Generations of film followers rely It’s a Wonderful Life as essentially the most beloved and timeless Christmas film in cinematic historical past.
The 1946 movie stars Hollywood legend Jimmy Stewart because the hapless and penniless George Bailey who wanted a Christmas angel to indicate him what the world could be like with out him.
It’s a healthful household film with an exquisite lesson on the finish of it. Behind-the-scenes, nevertheless, was a really totally different story.
READ MORE: Behind Sonny and Cher’s amicable 1987 TV reunion after ugly divorce
According to experiences over the previous 70 years, the set of It’s a Wonderful Life was fraught with tension and feuding between Stewart and his co-star, Donna Reed.
It all started over Stewart’s hesitation at returning to the intense lights of Hollywood following a adorned navy profession throughout World War II.
Stewart had labored as an Air Force bomber pilot and had been away from his profession for 5 years. Director Frank Capra had been too previous to enlist, however he had joined the Army Corps.
Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton’s household Christmas card
Because of this expertise, the actor was uncertain he even wished to return to creating films.
“There was a lot of insecurity on set, because Jimmy Stewart wasn’t sure if he wanted to act any more,” Reed’s daughter Mary Anne Owen mentioned through the documentary The Making of It’s a Wonderful Life.
“He thought it was too frivolous, but Lionel Barrymore and others talked him into it.”
READ MORE: ‘That’s not the reality’: Infamous Ellen second 4 years on
She added: “They were both different people coming back from those experiences going into the making It’s a Wonderful Life.“
Owen mentioned that, surprisingly, when the film first hit cinemas, it did not usher in any rapid field workplace success. The film did not make a revenue and recoup its $2.3 million (approx. $3.4 million) price range when it opened.
Stewart took this tough, she claims, and blamed Reed for the movie’s failings.
“Jimmy Stewart couldn’t understand why the movie didn’t do well, but that’s why they never did another movie together. He blamed her, because she wasn’t as well known,” she revealed.
“She was quite happy when it came out. I mean, she passed away in ’86, but by the early ’80s it was on constantly. We always watched at Christmas and she was so happy that it was so popular.”
READ MORE: The whirlwind 96 hours that occurred earlier than well-known beachside snap
READ MORE: This journal shoot made Kate Moss well-known – however she secretly hated it
Reed, who performed George’s spouse Mary within the vacation movie, had appeared in minor roles all through the ’40s, and the black-and-white image marked her large break as a number one woman.
“This movie made an icon of Donna Reed,” movie historian Jeanine Basinger mentioned within the documentary.
Director Frank Capra borrowed Reed “on loan” from MGM and she was shocked to search out the set was “filled with tension”.
Stewart’s perspective impacted the manufacturing and Reed, who was solely 25, was then handled as a “scapegoat” for the movie’s lack of success.
Unsurprisingly, the pair by no means labored on a film collectively ever once more.
For a day by day dose of 9Honey, subscribe to our e-newsletter right here.
Reed herself nonetheless had fond reminiscences making the movie and was happy at its reputation as an everlasting Christmas basic.
In 1982, throughout an American Film Institute tribute to Frank Capra, Reed mentioned: “When I finished making that film, I thought perhaps I might not make any more movies.”
“I suppose I knew on some deep level that I would never have another experience in a film to equal it.”
Stewart, who died in 1997, went on to reward his co-star after her demise in 1986, lastly placing an finish to over 50 years of hypothesis.
“I’ll always remember her as a wonderful woman and as my wife in It’s a Wonderful Life,” he informed Associated Press.
“I don’t know of anybody who could have played the role better. She was absolutely marvellous.”
Discussion about this post