Henry Fonda, who was James Stewart's close friend, played Lincoln in Young Mr. Lincoln (1939). Further, The FBI claimed in a report that two of its screenwriters, Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, "were very close to known Communists and on one occasion in the recent past practically lived with known Communists and were observed eating lunch every day with known Communists." Just prior to the first actual take, Capra took Corby aside and . She has a cameo as the singer at Martini's bar. Mary tells George she married him to keep from being an "old maid." The house they lived in was a wedding present from her father. Frank Capra filmed a number of sequences that were later cut; the only remnants are rare stills that have been unearthed. The gym floor that opens in the middle to reveal the swimming pool underneath was filmed at Beverly Hills High School In Beverly Hills, California, USA was real and is still in regular use. Sara Allgood, Helen Broderick, Jane Darwell, Ruth Donnelly, Connie Gilchrist, Hattie McDaniel, Una O'Connor and Irene Ryan were considered for Annie. Actor and producer Sheldon Leonard said in an interview that he only agreed to play Nick the bartender so he would have money to buy baseball tickets. She moved to Hollywood that same year and got a job as a script girl[clarification needed] at RKO Studios and Hal Roach Studios, where she often worked on Our Gang comedies, alongside her future husband, cinematographer Francis Corby. It's a Wonderful Life (1946) as Ms. Davis (uncredited) Beat the Band (1947) as Gertrude's Mother . Don Barclay, Steve Brodie, Edward Brophy, Alan Carney, Walter Catlett, William Demarest, Wallace Ford, John Ireland, Frank Jenks, Charles 'Red' Marshall, Frank McHugh and Walter Sande were considered for Ernie Bishop. * BLU-RAY UPDATE 2 of 2 - The October 2016 two-disc 70th Anniversary Platinum edition of "It's A Wonderful Life" Blu-ray is an outright duplicate of the November 2009 two-disc Blu-ray edition of "It's A Wonderful Life" - with the EXACT same extras and features. When Potter offers George a job (circa 1935) his annual salary is about $46,000 in 2020 dollars. Hooray For Hollywood. This film is one of five times Beulah Bondi portrayed James Stewart's mother, The others are: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Of Human Hearts (1938), Vivacious Lady (1938), and The Jimmy Stewart Show: The Identity Crisis (1971). Both James Stewart and Donna Reed came from small towns; Stewart from Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Reed from Denison, Iowa. It got to be so hot that director Frank Capra gave everyone a day off to recuperate. Janie asked her mother if now was the right time to play "Hark the Herald Angel Sing" in the final scene, according to the novelization. Stella Luchetta, of course, was Ellen Corby's life partner. One of them was in the Christmas classic It's a Wonderful. James Stewart plays George Bailey from the age of 21 to 38, from the night of the school dance in 1928 to Christmas 1945. In the decade prior to her beginning her role as Grandma Walton, Corby acted in an episode of "The Andy Griffith Show.". She played the role of Esther "Grandma" Walton on the CBS television series The Waltons, for which she won three Emmy Awards. The "Lux" version aired in March; the "Screen Guild" version aired December 29th. Her role was greatly admired as audiences loved seeing her play the nurse to perfection.Perhaps this is why post-Waltons, Judy decided to do a full 180, as she posed nude for the August 1985 . She spent six decades of those . This is why James Stewart is visibly sweating in a few scenes. Feeling an overly religious tone didn't have the emotional impact of family and friends coming to George's rescue, Capra had the closing scenes rewritten. The Bank Run One-Liner. Frank Capra later re-framed and blew up the shot because he wanted to catch that expression on Stewart's face. Synopsis Sur les . So Geer went with the show's producers to her home, where they found that she had suffered a stroke. When George Bailey passes a movie theater towards the end of the movie, that film is being showcased. Ellen Corby ~ Grandma Esther Walton..Born: June 3, 1911, Racine, WI.Died: April 14, 1999, Los Angeles, CA . Lauren Dethridge. Ellen Corby -- It's a Wonderful Life She was Mrs Davis at the teller window who asks for something like $17.43. Uncle Billy's raven -"Jimmy the raven" -appeared in over 1000 feature films, including every Capra film from 'You Can't Take It With You' (1938). The copy of the "Bedford Falls Sentinel" that George shows to cab driver Ernie with the headline "President Decorates Harry Bailey" is undated. Trivia: During the bank run scene, director Frank Capra rehearsed the scene between James Stewart and Ellen Corby several times. Ellen Corby holding her glass of wine at a restaurant on September 16, 1978. Her film credits include "It's A Wonderful Lie," "I Remember Mama," "Sabrina . Frank Capra explained he received the most amount of rage-mail in his entire career from audiences who were angered that Henry F. Potter is never punished for practically stealing the $8,000 dollars and framing George for embezzlement. It premiered at the Globe Theatre (now known as the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre) on West 46th Street in the Broadway district of Midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA, for the benefit of the Boys' Clubs of