It’s a Wonderful Life is one of the most beloved Christmas movies of all time and the classic film is aired on Christmas Eve every year.
The movie will be airing on NBC at 8/7c on Tuesday night (December 24) and you can also stream it for free on services like Prime Video, Roku Channel, and PLEX.
We’ve gathered some fun facts about the movie that you might not know!
- 1. Henry Fonda and Cary Grant were in the running to play the role of George Bailey, played by James Stewart.
- 2. While the film is one of the most beloved Christmas movies of all time, it was a box office flop and only made $3.3 million during its initial run. The film failed to recoup the $3.7 million cost.
- 3. The movie was nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture, but it did not win any of them.
- 4. In the scene where Donna Reed‘s character Mary Hatch throws a rock through a window in the Granville House, a marksman was hired to shoot it for her, but she was able to hit the mark on her own thanks to her perfect aim!
- 5. This was Donna Reed‘s first starring role even though she had appeared in many other films. Another actress in the running for the role was Jean Arthur.
Click inside to read more fun facts about It’s a Wonderful Life…
- 6. The film was on television all the time for a good twenty year period as its copyright lapsed in 1974. Any network that wanted to show it was able to do so without paying any royalties until 1994.
- 7. The gym floor that turned into a swimming pool was actually a real location. The scene was filmed at Beverly Hills High School, which has a retractable floor in the gym that turns into a swimming pool.
- 8. The movie might be set in the winter, but it was filmed in the middle of summer so there are several moments where James Stewart is seen sweating despite it snowing!
- 9. The FBI was not a fan of the film and the bureau released a statement in 1947 saying that the movie was a potential “Communist infiltration of the motion picture industry.”
- 10. James Stewart, Donna Reed, and director Frank Capra have all said this was their favorite movie they ever made.
Check out the ranking of the 10 best Christmas movies of all time!
