God, let me live again.
•       Bert: [shouts] Hey, George! Are you all right? Hey, what’s the matter?
•       George: Now get out of here, Bert, or I’ll hit you again! Get outta here!
•       Bert: What the sam hill are you yelling for, George?
•       George: You… [suddenly stunned] Bert? Do you know me?
•       Bert: Know you? Huh. You kiddin’? I’ve been looking all over town trying to find you. I saw your car plowed into that tree down there and I thought maybe you – hey, your mouth’s bleeding. Are you sure you’re all right?
•       George: What the… [he discovers that the blood is back] Ha, ha, ha, ha! My mouth’s bleeding, Bert! My mouth’s bleeding! [he finds rose petals in his pocket] Zuzu’s petals… There they are! Bert, what do you know about that! Merry Christmas!
• 26.  [at the final party, lots of people are bringing money to help George]
•       Annie [emptying a jar of cash]: I been savin’ this money for a divorce, if ever I got a husband!
•       Ernie: [holding a telegram] Just a minute! Quiet everybody! Now get this, it’s from London. Mr. Gower cabled [sent a telegram saying that] you need cash, stop. My office instructed to advance you up to twenty-five thousand dollars, stop. Hee Haw and Merry Christmas! Sam Wainwright.
• 27.  Clarence [wrote this inside the cover of “Tom Sawyer”, and left it for George]: Remember, no man is a failure who has friends.

(For more information about Christmas, see these Christmas pages (underlined topics are on EFLsuccess.com or Krigline.com; others are on our older website): Christmas (international celebration), the song “Silent Night” and Chinese Christmas apples, the traditional Christmas story, who is Santa (圣诞老人)?, candy canes, holiday safety tips, Christmas Perspectives (poem), and the pre-Christmas Advent season. Also look for Christmas wallpaper on our old website. You’ll also find movie study guides on this website (or our old site) for some great holiday films: A Snoopy/Charlie Brown Christmas, Last Holiday, White Christmas, The Grinch, Christmas Carol, It’s a Wonderful Life)

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