America. Michael Chapin, Tom Chatterton, Jack Cheatham, Harry Cheshire, Edward Clark, Tom Coleman, Ellen Corby, Jimmy the Crow, Bryn Davis, Lew Davis, Harry Denny, Helen Dickson, Dick Elliott, Tom Fadden, Frank Fenton, Eddie Fetherston, Sam Flint, Lee . by Anonymous: reply 22: March 26, 2016 2:35 PM: What a life! Ellen Hansen married Francis Corby, a film director/cinematographer who was two decades her senior, in 1934; they divorced in 1944. During the filming of It's a Wonderful Life, James Stewart was actively suffering from PTSD and depression due to his service in WWII. She received an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as a lovelorn aunt in I Remember Mama (1948). Stewart told friends that he related a lot to the character of George Bailey, some of the scenes where George acted out in anger was considered "cathartic" for Stewart and his struggles with mental health. According to the telegram Mr. Gower receives, Bedford Falls is in New York state. "It's a Wonderful Life," in which she played a depositor who withdrew a small amount of money from the beleaguered Bailey Building and Loan; the original "Sabrina," in which she was Humphrey Bogart's secretary; "Hush . Stewart was 37/38 years old during the April to July 1946 filming. Makes a great gift for any collector or sports fan! Mary has a boy and a girl. It included 75 stores and buildings, a main street, a factory district and a large residential and slum area. Young Mary refers to "National Geographic" as "a new magazine", even though it began publishing in 1888. . 1946 129 min PG Kids & Family, Drama, Holiday, Comedy, Kids Feature Film 4K. It made use of sets originally designed for Cimarron (1931) and it had a working bank and a tree-lined center parkway. In the original short story the film is based upon, George's last name is Pratt, not Bailey. In the closing credits both Walker and Biroc were credited, with Biroc listed on top, launching the rest of his career as lead cinematographer/director of photography going forward. This is why the shot looks so grainy compared with the rest of the film. In 1999, following several years of declining health, Corby died at age 87 at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. It is never shown what happens to Mr. Potter after his attempt to frame George Bailey for embezzling the $8,000.00 Uncle Billy mistakenly placed in Mr. Potter's newspaper. Longing for a slower pace of life, remembering my childhood and watching the Walton's. Wonderful memories and a wonderful show. Director Frank Capra often said that this was his favorite of all his films. Ellen Corby (Ellen Hansen) was born on 3 June, 1911 in Racine, Wisconsin, USA, is an Actress, Writer, Soundtrack. Born in 1911, Ellen Corby, nee Hansen, enjoyed 87 successful years on earth before passing on. Corby considered her mom the most important person in her life. During the bank run in It's a Wonderful Life, Ellen was one of the customers asking for her money. He turned out to be right, and the whole cast and crew threw a party to celebrate. She co-wrote "Zuzu Bailey's It's a Wonderful Life Cookbook." The woman who gets a kiss from George during the run on the bank (all she wants is $17.50) is Ellen Corby, who'd later play Grandma Walton. The Emmy Award-Winner kicked off her career in the 1930s, first serving as a script girl, before eventually venturing into movies and television. Director Frank Capra wanted to record the sound live, so a new snow effect was developed using foamite (a fire-fighting chemical), soap, and water. The movie character names are purely coincidental.". Born Ellen Hansen in Racine, Wisconsin, she grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and went to Hollywood in the early 1930s to start an acting career. Henry Fonda was in the running to play George Bailey. It's a Wonderful Life was the first film that Frank Capra and James Stewart made post-World War II. Young Mary is shown still perched on the same stool after more than an hour has passed. In the scene at the dance in the high school gym, when George Bailey first sees Mary and approaches her, the young man talking to Mary is Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer, "Alfalfa" of Little Rascals fame in the uncredited role of Freddie Othelo. He wakes the kids up and Mary was getting ready to go to church. The instant that George says "God" on the bridge, it starts snowing, showing that he is back in the real world. She was also nominated for an Academy Award for her performance as Aunt Trina in I Remember Mama . Her career in Hollywood began in the 1930s and spanned though the 1990s. Frank Capra. The set was razed in 1954, and only two locations survived: the gymnasium at Beverly Hills High School (which is still in operation, with a still working moving gymnasium floor) and the Martini house, at 4587 Viro Road, in what is now the city of La Caada Flintridge, then and now both locations are within Los Angeles County, California, USA. . Born in 1911, Ellen Corby, nee Hansen, enjoyed 87 successful years on earth before passing on. Mary is a spinster librarian. Two of Sesame Street (1969)'s Muppets, Bert and Ernie, share their names with the film's cop and cab driver, respectively, but it's believed to be just a coincidence. The actual location of the Bedford Falls Main Street ran east-west from what is now the east side of the 5900 block of Ostrom Avenue, Encino. Mr Potter is one of the few movie villains