Interesting question, isn’t it? What if you were never born? We all have our ups and downs and sometimes more downs than ups. It’s during those difficult times when we wonder, ’’What if...’’ It’s during times like this when that question haunts our very existence. Would our non-existence make the world a better place? Would it make the people know live better lives? Think about it, for a minute. Concentrate. George Bailey did.
He wished so hard that his wish was granted. As of that very second on the snow-covered bridge, he ceased to exist. Let me correct that, he didn’t just cease to exist .... he NEVER existed. George Bailey is just like the rest of us, just an ordinary person with dreams of a future - a future where monkey wrenches gets tossed in your path every day - a future that may never be what you expect, but may be more than you ever expected. All George ever wanted to do when he was young was travel. Eventually, he’d find his fortune and settle down. That was his dream. Mary Hatch had another dream. All she wanted to do was marry George. As children, George was Mary’s first and only love. George’s only love was to see the world. He felt he had no time for girls. As a young man, his dream to travel was on the brink of becoming reality. All he needed to do was to wait until his younger brother Harry came home from the war. Harry would take his position in the Building and Loan Association, a Financial Institution that was owned and operated by George’s father and uncle.
Once Harry resumed his place in the family business, George would then be free to realize his dream. His dream was shattered when Harry arrived home with a bride who excitedly told George that her father offered Harry a ’’wonderful position in the family business.’’ Not wanting to stand in the way of his brother, George encouraged Harry to take the job. George put his dreams on hold, once again. George’s dreams were put on permanent hold when his father died and the responsibility of the company fell completely on his shoulders. Mary had just returned home from college and Mrs. Bailey encouraged George to ’’be nice and pay a social visit’’. It was the visit that would become a turning point in the life of George Bailey. It was during this visit that he realized his love for this beautiful girl who had never stopped loving him. Times were hard, but they had each other - and then they had children and times became harder. Mary made things work. Where Mary’s faith prevailed, George’s failed. George believed that hard work and only hard work made the man. As Mary was preparing the children for the Christmas Eve school pageants, George’s world fell apart. On his way to the bank to make a large deposit, George’s Uncle Billy lost the money. They now had no funds to meet their expenses and no deposits to balance their books. With the auditor sitting in the office waiting to do the end of the year audits, George was in trouble. There was no way out.
With the ledgers unbalanced, George would be accused of embezzlement and there was no way to prove his innocence. What would he do? To whom could he turn? Was all lost? It was then, on that lonely, snow-covered bridge that George would learn a lesson he would never forget. He prayed. He prayed that his life had never been. His prayer was granted. The only problem that arose was that he was still alive. He had his memory of things in his past - but no one around him shared his memory. To them, he was someone they had never met. With the problems of the day’s events now erased from his life, George faced new problems. His life was empty. He had no friends, no home, no wife and children. He longed to go back home where he knew he belonged. But how? Could his Guardian Angel, Clarence, help? But Clarence hadn’t yet earned his wings. What kind of help could a ’’wingless angel’’ offer? Is this George’s wonderful life? Is this the life that he dreamed of as a child? Is this the life he would be left to live for the rest of eternity?
This is a marvelous screenplay by Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett and Frank Capra and directed by Capra. Capra’s direction and the flawless acting by James Stewart (George Bailey) and Donna Reed (Mary Hatch Bailey) draw you effortlessly into the world of George Bailey. You find yourself singing when he sings, laughing at his jokes, becoming misty-eyed during the romance between him and Mary and bitting your nails when he looks in vain for the money lost by Uncle Billy (played by Thomas Mitchell). You sink into his despair and share with him your memories of your own problems. While he ponders the statement, ’’If only I’d never been born’’, you find yourself saying, ’’Yeah, me, too.’’ But then, Clarence (played by Henry Travers) helps George to realize that his life wasn’t so bad after all. Clarence helps us all realize that our lives aren’t so bad after all. Hey, our lives ARE worth living. We ARE worth something. Our lives DO have meaning. I CAN RELATE TO GEORGE BAILEY!!! And so can you. If you have any doubts, just watch this wonderful movie. Although it is considered a ’’Christmas’’ movie, it’s a movie that is worth watching any time of the year. It is a move that will forever remain the classic tale of an ordinary man.