The actress who plays Zuzu on why we need ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ more than ever
We’re all in this together.
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Certain truths only become clearer over time, and the importance of community, family, friends and neighbors joining forces in trying times is chief among them as we wind down the lamentable year that was 2020.
That thought kept returning to the forefront of my mind as I watched Frank Capra’s classic 1946 Christmas fantasy drama “It’s a Wonderful Life” for the first time this month.
I don’t know how I’d never seen it before. I guess I was simply waiting for the right year. And seeing as 2020 has all of us approaching the ends of our ropes like so many George Baileys, the time finally arrived for me to make my first trip to Bedford Falls.
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If you too have yet to see Capra’s film, it is nothing more or less than the grand survey of one American life – namely, that of George Bailey, played by Jimmy Stewart, who runs the family building and loan business in the small town of Bedford Falls.
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Karolyn Grimes, left, and Jimmy Stewart in a scene from Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
George sets aside his own dreams and aspirations in favor of a life spent selflessly helping those in his community who find themselves at the mercy of predatory banker Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore).
A financial crisis pushes George to his emotional breaking point, necessitating the intervention of Clarence (Henry Thomas), an angel, and George’s friends, family and neighbors marshalled by his wife Mary (Donna Reed).
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