whose fate is left unknown by the end of the film. Taxi. James Stewart's performance as George Bailey is ranked #8 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006). The rent collector mentions to Potter that unless George is stopped, his Potter's Field would become that. The pictures in the Granville house are all from George's brochures (but larger) that he threw away. He doesn't see Harry at the party, but at his parents house. After the war Frank Capra set up Liberty Films with George Stevens and William Wyler to make more serious, soul-searching films. It's a Wonderful Life Where to Watch or Stream It's a Wonderful Life. I don't remember when they started saying it was a stroke, but it might have been the one you mentioned where Grandpa was not allowed in her hospital room. Clarence's voice is heard in the opening scenes, but he doesn't appear in the flesh until the last 30 minutes of the film, and is on-screen for only 15 minutes. In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked this as the #20 Greatest Movie of All Time. Corby went on to resume her role on the weekly television series The Waltons. Makes me think now of how many of the other Waltons smoke (or have given it up). Thirty years after the production and release of this film, the communities were combined and incorporated as the city of La Caada Flintridge, California, USA on November 30, 1976. She had played baseball in high school and had a strong throwing arm. After that, like I said maybe in the next episode or the one after that, they say Grandma is in the hospital. James Stewart repeated his role in a one-hour radio version for NBC Radio Theater in 1949. This and State of the Union (1948) were Liberty's only productions. When Bert takes a shot at George, the bullets take out three of the letters in the Pottersville sign ("svi"), but in the novelization it's only two. She played many uncredited bit parts from the late '20s through the '30s. Bells crop up throughout the film; in the intro music and other background music; Christmas decorations; cash registers; telephones ringing; a bell on Mr Potter's desk; the studio logo; doorbells; The Bells of St. Mary's (1945) is playing at the local cinema, etc. John Alexander, Irving Bacon, Wally Brown, James Burke, Sam Levene, Barton MacLane, Robert Mitchum and Walter Sande were considered for Bert the Cop. When Corby's character was asked how much money she needed, she replied $17, which was in the script. But that was in 1946 dollars. One of them was included in the timeless Christmas film It's a Wonderful Life (1946). Absent from the get-together was the late grandpa and grandma Walton, alias the late Will Geer and Ellen Corby. Capra himself was unable to find a job with his background, and like George Bailey, considered himself a failure for many years. Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die," edited by Steven Schneider. When Rogers penned her autobiography, she questioned that decision by asking the readers, "Foolish, you say? The salary Potter offers him is worth almost $370,000; since it's a three-year contract, he'd get more than a million dollars in 2020 money. (She was the only adult actor from the original Homecoming pilot to carry her role over to the series.) When Potter is in his horse-drawn carriage at the start, it's the only scene where Potter's bodyguard isn't pushing him and someone else is driving him around instead. 1946, Movie - Drama, Fantasy, Family. The marriage produced no children. According to . Off-the-screen, she played a real-life grandma to one of her cast members, Jon Walmsley. She suffered a stroke in November 1976 from which she recovered and returned to her role on The Waltons in March 1978. She said since he had no grandma and she had no grandkids, they decided to adopt one another. The short story begins with George on the bridge thinking about suicide. It is most likely though Mr Potter was either arrested for his crimes such as embezzlement, money laundering and fraud or he simply ended up bankrupt. From there, the aspiring actress moved to Hollywood. It shows the happy days of the 20s turn into the Depression of the 30s, and finally the unification of the 40s and the war effort. George Bailey has spent his entire life giving to the people of Bedford Falls. He tries selling his mother a brush. Back in December of 2020, Judy Norton opened talked about Corby's stroke on her web series. However, Colorization realized that since the film was supposedly in the public domain, they could do all the work and let Capra go. A photograph of James Stewart at the age of six months, donated by his parents, was included in the Bailey home set. May 3, 1919, the date of the telegram Mr. Gower received notifying him of his son's death, is a Saturday, however, someone has already flipped the wall calendar outside Peter Bailey's office to June. Ellen Corby played Esther, the loving grandmother of the Walton family. Actress: The Waltons. Her final role was in A Walton Easter (1997). She guest-starred, as well, on Wagon Train, Cheyenne, The Guns of Will Sonnett, Dragnet (several episodes), Rescue 8, The Restless Gun (two episodes), The Rifleman, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Fury, The Donna Reed Show, Frontier Circus, Hazel, I Love Lucy, Dennis the Menace, Tightrope, Bonanza, The Big Valley, Meet McGraw, The Virginian, Channing, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Batman, Get Smart, Gomer Pyle, The Addams Family (as Lurch's Mother), The Beverly Hillbillies, The Invaders, Lassie, and Night Gallery. However, they were gay in real life and were involved in homosexual relationships. . Ginger Rogers allegedly turned down the role because she thought the character too bland. Both Walker and Biroc share credits on the film, Biroc listed above Walker. Bedford Falls is a fictional town in upstate New York, as seen on the death certificate telegram received by Mr. Gower. None of that is a criticism of the film it is, in fact, the very reason why this . After the scene was finished, Warner hugged and comforted Anderson. . She had been married at one point, but it was mostly a convenient cover for the sake of her career and reputation. The young man who opened the floor to the pool was Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer in an uncredited role. In 1954, Corby met Stella Luchetta, a friend for the rest of her life. Both in this film and in You Can't Take It with You (1938), Lionel Barrymore says the line, "Not with my money!". Ellen Corby. Included among the American Film Institute's 2004 list of 400 movies nominated for the top 100 America's Greatest Music in the Movies for the song "Buffalo Gal (Won't You Come Out Tonight).". Starting in 2016, NBC's corporate sibling, USA Network, showed the film in a marathon over the weekend of December 9--11. In its initial box office run, it only earned $3.3 million. Fun fact; both the actors who played the grandparents on The Waltons (Will Geer and Ellen Corby) were gay in real life. Sam Wainwirght tells Mary he had offered George to get in at the bottom of plastics, where he made his fortune. George makes reference to this near the end of the movie when he says to Zuzu at the top of the stairs, "Zuzu my little Ginger Snap!". James Stewart signed up to do the film on November 5, 1945. Photo by Hulton Archive - Image courtesy . Ellen Corby died on Wednesday, April 14, 1999 at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in Woodland Hills, Calif. . Originally from Racine, Wisconsin, Corby was born to immigrant parents from Denmark on June 3, 1911. American Actress Ellen Corby was best known for her role as Grandma Walton on the CBS series "The Waltons." He was one of the stars in the Our Gang 'Little Rascals' series. The film takes place from 1919 to December 24, 1945. Title It's a Wonderful Life Year 1946 Director Frank Capra Genre Drama . . Ellen Corby was a fixture of The Waltons as grandma Esther Walton. She previously co-starred with James Stewart in two other Frank Capra films, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) and You Can't Take It with You (1938). Notably, some of the tragedies Corby experienced in life fostered her relationship with Walmsley. ", Aside from snagging her fame, fortune, and a work family to support her through moments of crisis, the franchise led the actress into the path of Jon Walmsley, her would-be "adopted grandson.". The Waltons changed her life forever and was a second family.. Miss Emily blends her beau with Ashley Jr and sometimes loses reality. In a 1973 interview, the icon gushed about her bond with the seven lucky youngsters. Just before filming the sequence where the Bailey's Bedford Falls neighbors came to take their money out of the building and loan, Capra advised the future grandma on TV's "The Waltons," Ellen Corby, to ask Stewart for $17.50, half the amount that the script called for. However, it was nothing compared to the feeling of emptiness that engulfed her following her mom's demise in 1963. Films made prior to this one used cornflakes painted white for the falling snow effect. She spent six decades of those years . He kept fans glued to their TV screen and gossip columns for nine seasons before the series went off-air in 1981. ", Lionel Barrymore signed up to play Mr. Potter on April 1, 1946. Classic Hollywood. She has even outlived some of the child actors. I also remember Ellen in an Andy Griffith show where she, Ellen, sold Barney a car. He assured me that Ernie and Bert were named one day when he and Jim were studying the prototype puppets. After George raves to Potter that "you can't say that about my father", he is ushered out of the room by his father, then George is shown standing outside the office door. When George is running through the rowdy section of "Pottersville," one of the signs he passes says "Welcome Jitterbug." Most notably, Giannini was one of the first bankers to offer banking services to middle-class Americans, rather than only to the upper class. Capra was to have invested in half of the colorization work in exchange for creative control and part ownership. Publicity photo of Will Geer and Ellen Corby as Grandpa and Grandma Walton from the television program "The Waltons." George thought it the most beautiful carol he had ever heard, and it brought him close to tears; Mr. Carter thought the whole thing ridiculous before giving up some of his own money; Harry was also due back the next day, but wanted to come home earlier, and when he said George was the richest man in town, George agreed. However, Esther would actually outlive Zebulon. James Stewart began laughing, and Mitchell quickly improvised, "I'm alright, I'm okay!" Their connection was so intense that it was no secret who the legend considered her favorite grandkid. He knew the movie, of course, but would not have remembered the cop and the cab driver.